Pope Urban II preached a sermon late in November. It sparked a fuel among the citizens. A wave of military campaigns were established to seize the Holy Land from Muslim control. This began the First Crusade. Crusaders fought ruthless battles against the Muslims. The Crusaders attacked Nicea , the Seljuk capital in Anatolia. The city finally surrendered in late June. They marched on to Jerusalem. The Crusaders besieged the city’s governor to surrender. They promised to protect the enslaved people, but they soon broke their promise and slaughtered hundreds of people.
The bloodshed had not ended yet. The Muslims were planning a rebellion against the Christians. They were successful in one battle that caused the Crusaders to loose the northernmost Crusader state. This was the beginning of the Second Crusade. The news of the loss shocked Christians and led Christian authorities in the West to call forces to fight back.The combined Muslim forces dealt a humiliating defeat to the Crusaders. This defeat ended the Second Crusade.
A general, whose name was Saladin, announced a major campaign against the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem. His troops destroyed the Christian army at the battle of Hattin, taking the city along with a large amount of territory. The Christians were outraged over these defeats. The Third Crusade had begun. Richard, who was a part of the Christian army, defeated the Saladin's troops and reestablished Christian control over some of the region that was captured. Richard and Saladin signed a peace treaty that ended the Third Crusade. Is this finally the end to the disastrous Crusades or is there more to come?
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