How far the First Crusade was more political than religious?

Running Head: WESTERN CIVILIZATION
WESTERN CIVILIZATION
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1WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Executive summary
The Crusade was identified as one of the most important event in the history of Middle Ages. It
can be argued that there were plenty of factors that were responsible for creating a religious war
between the Seldjuk Turks in one hand and the Byzantine Empire on the other. In this context,
the purpose of this report is to evaluate the Crusade as more of a political war than religious one.
Based on this understanding, the report cares to investigate all the possible factors based on
immediate, socio-economic, religious and political factors and tries to analyse those elements on
the basis of political aspirations.

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Discussion........................................................................................................................................3
Immediate cause of the first Crusade...........................................................................................3
Religious background..................................................................................................................4
Economic and social causes.........................................................................................................5
Political cause of the Crusade......................................................................................................6
War torn condition...................................................................................................................6
Chivalry of the Knights...........................................................................................................7
Political revenge of Alexios I..................................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Bibliography....................................................................................................................................9

3WESTERN CIVILIZATION
Topic: How far the First Crusade was more political than religious?
Introduction
The Crusades were a series of religious wars that was fought between the Christians and
Muslims. The entire battle was occurred between 1096 and 1291. As a matter of fact, it can be
stated that the Crusade was a significant phenomenon in the history of Middle Ages and
stretched around the nations of Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Egypt. There were three
battle fought between the Christians and the Muslims named as First, Second and Third
Crusades1. In an apparent sense it can be stated that the clash was staged on the basis of
stretching the religious hegemony. However, there are several layers of understanding that
interprets the war in terms of economic and political aspects as well. Based on this
understanding, the purpose of this report is to deliver an understanding on the political aspects of
Crusade. In fact, for an in-depth analysis the research cares to put focus on the first Crusade
more extensively.
Discussion
Immediate cause of the first Crusade
In 1930s the battle between the Turks and the Byzantines started in a massive scale when
the Sledjuk Turks reclaimed the power and territory of Syria. These incited the Byzantium power
to call a war against the semi-nomadic and ‘uncivilised’ Turks2. The Byzantine emperor Alexius
I Commenus was willing to send a delegation to Piacenza, Italy and asking the Pope Urban II to
1 Peters, Damien. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading. Macat Library, 2017.
2 Reynolds, Gordon. "Blast from Byzantium: The Alexiad on Crusader-Byzantine relations during the First
Crusade." (2015).