Causes+of+the+Crusades



Though the main purpose of the Crusades were to gain control of the city of Jerusalem, there were also many other reason for the wars. Originally [|Pope Urban II] was asked for an elite army of soldiers from Emperor Alexius of the Byzantine Empire. He needed help regaining control of the "Holy Land". Although the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire were rivals, The Pope agreed to help. The Pope then held the Council of Clermont in which he incited German and French bishops and nobles into action. This proved quite convincing as the Pope sent many thousands of soldiers to the aid of Alexius, which in turn angered him.

First, and most importantly (at least in the beginning), The Pope, somewhat overstepping his boundaries, promised that anyone who fought in the crusades on the side of the Christians would receive a "free ticket to heaven". Not only would they receive full repentance for and and all of their sins, there was also a promise of great riches and more land. Many people wanted to escape their problems and had a thirst for adventure as well. How could you turn an offer like that down?
 * Why did so many people "take up the cross"?**

Initially, his motives were to expel the Muslims from the Jerusalem and its surrounding "Holy Lands". Also, around this time, there were many Christian knights that were restless and had nothing better to do than fight each other, so another reason was to send the knights to fight the Seljuk Turks instead of themselves. The Pope also believed that aiding emperor Alexius in these battles would heal the split between their churches.
 * The Pope's Motives**.

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