First Crusade: The Military Expedition to Regain the Holy Lands, 1096-1099

As the Seljuk Turks pressed ever closer to the Byzantine Empire, the stage became set for a conflict of faith and political interest which would bathe the known world with blood and create lasting animosities the ramifications of which would be felt through the centuries to the present day. The original ideological mission clearly offered opportunities of the most material kind which were readily apparent to the soldiers of fortune of Northern Europe. What began, for some, as essentially a relief mission quickly acquired a new objective, which because of its inspirational as well as its financial potential soon became its primary one-the taking of the city of Jerusalem, sacred to both religious factions. The First Crusade was to become the precursor of many wars of belief and power between the West and East. It brought to the fore men of great military ability, avarice and influence on both sides. It was a long, hard campaign fought across the Middle East and brought collisions in open battle and the sieges of great cities and citadels-both assaulted and defended. This book chronicles that crusade's history.