racing the story of the Crusades takes us back on a journey through history to the 11^th century Europe. At that time, what we now know as the countries of Europe had not yet emerged. The continent was a patchwork of smaller kingdoms, each with its own ruling house. Many of continual disputes between rulers were settled by petty wars. It was not a great place to live. Especially if you happened to be a peasant.

Yet the people were all united by a common religion: Christianity. Everyone, from the nobles in their castles to the peasants in their shacks, conformed to the daily, weekly and yearly round of worship. The Pope, being the head of the church, was God’s representative on earth. He had enough worldly power to challenge emperors. The Pope’s word was law. And the Pope’s word could reach the smallest village in far-off rural Britain, through a vast network of priests. For centuries a succession of Popes had been fighting a war of words with the royal houses of Europe in an attempt to create a unified Christian Empire.

By 1095 the fierce Seljuk Turks, nomadic warriors who recently converted to Islam, had advanced east and established their own capital within 100 miles of Byzantium (also known as Constantinople, Istambul today), the capital of the Christian Eastern Roman Empire. Panic-stricken, Byzantium’s Emperor Alexius sent a message to Pope Urban II, asking him for help.

Urban shared his predecessors’ dream of a Christian kingdom extending from the Atlantic coast in the west Holy Land itself, all united under the Pope. Alexius' plea for help suited his purposes perfectly. Urban, however, was not content with the idea of just defending Byzantium. No, this ambitious Pope wanted to free the Holy City of Jerusalem itself, which has been occupied by the Moslems since the middle of the seventh century. Here was an opportunity to demonstrate his power over the ruler of Europe. Here was an opportunity to make a name for himself.

In an extraordinary bout showmanship, Urban first toured the south and west of France himself, spreading the news of a great convention to be held in Clermont, a town in central southern France. The meeting was attended by hundreds of clerics. On the final day, Urban rose to make a speech. Painting a dreadful picture of the cruelty of the Turks, he called for all Christians to forget their quarrels with fellow Christians, and put out an impassioned plea for a grand Crusade to liberate Jerusalem.

His call was rapidly carried across Europe by the church network. In this way, the Pope bypassed the monarchs of the European countries and appealed directly to the nobles, and the common people under them. To those who saw war as an un-Christian act, Urban explained that the words of the bible had been ‘misinterpreted’. Though the Sixth Commandment clearly stated, ‘Thou shalt not kill’, it was now only a sin to kill Christians. Killing Moslems was perfectly acceptable. Furthermore, Urban promised that anyone who died in battle would be forgiven all his sins in this life and the next — he would be guaranteed a ticket to heaven. But he also warned that anyone who turned back would be excommunicated for his cowardice.

Amongst the warmongering knights of Europe, many of whom were not particularly well off, the opportunity to plunder the rich cities of the east was irresistible. And with God's blessing too! From all corners, knights and peasants alike — often with entire families in tow — marched down across Europe towards Byzantium. The First Crusade was underway.

School textbooks paint a romantic picture of the First Crusade: knights in fine armour fighting the Arabs infidel in the name of God. In reality, nothing could be further from truth.

The Arab world was relatively peaceful and civilised at the time. An Arab gentleman was expected to be a poet and philosopher as well as a warrior. They had correctly calculated the distance from earth to the moon. And one Arab had even suggested that if he could split the atom, it would release enough power to destroy a city the size of Baghdad. Furthermore, Jerusalem itself was a multicultural city. Jews, Moslems and Christians all lived together harmoniously. Christians on pilgrimages to Jerusalem were freely allowed across to the Holy Places.

In contrast, the barbarian horde of Europeans descending on the Middle East was a mob of savages on the rampage. They burnt, looted, raped and pillaged their way down through Europe and the Balkans. First to arrive at Byzantium in answer to Alexius’ call for help was rabble of 15 000 vagabonds, led by a charismatic monk called Peter the Hermit.

The emperor was horrified. He had hoped for perhaps a couple of hundred armed knights from the Pope. He was certainly not going to let Peter and his unruly barbarians into his city. Following soon afterwards were thousands of Franks and Germanic peoples, including knights and their followers. Alexius ferried them all hastily across the Bosphorus into Turkey. He was glad to see the back of them.

Christ leads the crusaders into battle (early 14th century)

When the Crusades arrived in Northern Turkey, the carnage began. The town of Lycea was captured and looted. Reports told of babies cut to pieces. Old people were subjected to every kind of torture. Unfortunately, most of the inhabitants of Lycea were actually Christians…

The rampage continued southwards into the Holy Land. After engagements with the Turks the Crusaders would return to camp with the heads of Moslems mounted on spears. On one occasion they even had Moslem prisoners of war carry the heads of slain colleagues themselves.50 miles south of Antioch, when they captured the town of Marrat(Ma'arra), the Crusaders even resorted to cannibalism. As Frankish chronicler Radulph of Caen, observed. "Our troops boiled pagan adults in cooking pots. They impaled children on spits and devoured them grilled." These were not the agents of God. They were no more than blood-lusting savages.

Eventually, in June of 1099, they reached Jerusalem, which they besieged and captured in July. First to set foot on the battlements of the Holy City were two Flemish brothers. For this they became legendary heroes. they were as famous as Neil Armstrong is today. The Crusaders wreaked dreadful carnage on the defenceless inhabitants, slaughtering Jews and Moslems in their places of worship. It was said that the blood ran so deep it came up to the ankles of the knights.

But the Crusade was judged to have been an overwhelming success. The Holy City had been recaptured from the infidel.

The Later Crusades
Children's Crusade
Crusades through Arab Eyes
Chastity Belt Myth
Best Friends
Apology for Christianity