Discuss the Reasons for the Successes Achieved by the First Crusade.

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Discuss the reasons for the successes achieved by the First Crusade. The crusades dominated European life for nine centuries and fifteen generations. The first crusade was hailed as an unprecedented success by both the historians of the day and indeed by contemporary historians. The reasons for the successes achieved by the first crusade are many. Pope Urban II's passionate sermon at Clermont, the internal conflicts of the Muslims and the irrevocable faith of the crusaders are all amongst these reasons. Indeed the quality of the leadership of the first crusade, and the allies that they procured during their journey were further factors that enabled the crusaders succeed and re-claim “the expedition's ultimate goal” {1}, the holy city of Jerusalem. One of the most most important factors that led to the successes of the first crusade was the sheer amount of support generated for this long and arduous expedition. This support can be mainly attributed to an impassioned speech given by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont on the 27 November 1095. A request for military aid by the Byzantine Empire, Alexius I had been made at the Council of Piacenza (1-7 March 1095) eight months previously. Urban decided to capitalize on this opportunity. He wanted to assert his authority in the West and reinforce Papal control and influence in the East, thus uniting the divided Christian Empire. As Thomas Asbridge notes in “The Crusades: A new History”, “The crusade was designed to meet the needs of the papacy... The campaign must be seen as an attempt to consolidate papal empowerment and expand Rome's sphere of influence”.{2} Nevertheless, this charismatic and enthusiastic sermon had a profound effect on much of Christian Europe. He called upon Christians to avenge the crimes committed by Muslims on Christians, urging them to bring aid to their brothers in the east and
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