During the Middle Ages the Islamic faith was on the rise since its beginning in the 7th century. There were many conflicts in Spain that caused Pope Alexander II to give his blessing in their fight against the Muslims. The first call for an army was in A.D. 846 against an Arab army in Sicily that sacked St. Peters in Rome. Leo IV offered a heavenly reward to those who joined the call to action and died in battle. Al- Hakim bi-Amr Allah destroyed the Church of the Holy Selpulchre in Jerusalem in A.D. 1009, fueling the fire of the Christians and continuing the flame of hatred amongst the Christians toward the Muslims. The papacy thought it to be in their authority to fight the enemy because of the spiritual nature of the aggressor. These …show more content…
This was evident in his writing to King Henry IV for help in sending armed forces to fight the enemies of God. Pope Gregory struggled with the church getting involved in military battles due to his doctrinal beliefs. Pope Gregory’s successor Pope Urban II had different ideas. Pope Urban felt it was up to the papacy and the Church to fight the evil that has been plaguing the Byzantine Empire along with places such as Spain. Emperor Alexius I requested help from Pope Urban to fight the Muslims in the Byzantine Empire. Pope Urban appealed this military might in his speech at Clermont. During his speech, the pope made no mention of conquering Jerusalem and in fact, his goal during his speech was to convert Muslims to Christianity and reunite the Eastern Church with the West. The Pope needed an army and therefore had to raise one through the church. The men were given a promise of full repentance of their sins if they fought for the Church. The young Knights were typically young men with no inheritance and they were offered land if they fought for the Church. The Knights were also told that they would be given the red cross on their uniform if they reached the city of Jerusalem. Evangelist such as Peter the Hermit would ride his donkey through the small towns and excite the young men to leave their homes and join the conquest to
On November 27, 1095, Pope Urban II gave a supposedly important speech at the end of a church meeting in Clermont, France. In it he had called upon the nobleness of the Franks, to go to the East and assist their Christian “brothers”, the Byzantines, against the attacks of the Muslim Turks. He also apparently encouraged them to liberate Jerusalem, the most sacred and holy city in Christendom, for the Muslims had ruled it since taking it from the Christian Byzantines in A.D. 638. The Crusades were a series of wars between Christians and others to take back Jerusalem.
In 1095 at the Council of Clermont in France, Pope Urban II over exaggerated the danger of the Turks and indicted them in defiling and damaging multiple churches. As part of his objective, he desired to create a Christian army to lead against the Turks. This army of warriors would be under the charge of the papacy and directed to conquer Jerusalem and regain the Holy Land back from non-Christians. Urban’s concept of a justified war would utilize a vast warrior class that exited in Europe at the time and held the promise of bringing the Eastern Church back under the rule of the Pope. The promise of lands and wealth held interest from many but was further enhanced by the popular concept of some preachers that this pilgrimage would bring penance
In the first crusade the byzantine emperor was afraid of the Turks, Alexius I asked the roman church for help. he thought that eastern and western Christians should join forces and make the Turks moves from Anatolia and Palestine. This movement would be called a holy war or crusade. The pope whose name was Urban II, agreed to this plan for two reasons, the first reason was because he thought that combining the east and the west war against the Turks would reunite the eastern and western churches. The second reason was because he wanted to free Palestine and Jerusalem from Muslim rule
In the 11th Century, Pope Urban II called the Christians to battle, stating that they should go “carry aid promptly” to their “brethren who live in the east” as they were being attacked by the Turks and Arabs (Pope Urban II). Pope Urban II went on to say that they must “destroy that vile race from the lands of our friends” or else the Christians would be more “widely attacked.” He ended his speech by declaring that “Christ commands” (Pope Urban II) that the people go and assist their Christian brothers. If they did not go and take up this call to arms, they risked the disapproval of the Lord. After the Pope’s speech calling the Christian people to action, many went to the aid of their fellow Christians.
