The Crusades was launced when Pope Urban II began a series of preaching in which he called for war to against the "infidel" Muslims to regain the 'holy' city of Jerusalem between July and September 1095. The First Crusades was proclaimed on 27 Nov, the last Tuesday of the year. The massive advance by 10,000 Christians who responded to the call from across (mainly Western) Europe, marching 3000 km to fall upon Palestine was one of the most remarkable events in European history. The First Crusade ended effectively in 1099 when Jerusalem fell to Christian hands (15 July) and a Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem was established with Godfrey Bouillon elected as its first ruler.
The Main Players of the First Crusades:
Further Reading:
Jonathan Riley-Smith, ed., The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Christopher Tyerman, God's War: A New History of the Crusades. London: Penguin, 2007.
Thomas Asbridge, The First Crusade: A New HistoryLondon: Free Press, 2005.
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