9/11/2001
terrorists who call themselves warriors
of God against the Crusaders of the West
two religions that demand peace yet wage
war throughout history
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a box of confrontation and collaboration
people's and powers who fight in the
name of God but who struggle for
supremacy on earth
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in the 11th century AD a monumental
conflict erupts over control of the holy
land Christians are under threat the
Pope calls for a crusade and the name of
God the aim is the conquest of Jerusalem
but are the Christian Knights really
just fighting for their faith the
so-called holy war against the Muslims
will continue for two centuries
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Jerusalem June 10 99 the Crusaders
arrive at the city walls
for the first time the self-styled armed
pilgrims catch a glimpse of their final
destination
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they've been traveling for three years
many thousand Crusaders had set out to
the Holy Land or than entourage ten
times as large only a third have reached
the holy city for now all hardship seems
to be forgotten
the Pope promised all Crusaders the
remission of their sins if they come to
the aid of their Christian brothers in
Palestine and free the holy sites of
Muslim rule commanders like Raymond of
Toulouse and Godfrey of William have one
burning desire in common Jesus that
determined to restore Christian rule in
the Holy Land
especially over Jerusalem and the tomb
of Christ you don't acoustic according
to contemporary belief this was the land
of the Lord and of his heritage
Jerusalem had been ruled by Christian
Byzantines for centuries in 638 the city
was conquered by the followers of
Muhammad Muslim rule was essentially
tolerant toward Jews and Christians but
in the eleventh century there had been
reports of repeated attacks on Christian
pilgrims the Crusaders want to put an
end to this news of the siege arrives at
Damascus 150 miles north
the muslim scholar a salami wants to
receive update information on the
christian army a messenger informs him
that the christians are attacking
jerusalem they carry crosses and pray to
god to invoke his healthy and there are
many of them got'em - I said Sofia a
salami is convinced that the attack by
the European Christians is no ordinary
campaign he realizes that they haven't
just come to loot but to wage war in the
name of God
the siege of Jerusalem is in its fifth
week there are no negotiations for a
peaceful surrender
Jerusalem's defenders have powerful
weapons to prevent a breach of the city
walls Greek fire consists of burning oil
that can't be extinguished with water
the Crusaders leader got for you boo
Yong knows that his Knights are pushed
to their limits
[Applause]
many of his men died outside the city
walls
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they will go straight to paradise or so
the Crusaders believe that so mr. Bhagat
the Johnny GaN vaudeville inside if
Jerusalem is captured by Christians the
Muslims will lose one of their most
sacred sites they'll also lose face
before Allah according to the Islamic
law of war territories conquered by
Muslims must never be lost again
in the 11th century the Islamic empires
stretched from India to Spain the Holy
Land and Asia Minor once ruled by
Byzantine Christians have been conquered
step-by-step when Christians in the East
asked for help from Christians in the
West that Roman Pope takes the
initiative whilst visiting a city in
France it's the year 1095 in Claremore
four years prior to the siege of
Jerusalem in an impassioned speech the
head of the Catholic Church will call
for a crusade against the Muslim
conquerors his name pope urban ii
in November 1095 the successor of st.