The Crusades were a series of holy wars that began in 1095 CE. These wars were fought between Christians and Muslims to gain control over the sacred land. The Turks moved into the middle east during the early part of the 11th century CE. Most of the Turks served the Islamic armies and would invade land rapidly using combat forces. This alarmed the Greek emperor and caused him to seek out Pope Urban II and ask for mercenary troops to confront the Turks. The Pope called a council and had 300 attendees to show up. During this council, the Pope made a plea to free the Holy Land, which received an enthusiastic response. After this, Pope Urban II promptly waged war against the Muslims and took armies of Christians to Jerusalem to try and
As The Pope states in the beginning of Document A," Although, O sons of God... to preserve the right of the church. " This statement shows how Pope Urban II believes that commanding the men to fight in the Crusades is Gods work. This idea is also supported when he states,"On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds... Moreover, Christ commands it..." After Pope Urban says these things
Pope Gregory was a rare type of pope, he was one of seven popes to be elected acclamation which no longer occurs today. Although he was popular in Rome for a period of time, he was despised in parts of Europe. When Emperor Henry III passed away the strength of Germany had been weakened tremendously. Emperor Henry IV took over and had to contend with internal difficulties at only age twenty-three. Due to the difficulty, Henry IV had to come to terms of Gregory on political matters. Self-punishment was to be done on Henry to continue the friendship, and even took an oath of obedience, and promised support in the reforming church. This won the confidence of the pope, but was quickly betrayed when Henry defeated the Saxons. Henry attempted to reestablish his rights. Gregory replied to this with a letter which accused him of breaching his word and excommunicated Henry from power. Henry was not pleased to read this and replied to Gregory
In his call at Clermont in 1095, Pope Urban II asked all fellow Christians to join in the aid of the Christians in the East that were then prone to Turkish attacks. Requesting that they all leave their lives and run to their aid, Pope Urban II explained how they would be doing all in the name of God. The Pope let all of the people know that they would all be greatly recompensed in following God's will and fighting for God and in doing so he further led the people to understand that any killing they would do would be forgiven since it was all to be in God's will. In addition, he insisted that if any were to die in this aid, they would all be
The age leading up to the first crusade is detailed by many current historians, as well as Pope Urban II, as a time period where inhabitants "rage[d] against [their own] brothers and cut each other [to] pieces" (Peters, Baldric of Dol, 31) for economic and social advancement. In spite of these references, many people today believe that the Pope instigated the crusades for the sole reason of reclaiming Jerusalem. However, other motivations such as supplementary religious factors and the chance for economic, social, and political gain also played major roles. These motivations were not experienced supremely by the Pope; in fact he needed to instill these inspirations in all Christians to evoke their will to fight. The holy land had long
The Crusades were the first tactical mission by Western Christianity in order to recapture the Muslim conquered Holy Lands. Several people have been accredited with the launch of the crusades including Peter the Hermit however it is now understood that this responsibility rested primarily with Pope Urban II . The main goal of the Crusades was the results of an appeal from Alexius II, who had pleaded for Western Volunteers help with the prevention of any further invasions. The Pope’s actions are viewed as him answering the pleas of help of another in need, fulfilling his Christian right. However, from reading the documents it is apparent that Pope Urban had ulterior motives for encouraging engagement in the war against the Turks. The
Pope Urban called for the lords and knights who formed society’s military elites. Pope Urban was a good communicator, but what he said was a
Religion was one of the main reasons for the start of the First Crusade. Islam was growing and by the time of the late 11th century Islam occupied the areas of the Holy Land which were the foundations of Christian belief. Pope Urban 2nd made his speech November 1095 urging a military expedition to aid the Christians in the east. The Pope hoped that it would unify quarrelling in Europe and unite Europe through Christianity. The response that the Pope received was enormous. In the opinion of Jean Richard, who states that it was ‘problematic’ as it ‘set off shock waves that put
Late in the year of 1095 Pope Urban announced on Tuesday, November 27 that he would hold a public session to make a great announcement. This was the beginning of what was to be the First Crusade . After having painted a real grim or somber picture the Pope made his appeal. He thought that western Christendom should march to the rescue of the East. Rich and poor alike should go and they should leave off slaying each other and instead fight a great war. Supposedly they thought it was God will and that God would lead them and Take care of them. During his speech Cries of "Dues le wolt! -- "God wills it!" - Interrupted his speech. Just after the Pope ended his speech the bishop of Le Puy fell to his knees and asked permission to join the "Holy Expedition." Hundreds crowded up to later follow his example.
Going against modern day religious beliefs, in 1095AD the Christians went to war to claim the holy city of Jerusalem, massacring the Muslims in a bloody attempt to worship their God. Pope Urban II’s speech at Clermont inspired by claims made by the Byzantium Emperor encouraged the Christians to partake in the First Crusade in an attempt to liberate Jerusalem. The religious and economic factors were the most relevant to cause this crusade, with some influence from desired political gain and little from social factors unrelated to religion. The immediate consequences were positive for the Christians and negative for the Muslims, but the First Crusade launched an ongoing conflict between the Christians and Muslims which had positive and negative consequences for both sides. There are a number of relevant modern sources which examine the causes and consequences of the First Crusade, but, while there are many medieval sources, they do not explicitly discuss the causes and consequences of the war. In order to fully comprehend the First Crusade, it is necessary to analyse the religious, economic, and political factors, as well as the short-term, long-term, and modern consequences.
Though the beginning of the crusade can be directly traced to the speech Pope Urban II gave at the Council of Clermont in 1095, its’ roots can be established much earlier. The death of the prophet Muhammad in 632 marked the start of nearly a thousand years of military expansion and religious conversion. The timing of this assault on the Christendom was impeccable, with the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 left a huge power vacuum in its’ previously stable boarder provinces, notably those in Spain, North Africa, Egypt, and the near-east. Though the eastern half of the Roman Empire would survive and became the Byzantine Empire, which would last, in one form or another last for a thousand years, the fall of the western half marked the