Background: Why Did the Crusade Happen?

The Byzantine Crisis

In 1071, the Seljuk Turks — a new Islamic power from Central Asia — inflicted a catastrophic defeat on the Byzantine Empire at the Battle of Manzikert. The Byzantine emperor Romanos IV was captured. The Turks swept into Anatolia (modern Turkey), seizing land that had been Christian for centuries and cutting off traditional pilgrimage routes to Jerusalem.

By 1095 the Byzantine Empire was under severe pressure. Emperor Alexios I Komnenos sent envoys to Pope Urban II asking for military help — mercenaries to push back the Turks. He wanted soldiers, not a full-scale holy war.

Jerusalem and the Holy Land

Jerusalem had been under Muslim control since 638 CE — for over 400 years. Christian pilgrimage had generally been tolerated, but the Seljuk Turks were more aggressive than their predecessors. Reports of pilgrims being attacked and holy sites being desecrated (some exaggerated, some true) reached European ears and fuelled outrage.

Pope Urban II's Speech at Clermont, November 1095

Urban II saw a political as well as religious opportunity. He wanted to:

• Demonstrate papal authority over European rulers
• Reunite the Western (Catholic) and Eastern (Orthodox) churches, split since 1054
• Channel the violence of European knights (who constantly fought each other) into a holy cause
• Earn spiritual prestige for himself and the papacy

He offered a remarkable incentive: anyone who died on crusade would receive full remission of sins — a place in heaven guaranteed. This was unprecedented. The speech worked beyond all expectation.