To govern the conquered territory, those who remained established four large western settlements, or Crusader states, in Jerusalem, Edessa, Antioch and Tripoli. Having achieved their goal in an unexpectedly short period of time after the First Crusade, many of the Crusaders departed for home. The Fall of Jerusalemĭespite deteriorating relations between the Crusaders and Byzantine leaders, the combined force continued its march through Anatolia, capturing the great Syrian city of Antioch in June 1098.Īfter various internal struggles over control of Antioch, the Crusaders began their march toward Jerusalem, then occupied by Egyptian Fatimids (who as Shi’ite Muslims were enemies of the Sunni Seljuks).Įncamping before Jerusalem in June 1099, the Christians forced the besieged city’s governor to surrender by mid-July.ĭespite Tancred’s promise of protection, the Crusaders slaughtered hundreds of men, women, and children in their victorious entrance into Jerusalem. In May 1097, the Crusaders and their Byzantine allies attacked Nicea (now Iznik, Turkey), the Seljuk capital in Anatolia. In the first major clash between the Crusaders and Muslims, Turkish forces crushed the invading Europeans at Cibotus. Ignoring Alexius’ advice to wait for the rest of the Crusaders, Peter’s army crossed the Bosporus in early August.
These groups departed for Byzantium in August 1096.Ī less organized band of knights and commoners known as the “People’s Crusade” set off before the others under the command of a popular preacher known as Peter the Hermit. First Crusade (1096-99)įour armies of Crusaders were formed from troops of different Western European regions, led by Raymond of Saint-Gilles, Godfrey of Bouillon, Hugh of Vermandois and Bohemond of Taranto (with his nephew Tancred). What Were the Crusades?īy the end of the 11th century, Western Europe had emerged as a significant power in its own right, though it still lagged behind other Mediterranean civilizations, such as that of the Byzantine Empire (formerly the eastern half of the Roman Empire) and the Islamic Empire of the Middle East and North Africa.ĭid you know? In a popular movement known as the Children's Crusade (1212), a motley crew including children, adolescents, women, the elderly and the poor marched all the way from the Rhineland to Italy behind a young man named Nicholas, who said he had received divine instruction to march toward the Holy Land. The bloody, violent and often ruthless conflicts propelled the status of European Christians, making them major players in the fight for land in the Middle East. In all, eight major Crusade expeditions occurred between 10. The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims started primarily to secure control of holy sites considered sacred by both groups.
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