Knights on Crusade

The Crusades began as a result of Jerusalem's capture by the Seljuk Turks in 1071. The Turks were not tolerant of the pilgrims from medieval Europe who journeyed to the holy city and began arresting, imprisoning, and enslaving them. In addition, the Byzantine Empire, important to the stability and protection of medieval Europe, was losing territories to the expanding Turks and other Arab cultures and requested aid from the Church and princes of Europe.[image error]

Pope Urban II, a powerful and dynamic...