What is the first and fourth crusade?
What are they and what is the goal for the first and fourth? What is the difference? did they have the same goal ?
What are they and what is the goal for the first and fourth? What is the difference? did they have the same goal ?
1 Answer
See below.
Explanation:
The First Crusade was, of course, the first. Pope Urban II called for a campaign to recapture the shrine of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, Christianity's holiest shrine.
After the Byzantine Empire was defeated by the Turks at the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, the Emperor wrote to Urban hoping to rally western Christians to Byzantium's aid. Instead, Urban decided to launch his own campaign and sent out an urgent appeal to all the western kingdoms.
The crusade began in 1095, and met with several setbacks. However, it was successful in conquering Palestine in 1099, setting up several kingdoms there which lasted for almost a hundred years. It was the only crusade which actually accomplished it's stated goal.
By 1187 the Moslems re-captured Jerusalem, to all intents ending the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Fourth Crusade was called by Pope Innocent III in an attempt to re-take Jerusalem.
The leaders of the crusade had contracted with Venice for many ships to carry the army overseas. However, most of the other leaders weren't consulted before the contract was signed, so most of the armies chose to travel overland or by ship from other ports.
In order to repay the Venetians for their ship-building, the leaders of the crusade agreed to help the Venetians lay siege to and capture Zara, a trading city that Venice wanted. While that was happening, a claimant to the throne of Byzantium persuaded the western armies to help him take power in return for rich rewards.
The armies laid siege to Constantinople the first time in 1203, and placed the claimant on the throne. The population soon turned against him, however, and deposed him. Unable now to claim their rewards, the crusaders again laid siege to Constantinople in 1204. Again they took the city, but the city was devastated with much of it burning to the ground.
To compensate for their lost reward the crusaders split up the empire among themselves, forming the Latin Empire which lasted for about 60 years.
The Fourth Crusade never reached Palestine, and was a significant factor in the decline of the Byzantine Empire.
