The First Crusades Essay -- Religious History

The principals of human nature force people to fight for what they believe in; therefore, defending religion is not objective to that principle in the case of the crusades. In the case of the First Crrusade many people did just that, volunteered knowing that many of them would die defending their religious beliefs. In the days of the Byzantine Empire, a person’s faith or religion determined how they would live their life. It is the nature of people to fight for what they believe in; therefore, defending ones religion is not objective to that principle as in the First Crusade. A crusade is characterized as any of the military expeditions undertaken by Christian powers in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to win the Holy Land from Muslims. The First Crusade played a vital role in Late Antiquity (Middle Ages) Europe; consequently, setting the stage for future events in European history and the preface for the Crusades to follow. The reason for the initiation of the First Crusad e, how it was fought and who were involved, notable battles and generals, and how upon its finale it reshaped the Byzantine Empire. The conquest to pursue war against Sejul Turks, who were Sunni Muslims, began when Crusaders realized the Jerusalem had not been under Christian control in 461 years. This was shocking because Christianity has spread throughout Europe, Africa, and the Middle East in Late Antiquity. After Muslims captured Jerusalem in 1076, any Christian who wanted to pay a visit to the city of Jerusalem faced many obstacles because Muslim soldiers made it very dangerous for them to do so. Jerusalem is very important to Christians because it has lots of biblical references. In Europe the Pope along with the Papacy has assumed the power of utili... ...rs rightfully thought belonged to them. For this reason the fighting of the First Crusade can be viewed as the war that started all Christian Religious wars or Crusaders that followed. It ended as a time changing journey that changed the Byzantine Empire and the reasons wars were fought. The First Crusade made it possible to start wars with anyone for their religion throughout Europe across the Mediterranean to Asia, on to Africa, and other surrounding areas. The advances of the Crusaders can be seen as admirable and condoned in the eyes of God, who was the only entity that Crusaders deemed worth possessing the power to judge them. Works Cited http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/urban2-5vers/htm http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/magdalino.htm http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cru2.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Crusade