In the years between the eleventh and the thirteenth centuries, a very important period in history began. This very important period was called the Crusades. Many people went to the Holy Land to fight in the Crusades. Many of those people went to fight in the Crusades for the same reason.
The Crusades were a series of wars fought to regain control of the Holy Land, which is Jerusalem. The Holy Land was taken over by the Muslim Turks, which also saw Jerusalem as their Holy Land. When the Christians heard this, their pope, Urban the second, called them to arms against the Muslims. In the eyes of the people of Europe, going to fight in the Crusades had more benefits than it had downfalls. Probably the biggest reason the commoners went to fight was to secure a place in heaven. Pope Urban the II told the people of Europe that if they fought to reclaim the Holy Land they would go to heaven after they died.
The Holy Seapulchre Church, Jerusalem. Catholic Ho...
English: Medieval miniature painting of the Siege ...
Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont of 1095, ...Other reasons that commoners fought in the Crusades were for the glory, the gold, and the women. If you went and fought in the Crusades, when you came back you would be a hero on top of being rich. This is another thing that enticed people to fight in the Crusades. All of the Crusades came from Europe, from the kingdoms of France, England, and Germany. The armies of those kingdoms were led by the pope to the Holy Land, and to Byzantine, where they had to conquer and free the city from Muslim rule. All 8 of the Crusades began in Europe, and ended in either the Holy Land or another Muslim controlled land.
By the time the Crusades ended in 1300 A.D., the Muslims still controlled the...