The Causes Of The Crusades

The Roman Catholic Church held more power than any other nation in the medieval era, specifically because of the power of religion at the time. The Church hated opposing religions, so when Islamic factions veered dangerously close on the Trade city of Constantinople, the Church panicked. Hence began The Crusades. The holy cities of Antioch, Jerusalem, and Constantinople were in danger of being infected with the blood of infidels, and the Pope would not tolerate such blasphemy. However, in studies, The Crusades are an excellent example of religious genocides, and show how such actions are inevitable due to human nature.
The Muslim unification, which was the main cause of The Crusades, began with the Turks, who were a nomadic people who swept across the Middle East, taking land and fighting the Byzantine Empire along the way (Crusaders Arrive at Constantinople). The tension already had been running high between competing religions, and this was getting too close for the taste of the Byzantine Empire. Alexius I Comnenus pleaded with the pope to send help, and in 1905 Pope Urban II rallied, France, Italy, and Germany to arms, flying under the Red Cross banner to “protect the Christians in the East from Muslim attack and recapture the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks” (Crusaders Arrive …show more content…
Germany, Italy, and France all rallied oficial armies of over 30,000 men, but two “Peoples Crusades,” led by civilians, went in without official control to target the Muslim population (Crusades). The first one, led by Peter the Hermit, reached Constantinople, only to be massacred. The second one, led by Count Emicho of Germany, went in on “Divine Inspiration to convert the Jewish peoples to Christianity,” which ended in the slaughter of many communities along the Rhine. This slaughter marks the beginning of a 4 year genocide, masquerading as a