The+First+Crusade

__** The First Crusade **__ **Causes:**In 1076, Muslims took over Jerusalem. The First Crusade began after 3,000 Christian pilgrims were brutally massacred in the Holy City of Jerusalem in year 1095. The pope at the time was Pope Urban II. He and other powerful preachers, preached "God wills it!". They were encouraging people to join the hundreds of thousands of others to fight. Many monks, nuns and friars also went from town to town to bring more fighters to help the Pope and his men. The most famous of these monks was Peter the Hermit. He gathered thousands of people as he traveled on horseback between the villages. //Pope Urban II preaching "God wills it!" to encourage// //people to join the Crusade.//

**The Peoples Crusade:** The First Crusade was also known as the Peoples Crusade. This is because before the true armies began taking action, lots of peasants and townspeople left with Peter the Hermit. Thousands of these untrained citizens died of hunger and exhaustion. Thousands more died from exposure to the elements because they were not ready for what was ahead of them. Almost everyone on the Peoples Crusade were murdered due to their lack of understanding battles. Peter the Hermit, however, did not die and came back to Europe. //Crusaders marching to Jerusalem, the Holy City.//

**Knights Take Action:**Meanwhile, the real armies had begun to set off for battle. County Raymond of France brought men from France, Godfrey of Boullion led groups of men from France and Germany with help from his brother, Baldwin. Bohemond and Tancred were in charge of The Normans from Italy and Sicily. These leaders and their knights also followed the saying, "God wills it!". They were fighting for the Holy City and they knew it depended on them to gain Jerusalem back because they had battle experience. When they all got to Constantinople, they joined together as one army. Godfrey of Boullion and Tancred led about 700,000 people, of whom 100,000 were knights, on the Crusade. When the Crusaders finally reached Jerusalem, they had been reduced down to one fourth of their original size. Before the final assault on the city, Peter the Hermit marched them around the walls of the city, stomping and chanting religious sayings. They were filled with joy for finally reaching the Holy City. //A map of where the Crusaders traveled to get to Jerusalem.//

//Peter the Hermit led the Peoples Crusade and also marched the knights around Jerusalem before they attacked.//
 * The Assaults and The Effects: ** The first assault over the wall was a failure and they had to retry. The second attempt was a success and the thousands of crusaders piled over the walls and destroyed the city. They brutally murdered all the Muslims they could find until there were almost none left in the city. The attack went on for seven straight days. The knights were allowed to seize whatever land they could find. Anything they found was theirs and Jerusalem had been turned into Christian hands. Of course, the Muslims did not give up and there were many crusades following this one to take the Holy City back again.

//A Timeline of when the Crusades happened and what the meaning of each one was// First Crusade Video: @http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG3fCeI19IA