Church History · 1095 to 1291

The Crusades

In 1095 Pope Urban II called Western knights to help the Byzantine Christians and win back Jerusalem, offering them forgiveness of sins. The Crusades lasted about two centuries, included real faith and terrible evil, and ended when the city of Acre fell in 1291.

Read it in the Bible: Matthew 26:52 Matthew 5:44 John 18:36

The Crusades were a series of wars from 1095 to 1291 in which Western Christians, called by the popes, fought to win and hold Jerusalem and the Holy Land. They began when Pope Urban II preached at Clermont, France, in 1095. The first crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, but over the next two centuries the crusader states were slowly lost, and the last major stronghold, Acre, fell in 1291. Many crusaders had sincere faith. Many also did great evil in the name of Christ. An honest look has to hold both truths.

Why Did the Crusades Start?

By the late 1000s, the Seljuk Turks had swept into the Middle East. In 1071 they crushed the Byzantine army at Manzikert and took much of Asia Minor, the area of modern Turkey. Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem reported danger and trouble on the roads. The Byzantine emperor Alexios I sent to the West asking for soldiers to help.

Pope Urban II saw a chance to help the Eastern Christians, free the holy places, and perhaps heal the split with the East from 1054. He also hoped to turn the violence of Western knights, who were always fighting each other, toward a cause he saw as holy.

What Did Pope Urban II Say at Clermont?

In November 1095, Urban preached to a large crowd at Clermont. We have several versions of his speech, written down later, so we don't know his exact words. He urged Christians to go east to rescue their fellow believers and Jerusalem. The crowd is said to have shouted, "God wills it!" which became the battle cry.

Urban also promised that those who went with right motives would receive remission of the penance for their sins. This crusade indulgence was a huge draw. Smaller offers like it had been made before, for example to fighters in Spain, but the Crusades made the idea famous and widespread. Centuries later, the selling of indulgences would spark the Reformation. See the article on indulgences.

What Happened in the First Crusade?

Thousands set out in 1096. Before the main armies even left Europe, some bands attacked Jewish communities in the Rhineland, in cities like Worms and Mainz, and murdered many who refused baptism. Local bishops sometimes tried to protect them and failed.

The main armies took Antioch in 1098 and reached Jerusalem in 1099. After a hard siege they broke into the city on July 15. What followed was a slaughter of Muslim and Jewish residents. Crusader writers bragged about the blood in the streets. The crusaders then set up four crusader states along the eastern Mediterranean.

What Were the Later Crusades?

The Second Crusade, 1147 to 1149, was preached by Bernard of Clairvaux after the city of Edessa fell. It failed.
Saladin, the Muslim sultan, won the Battle of Hattin and retook Jerusalem in 1187. He spared most of the city's Christians, which many noted was more mercy than the crusaders had shown.
The Third Crusade, 1189 to 1192, led by Richard the Lionheart, did not retake Jerusalem but won a treaty allowing Christian pilgrims to visit.
The Fourth Crusade, 1202 to 1204, never reached the Holy Land. Short on money and caught up in Byzantine politics, the crusaders attacked Constantinople, a Christian city, and looted it in April 1204. Pope Innocent III condemned the attack. It deepened the Great Schism for centuries.
Later efforts included the Fifth Crusade, during which Francis of Assisi crossed the lines to preach to the sultan of Egypt, and crusades led by Frederick II and King Louis IX of France.

In 1291 the Mamluks of Egypt took Acre, the last major crusader city. The crusading age in the Holy Land was over.

Were the Crusades Good or Evil?

Historians argue about this, and both sides make real points. Defenders note that the Crusades began as a response to Turkish conquests and a call for help from fellow Christians. Many crusaders sold their land, left their families, and walked thousands of miles out of genuine devotion, and many died.

Critics point to the massacres in Jerusalem, the attacks on Jews, the sack of Constantinople, and the greed and politics mixed in. Using the cross as a banner for killing is hard to square with the gospel. Jesus told Peter to put his sword away.

For all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Matthew 26:52

Nate's own view, shared by many Christians, is that much of what happened was deeply unbiblical. Most ordinary people could not read the Bible in their own language then. If more crusaders had known the words of Jesus well, things might have gone very differently.

In 2000, Pope John Paul II asked forgiveness for wrongs done by Christians over the centuries, including violence in the service of the faith. In 2001 he also expressed sorrow to the Orthodox for the sack of Constantinople.

Why It Matters for You Today

The Crusades still shape how many Muslims and Eastern Christians see the West. Knowing the history helps you listen, admit wrongs, and talk honestly. Jesus' way has always been different.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, Matthew 5:44

The gospel spreads best on its knees, not on horseback.

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Questions People Ask

What were the Crusades?

The Crusades were wars called by the popes between 1095 and 1291 to win and hold Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim rule. The word later also covered wars against other groups in Europe, but the main Crusades were in the eastern Mediterranean.

Why did the First Crusade start?

The Seljuk Turks had conquered much of the Byzantine Empire, and Emperor Alexios I asked the West for help. Pope Urban II answered at Clermont in 1095, calling knights to defend Eastern Christians and free Jerusalem, and offering forgiveness of the penance owed for their sins.

Did the crusaders sack Constantinople?

Yes. In 1204 the Fourth Crusade attacked and looted Constantinople, the great Christian city of the East. Pope Innocent III condemned it. The attack deepened the split between Catholic and Orthodox Christians.

When did the Crusades end?

The crusader presence in the Holy Land ended in 1291 when the Mamluks of Egypt captured Acre. Smaller crusades were still called after that, but the age of the great Crusades to Jerusalem was over.

Did the Catholic Church apologize for the Crusades?

In 2000 Pope John Paul II asked forgiveness for sins committed by Christians through history, including violence in the service of truth. In 2001 he expressed regret to the Orthodox Church for the sack of Constantinople in 1204.

Sources

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