Crusaders Final Draft

In the late 11th century the first crusade took place. The Seljuk Turks converted to Islam, and took over the caliphate at Baghdad, the Egyptian Fatimid, and the Byzantine Empire. They were threating to take over Constantinople as well and this is what caused the first crusade. Alexius the Byzantine emperor, went to Pope Urban the II for help. Pope Urban the II was looking for a way to streghten the Roman's churches power. Urban's effort to streghten the Church was through a mission in Seljuk occupation of Jerusalem, and in 1095 the First Crusade began to get the land back from the new muslims occupying the Holy Land.

Pope Urban believed using soldiers to take back the Holy Land was a good oppurtunity to fix the Catholic faith around them and to streghthen the churche's power. He called a council of three hundred and ten bishops and abbots at Clermont. He wanted to fix Christianity before it was destroyed. Around him he saw no signs of faith being practiced, some of the things he saw were
" Peace altoghter discarded by the princes of the world, who were engaged in incessant warlike contention and quarreling among themselves. He saw many vanquished, wrongfully taken prisoner and very cruelly thrown into foulest dungeons, either ransomed for a high price of, tortured bu the triple torements of hunger, thirst, and cold, blotted out by death hidden from the world, He saw holy places violated; monasteries and villas burned. He saw that no one was spared of any human suffering, and that things divine and human alike were held in derision."(Pope Urban at Clermont, Fulcher pg 354).
Alexiad coming to him to help him with the Seljuk Turks in Jursalem was an oppurtunity to fix this and to get back the holy land from the Muslims. He uses God as a way to get people to fight for the holy land he tells them,
" by God's permission placed over the whole world with the papal crown, I, Urban, as the messanger of divine admonition, have been compelled by an unavoidable occasion to come here to you servants of God. I dersired those whom I judged to be steward's of God's ministries to be true stewards and faithful, with all hypocrisy rejected.""(Pope Urban at Clermont, Fulcher pg. 355)
He is saying that God is telling the pope to tell everyone else to fight in the crusade and do whats right. Your sins will be forgiving if you fight for what is right. That there not truly mercenaries but "sheppards holding crooks in your hands; and sleeping not, guard on every side the flock entrusted to you"(Pope Urban at Clermont, Fulcher pg. 355) Pope Urban the second is using God as a right to have these men fight in a war and uses God to make it a "just war". When they finally capture Jerusalem they say a prayer and in it they say
"we call upon you Catholic Church of Christ and of the whole Latin Church to exult in the so admirable bravery and devotion of your bretheren, in the so glorious and very desirable retribution of the omnipotent God, and in the so devoutedly hoped-for remission of all our sins through the grace of God and his bretheren."(The Capture of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, Raymond pg. 380)
So these soldiers were fighting for God and so that all their sins would be taken away and that they would automatically get a spot into heaven. This is what they were promised. According to their faith though it doesn't preach violence and God wouldn't want that done for him. What they did contradicts their teachings so there all probably screwed.

Not only were crusaders there to take back the holy land they also wanted to wipe out the Jews. As they passed through Jewish towns the Jews would whisper to each other what they had heard,
" Look now, we are going a long way to seek out the profane shrine and to avenge ouseleves on the Ishmaelites, when here, in our very midstm are the Jews- they whose forefathers murdered and crucified him for no reason. Let us first avenge ouselves on them and exterminate them from among the nations so that the name of Isreal will no longer be rembered." (Chronicle of Solomon Bar Simson, pg360)
The Christians on the crusade want to avenge Jesus now because it was the Jews who had him crucified. Since they are fighting for God, why not avenge Jesus by killing all the Jews? This lead to many deaths of Jews. For instance, " On the twenty-third of Iyar they attacked the community of Worms. The Community was then divided into two groups; some remained in their home and others fled to the local bishop seeking refuge."(Chronicles of Solomon bar Simson, pg. 361). Those who stayed in the homes were pillaged and they took the Torah scroll and burned it. The Jews who did not go and convert where terrorized by the Christians. Simon felt the Christians were the ones who were wrong and that the Pope was Satan. He says, " And Satan- the pope of evil Rome"(Chronicle of Solomon bar Simson, pg. 365) It was the Christians who were really causing most of the problems by trying to wipe everyone out who wasn't a Christian. The one who started it all, the Pope, Simon refers to as Satan because he is causing all these problems.
The Crusades were there to retrieve the holy land by using force. It was ok because Pope Urban said thats what God wanted to be done. The Crusades then turned into murdering Jews to get revenge on the Jews for crucifying Jesus. Everything was messed up at this time and the Pope used the Catholic faith for his own selfish reasons and caused many causlaties at this time.