Presentation Transcript

1. Religion and War:

   The First Crusade (1096-1099) The siege of Antioch (October 1097-June 1098) was the critical test of the armies of the First Crusade.
2. It is the end, of the eleventh centuryThe Christians ruleEuropian countriesThe Pope is the head of churchRepresenting God on earthHis words are the lawHis mind is set on warIn the name of God they killIn the name of God they rapeBlood leads to glory - for God's sakeKnights, knights of the crossMurder, murderFight to defend JerusalemFrom the unholy devilsPope and priests cry out for holy warGod and Jesus they think to be fighting forThe Islam conquered ByzanzSlaughter Christians everywhereKnights of the Cross invade the EastWhere the Islam dwellsKnights in the name ofGod, stab women and menBurning, raping, eating human fleshSatanic bloodlust in their eyesThe first crusade is wonThe knights realize too lateTheir ankles are covered with Christian blood
3. Bell-Ringer If someone told you to do something because “God wills it,” what would your reaction be? Why?
4. Crusading Impulses The crusading movement grew out of developments in both eastern and western Europe during the 11th century. In the East, the balance of power between the Byzantine empire and various Muslim caliphates was upset by the arrival of a new power in the 11th century: the Seljuk Turks. The Seljuks embarrassed the Byzantine empire through military defeat and through the occupation of Jerusalem. In the West, the power of the papacy came into play. When stories began to filter westward about the Seljuk Turks’ atrocities against Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, the papacy became concerned. Desperate emperor of the Byzantine empire, Alexius Comnenus, appealed to the West for help, writing specifically to Pope Urban II for this help.
5. The “bulk” of the Byzantine Empire, including the incursions of the Muslims into hallowed territory.
6. The occupation and “Moslemification” of Jerusalem was a bitter pill for many in Eastern and Western Christendom to swallow. Notice the conversion of the buildings with the minarets on the eve of the First Crusade.
7. Alexius Comnenus, Byzantine emperor, sent out the plea for help to Pope Urban II. Not drawn to scale.
8. The crusades fused together three characteristic medieval impulses: faithfulness, aggressiveness, and greed. The dream of freeing Jerusalem from the “infidel” and reopening it to Christian pilgrims was reinforced mightily by the lure of new lands and wealth. Crusaders were provided a superb opportunity to use their knightly skills in God’s service—and to make their fortunes in the bargain. It also gave the opportunity for the church to become the moral leaders of Europe and to direct the aggressiveness of the crusaders towards an outward enemy, the Muslims. To become a Christian knight became a holy career. You could achieve salvation through the exercise of your military skills!
9. The First Crusade In 1095, Pope Urban II summoned Christian warriors to take up the cross and reconquer the Holy Land through a spellbinding speech at the Council of Clermont in central France. With shouts of “God wills it!” French warriors poured into crusading armies. So too did ordinary people—peasants, townspeople, women, children, even the elderly and infirm. These ordinary folk were led by the spellbinding preaching of Peter the Hermit and would reach Constantinople before the more professional forces. That force, composed primarily of knights from central and southern France made its way across the Balkans and assembled at Constantinople—numbering some 25,000-30,000 strong.
10. Pope Urban II preaches the First Crusade, c. 1280
11. Peter the Hermit, pictured here on his trusty donkey, was instrumental in urging common folk and crusaders on toward the Holy Land.
12. Various routes taken by the French noblemen/knights on their path to the Holy Land. Getting permission from Emperor Comnenus to travel over the Bosphorus was the big obstacle in crossing over into Asia.
13. Disputes in strategy would take place between the French crusaders and their Byzantine allies. The Byzantines wished only to recapture provinces they had lost to the Turks; the crusaders wanted nothing less than the conquest of the Holy Land. Hurling themselves across Asia Minor into Syria, they defeated Muslim forces, captured Antioch after a long and complex siege, and in the summer of 1099 took Jerusalem itself. The crusaders celebrated their capture of Jerusalem by plundering the city and slaughtering its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. The goal of the First Crusade was achieved after only three years of campaigning. No future crusade was to enjoy such success, and during the two centuries that followed, the original conquests were gradually lost.
14. Besieging a Muslim fortification
15. How can one effectively crusade on such tiny horses? Any thoughts?
16. The Crusaders enter Jerusalem triumphantly.
17. In the wake of the Crusaders’ victory, several of the noblemen would be in charge of several “Crusader States.” The difficulty in administering these areas would become clear as future crusades took place.