Crusades The Crusades began in 1088 when Urban II preached the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. The reason for such a mass following of people to leave their homes and travel to the Holy Land to fight is unknown. There are numerous plausible causes, which will be discussed in this paper. The reason the Pope preached the Crusades originally was the supposed threat of Muslim rule. In truth the Muslims and Christians in the …showed first 75 words of 366 total…

…showed last 75 words of 366 total…business for maritime cities. This may not have been an incentive for the church to begin the crusades, but it may have encouraged the continuance of them. All of these factors contributed to the success of the crusades for the Christian Church. The church benefited from the acquisition of new land and the renewed devotion to the church and most importantly to the Pope himself. His goals were achieved through the senseless massacre of non-Christians.