The First Crusade
When did it take place?
It was initiated by Pope Urban II sermon in Clermont on the 27th of November, 1095.
Why was the call for crusading given?
The Greek Christian Emperor Alexius Comnenus 1 issued a call for assistance from the west. Alexius Comnenus 1` was the Emperor of Byzantium. He had stabilized the Byzantium Empire. The eastern part of his empire was being attacked by the Seljuk Turks. He issued a plea for assistance to Pope Urban II who was holding forth in Piacenza.
Pope Urban II used this appeal to free the Holy Land from Muslim hands.
Was the west in serious jeopardy from Islam at that time?
No It wasn’t. Jerusalem was taken over by the Muslims in 638CE. The Muslims, Jews and Christians lived in a state of détente. There was relative freedom of worship and by and large there was an atmosphere of religious tolerance punctuated from time to time by intolerance.
Furthermore in October 732 Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) had stopped the advance of the moors into France in the decisive battle of Tours (also known as the battle of Tours). The moors were thus limited to just the Iberian peninsula.
After the Battle of Manzikiert in August 26 , 1071the Byzantine Empire was weakened by the Seljuk Turks. Even then this was repaired by the Comnenus dynasty. Many historians don’t consider the Battle of Manzikert as a cataclysmic reversal for the greeks. It was however a serious setback. In time this too was reversed.