The primary reason that started the First Crusades was the Islamic encroachment upon the Byzantine Empire and the fear it inspired. During the eleventh century, a series of attacks led to the Seljuk Sultan Empire conquering large masses of land from …show more content…
It was common knowledge that they "killed clergy men, burned churches, and capture pilgrims" according to the book, The Concise History of the Crusades. No one in the city would be safe from the Seljuk Turks if Constantinople fell, because Constantinople was the capital of a Christian …show more content…
Many Christians in Europe, including young Pope Urban II, heard about the misdeeds Islamic people delivered unto Christian pilgrims. Family members, neighbors, and friends that left for pilgrimages to Jerusalem or Constantinople had the chance of not returning. This inspired a fear and anger within the Christians and made them more anxious to start a war with the Seljuk Turks. They saw their churches as sacred and their clergy men as protectors of the faith, yet their holy places and people were being razed, which, ostensibly, created a need for revenge. This treatment created the foundation of Pope Urban II's Call to Arms, a response to Emperor Alexius I's cry for