The crusades were military expeditions launched against the Muslims by the Christians in an attempt to regain the Holy Land. They took place between 1095 A.D. and 1270 A.D. It was one of the most violent periods in the history of mankind.
The starting point of the crusades was on November 18, 1095 A.D. when Pope Urban II opened the Council of Clermont. On November 27, outside the French city of Clermont-Ferrand, the Pope made an
important speech. He called upon everyone to help the Christians in the east to restore peace. The crowd's response was very positive. Garments were cut into crosses which were attached to people's
shoulders in an imitation of Christ (Matthew 10:38).(1) The original object of the First Crusade was to help Christian churches in the east. The new goal became to free the Holy Land from Muslim control,
especially Jerusalem. Pope Urban II stayed in France until September 1096 to provide
leadership and guidance for the members of the First Crusade. He
urged churchmen to preach the cross in France. Urban wanted the
crusading army to be mostly made up of knights and other military
personnel. Since the news of his speech at Clermont spread through
the west, people from all social classes and occupations joined the
Crusade. As a result of Urban losing control of personnel, violence
was launched against the Jews of northern France. This violence was
mostly instigated by bands of the urban and rural poor led by men like
Peter the Hermit and Walter Sans-Avoir. These groups lacked supplies and discipline. They attempted
to reach Constantinople but most of them never got that far. The
leaders in lands which they passed through were frightened and killed
many of the crusading bands. Some did get to Constantinople and
traveled across the Bosphorus in August 1096. There they split into
two groups. One tried to overtake Nicaea and was unsuccessful. The
other was ambushed and slaughtered near Civetot in October. The
remaining crusaders retreated to Constantinople and joined the second
wave of the Crusade.
The crusaders were eager to start the journey to Jerusalem but
they needed to capture the Anatolian Turkish capital of Nicaea first
because it blocked the road that would be their main supply route. It
was held by Seljuk Turks. In May 1097, the crusaders attacked Nicaea. The Turks realized that they were defeated and agreed to give the city
to the Byzantines in exchange for the lives of their men.