Download Legends of the Middle Ages: The First Crusade AudioBook Free
"I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and also to persuade everyone of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and wealthy, to carry help promptly to people Christians and also to ruin that vile competition from the lands of our friends. I say this to those who are present, it is intended also for many who are absent. Furthermore, Christ orders it." (Pope Urban II, 1095) Whenever a crusader army of EUROPEAN Franks got Jerusalem by storm on July 15, 1099, it was one of the most unexpected conquests in history. Everything appeared to be against them for the previous three years of crusades right up to the ultimate siege, yet they finally prevailed. So when they performed, they massacred most if not absolutely all of the population before establishing a Christian realm in a region that had been bought out by the Muslims in 634 CE. The First Crusade is a hard and polarizing event, even among modern historians. For a few the crusaders were heroes and saints, and for others they were devils who disrupted the peaceful local sects of Muslims, Jews, and Christians, establishing an alien colony that heralded modern Western imperialism. To provide the needs of whatever storyline they want to tell, some historians will begin their stories at some convenient point in history which makes their edges look good. In fact the First Crusade is also a signal exemplory case of why it is unwise to choose edges in history because neither area was correct, and the situation was highly complex. Though it gone typically unremarked in the Islamic world at that time, the First Crusade has since become a contentious sign of Western imperialism in the Middle East.