Peter assembles more than two hundred
bishops from France Italy and Spain the
highlight of the papal Synod is a
ceremonial service
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several thousand believers including
noblemen and knights have responded to
the Pope's appeal the crowd is so large
the service is held in a field outside
of the Cathedral urban paints a picture
of menace and threats
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might have $1 a stunning place
he appeals to the faithful and to his
brothers and sisters in Christ the
infidels are stealing the territories of
the Christians many of them are killed
or deported without mercy
churches are burned down and Jerusalem
has been devastated Christian Byzantium
is in danger it's the duty of every
Christian to come to the aid of his
brothers in the East the term brothers
and sisters refers to the Byzantine
Eastern Church actually at the time
Christianity is deeply divided between
Catholic and Orthodox Christians whose
center is Constantinople
ever since the turkey sell jokes drove
the Beeson teens out of Asia Minor the
Christian world feels challenged nomadic
horsemen constitute the new great power
of the Islamic world as they advance
local Christians and Christian pilgrims
to the Holy Land come under attack
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the cell jokes also threaten the capital
of the Byzantine Empire Constantinople
the metropolis on the Bosporus was once
the power center of the Christian world
it's the reason why the Byzantine
Emperor Alexios has repeatedly asked the
Pope for help in the fight against the
cell jokes in the summer of 1095 he
writes to her band ii his letter doesn't
go unnoticed
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Alexios asks pope urban for military
support against the muslims to save his
empire and the whole of Christendom
deacons accursed night
at Claremont the Pope puts the Byzantine
call for help at the center of his
sermon according to urban the Christians
of the East are under attack they're
being enslaved and men and women are
being defiled they he the Muslims have
reached the gates of Constantinople all
Christians are being urged to support
the Christian brethren in the east
dissipated woudl Pope evidently gave a
very effective sermon full of big
gestures and very well argued the Pope
insists that it is God Himself who was
asking all Christians to take the cross
and go to war against the non believing
Muslims
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one attendant of the Synod Bishop Lambie
revoir writes an account of the Pope's
speech at Claremont he describes how
urban promotes the campaign to the Holy
Land those who set off for Jerusalem for
reasons of piety not to gain honor or
money can expect heavenly rewards in
Fogarty's a reader is owned and Vista
the speech those present fell into
rapturous applause they sewed fabric
crosses to their clothes to show they've
taken the cross for the sake of God
according to ancient sources they cried
out this is the will of God in our cozy
Indian wolf got villas offs
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[Applause]
urban declares the liberation of the
holy land to be a penitential pilgrimage
he wants to unite the divided Christians
under one banner Church power is to
reign over a secular power the Pope is
to be the protector of all of
Christianity the true representative of
Christ on earth sign plan King to house
off she liked me as a Bourbons plan
worked
maybe more than he had expected it's to
speak the response was massive when the
participants of the council returned
home they ensured that news of the
Pope's appeal would spread in their
region Christian preachers call for a
crusade to Jerusalem the land of the
children of the Israelites bishops and
priests announced the Pope's message in
their churches itinerant preachers carry
it to the countryside whence wife ran
off tub in the second undoubtedly
touched the nerve of the times there is
no other way to explain the mass
movement which even surprised
contemporaries hundreds of thousands
invited or not invited are on their way
Christians are asked to liberate
Jerusalem and the name of God fanatic
monks take it on themselves to promote
the crusade in the name of Christ people
flock to them and droves
ordinary countryman peasants craftsmen
and members of the lower nobility not
exactly the Knights requested by
Byzantium nor the warriors of God that
urban had in mind
it's an army cobbled together without
plan about 15,000 people in all dares
Ugin on to court soup the almond violets
Listeria the so-called crusade of the
poor was a reaction to the publicity for
the crusade which itinerant preachers
and others brought in northern France to
the Low Countries and to the Rhineland
North Hwanghae Indonesia in London or in
violence in slack 999th all this ragtag
army doesn't want to wait for the
departure date sent by the Pope some
noblemen also want to leave immediately
the desire to attain salvation was
shared by rich and poor alike it seemed
to be a growing concern in the 11th
century the notion of doing penitence
for personal sins in order to make
amends kite dearest wish for sir be Doc
Watson avant-garde
this is an age of fear the end of the
world and of the Last Judgement but also
of hope for salvation treaty Ithaca
states ikemen to fight for the honor of
Christ to take revenge for any dishonor
that may have been done to him these are
beliefs that have gained ground in the
11th century and that paved the way for
the surprisingly powerful reaction
Russians Schaffer Eva Hoffman - taco has
announced the so-called people's crusade
leads through cities like spire which
