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Click on the red cross to the right to hear the story of The First Crusade Click on the red cross to the left to see the routes of The First Crusade       Pope Urban II was the first church leader responsible for launching the First Crusade.  He made one of the most influential speeches at the Council of Clermont in France, on November 27, 1095.  He rallied Western Europeans to march on to Jerusalem and regain the Holy Land from the Seljuk Turks. This sparked a 200 year period where parts of the Holy Land repeatedly changed rulers.       The First Crusade was led by the nobility of Europe, Raymond, Count of Toulouse, Godfrey of Bouillon, and Bohemond of Taranto.  The First Crusade was called the Crusades of Knights or Princes because French and Norman knights and nobles made up the army. Their armies crossed Europe in different routes, some traveled by land and others by sea. They all assembled in Constantinople by May of 1097.  Raymond, Count of Toulouse, left France in October of 1096 and reached Constantinople in April of 1097. Godfrey of Bouillon and his brother Baldwin took the northern route through Germany and arrived in Constantinople just before Christmas of 1096. Bohemond of Taranto left Southern Italy and reached Constantinople in April 1096.      The army of knights, princes, and strong warriors made there way towards the Holy Land.  It was a difficult journey to the Holy Land. The crusaders covered hundreds of miles through sweltering heat and there was a shortage of fresh water and food. Diseases were common since the men were weakened and fatigued by the long journey with very little food. First Crusade Routes      In the spring of 1097, the crusaders, a host of over 100,000 men, joined forces on the eastern side of the Bosporus Strait. They fought their way along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea capturing many cities from the Turks. The city of Nicea fell in 1097 and they laid siege on Antioch for seven months. The crusaders were fighting for several weeks with very little supplies, and were about to give up, when the local priest had a dream. God told him to find the spear that wounded Jesus.  The priest found the spear and it gave the crusaders hope.  Reaching the gates of Jerusalem in June of 1099, they captured the city, and set up crusade states.      The Crusade states were Edessa, Antioch Jerusalem, and Tripoli.  These cities were small outposts that were run like feudal kingdoms in Europe. The crusaders built many castles and chose kings for their states. These kings had no more power than a feudal lord. Two military societies, the Knights of Templar, and the Knights of the Hospital, were founded to defend the Holy Land from the Turks, in case they should try to recapture it. The crusaders adopted the culture of the easterners and one historian said "now we who were Westerners have become Easterners…Galilean or Palestinian."      Jerusalem was now in the hands of the crusaders. The Christians had regained the Holy Land and pilgrims could visit Jerusalem once again. Additional learning resource:   http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/history/highmiddle/bernard.htm BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR THE CURRENT      Textbooks: World History - Medieval and Early Modern Times. Evanston: McDougal Littell, 2006. (150 – 199) Across the Centuries. Boston: Houghton Miifflin Company, 1997. (108 – 153)   Internet Websites: Gainor, Michael, “The First Crusade”<http://jamainor.homestead.com/files/PU/Cru/1cr.htm http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_crusade1st.html  http://www.cyberessays.com/History/74.htm   Home | Why the Crusades Began | Peasants' or People's Crusade | First Crusade | Second Crusade | Third Crusade | Fourth Crusade | Childrens' Crusade | Impact of the Crusades | Definitions | Interactives | Email