First Crusade
Medieval holy war
The First Crusade was a military expedition launched in 1095 by Western European Christians to recapture Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim control.
Pope Urban II called for the campaign, and crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099, establishing several Christian states in the Levant.
The success of the First Crusade inspired subsequent crusades over the next two centuries.
Triply sacred ancient capital
- Holy SepulchreChrist's burial chamber
- AntiochAncient capital of Syria
- TripoliLibyan seat of government
- AcreNorthern Israeli port city
Jaffa · Tyre · Temple Mount · Mount Zion · Dome of the Rock · Al-Aqsa Mosque · City of David · Mount of Olives
Collective Christian world
- indulgenceYielding to desire
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
- Holy SepulchreChrist's burial chamber
relics · saints · clergy · papacy · absolution · faith · piety · devotion
Titled warriors on horseback
- noblesPrivileged by birth
- FranksMedieval Germanic tribe
- NormansViking-descended medieval conquerors
- pilgrimsReligious journey takers
peasants · footsoldiers · cross · surcoat · vow
Encirclement forcing surrender
- assaultViolent offensive act
- cavalry chargeArmed riders attacking en masse
- infantryGround combat troops
- archersPeople who shoot bows
crossbowmen · trebuchet · catapult · battering ram · siege tower · fortification · chain mail · longsword
Medieval eastern Roman state
- Fatimid CaliphateShia dynasty ruling medieval Egypt
- feudalismLand-for-service social structure
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
- allegianceLoyalty owed to authority
treaty · diplomacy · succession · sovereignty · fiefdom · tribute
Knightly code of honor
- knighthoodHonorary title of nobility
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- castlesFortified royal residences
- heraldryStudy of armorial bearings
feudalism · manorialism · monasteries · Romanesque · pilgrimage routes · reliquaries · chronicles · illuminated manuscripts
Jerusalem
Triply sacred ancient capital
- Holy SepulchreChrist's burial chamber
- AntiochAncient capital of Syria
- TripoliLibyan seat of government
Acre · Jaffa · Tyre · Temple Mount · Mount Zion · Dome of the Rock · Al-Aqsa Mosque · City of David · Mount of Olives · Golden Gate
Christendom
Collective Christian world
- indulgenceYielding to desire
- penanceSelf-mortification for wrongdoing
- pilgrimageReligious journey to shrine
Holy Sepulchre · relics · saints · clergy · papacy · absolution · faith · piety · devotion · salvation
knights
Titled warriors on horseback
siege
Encirclement forcing surrender
- assaultViolent offensive act
- cavalry chargeArmed riders attacking en masse
- infantryGround combat troops
archers · crossbowmen · trebuchet · catapult · battering ram · siege tower · fortification · chain mail · longsword · tactics
Byzantine Empire
Medieval eastern Roman state
- Fatimid CaliphateShia dynasty ruling medieval Egypt
- feudalismLand-for-service social structure
- vassalageSubordination to a lord
allegiance · treaty · diplomacy · succession · sovereignty · fiefdom · tribute
chivalry
Knightly code of honor
- knighthoodHonorary title of nobility
- nobilityTitled ruling class
- castlesFortified royal residences
heraldry · feudalism · manorialism · monasteries · Romanesque · pilgrimage routes · reliquaries · chronicles · illuminated manuscripts · abbeys
- 11th CenturyBattle of Hastings, Norman Conquest, William the Conqueror, Domesday Book, Bayeux Tapestry
- CrusadesKnights Templar, Saladin, Holy Land, Richard the Lionheart, Templars
- Gregorian ReformInvestiture Controversy, papal supremacy, simony, College of Cardinals, papal authority
- Komnenoi
- Tasso
- medieval warfareknights, siege warfare, castle, castle siege, siege
First Crusadeinterfaith dialogue
Discussion across religious boundaries
religious tolerance · peaceful coexistence · ecumenism · diplomacy · cultural exchange