are centers of trade along the Rhine
they're home to numerous Jewish
communities suddenly they're in danger
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in the early Middle Ages many Jewish
communities had settled in Bishop cities
like Cologne mind swarms or spire the
Jews played a major part in the economic
rise of these cities as merchants and
moneylenders the Jews play an important
role in medieval economy they paid taxes
to the Emperor and receive his
protection in return at least in theory
we know that many participants of the
First Crusade were not wealthy noblemen
are Knights but people without means the
attack on Jewish communities was an easy
way for them to get rich the Jewish
quarters of several cities come under
attack a regular manhunt ensues despite
the official protection of the Emperor
and of the local bishops the authorities
failed to prevent looting and the mass
execution of Jews about five thousand
people fall victim to the pogroms of
1096
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Indy's at sites Jews were portrayed as
the descendants of the murderers of
Christ
it may sound cynical but the people of
the time believed that it would please
God if they attacked so-called infidels
or heathens at home but this particular
crusade also has suicidal qualities most
Crusaders are poorly armed and
ill-prepared for a long march few
participants of the poppers crusade will
ever reach Jerusalem
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all the more important for the clergy
and for the upper nobility to ensure
that they are well prepared
at the castle of the Duke of lower
Lorraine there are preparations for the
long journey into the unknown sowing
crosses onto your clothes for the march
to Palestine is also a symbol for a new
beginning
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one of those taking the plunge is
Godfrey abou young the Duke is impressed
by the spirit of the monasteries their
places of contemplation during an epoch
when many expect the coming of the Lord
it said that wearing a Knights robe is
like wearing the robe of a monk
previously godfrey had paid little
attention to the pope's guidance nor was
he averse to worldly temptation yet he
is full of doubt in these times of
spiritual turbulence he decides to
follow the Pope's call to the Holy Land
he's joined by his brothers you stock
and Baldwin Godfrey is aware of the
dangers ahead if he dies on the way to
Jerusalem he wants to be buried and the
cloak of the Crusader which bears the
cross of Christ
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nobody knows if any of them will return
as they prepare for the journey they
also settle their estate
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it's a bulkier abased official firm
letís for pendants to husband support
for coffee was it wise to sell the
family castle
the brothers agree that they won't be
returning it so again they will found
their own Christian Kingdom in the Holy
Land because I bounded I need God this
village she got villas
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it's the will of God that the Pope's
slogan as he declares the campaign to
Palestine to be a holy war
many are willing to follow his call in
search of salvation but also in the
pursuit of fame glory power and wealth
the personal motivations that trigger
the 200-year epoch of the Crusades are
full of contradiction but many people
participate from all levels of society
and from all over Europe
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eventually hundreds of thousands of
people will set off on their perilous
journey both rich and poor knights and
noblemen lords and laborers peasants and
townspeople men and women the summer of
1096 marks the beginning of the biggest
military endeavor of the Middle Ages
tens of thousands of Crusaders the bulk
of them French and German follow three
different routes through Italy along the
Adriatic and across the Balkan Mountains
their first joint destination on the way
to the Holy Land is Constantinople since
the fourth century AD the city has been
the capital of the Byzantine Empire and
the metropolis of all Orthodox
Christians it was here that Emperor
Alexios drafted his call for help to
Pope Urban at last the Crusader army is
near Emperor Alexios expected the Pope
to send him a few units of mounted
mercenaries who would then be placed
under his command instead a huge army
has arrived outside the city walls that
poses a threat to the capital Alexios
accuses Godfrey and the Crusaders of
spreading fear among his people of
helping themselves to whatever they need
and of acting like thieves and robbers
the Crusaders don't care but they do
mind the Emperor's demands he wants the
leaders of the crusade to swear
allegiance to him and to return all
conquered territories to be zantium is
fierce the Emperor insists he demands an
oath of allegiance damage a mere dim
cough on Constantinople only he dines
frequently toys but mom certainly does
tune yeah the Crusaders have already
sworn allegiance to the Pope
Alexios doesn't care for Latoya of
Michigan Kaiser Colin Bailey a face
where an oath to him the emperor of
byzantium Willie Grantham passage across
the Bosporus the owner mine first and
espacio of kind of a dynasty oil
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you have divided
the leaders of the crusade relent at
least for now
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the cyllage alone they have no choice if
they want to reach the Holy Land
the Crusaders vow of allegiance has been
coerced
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you
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