The Crusades

Key Moments in the Crusades: An Interactive Map

A guide to the key moments in the history of the Crusades.

Was the First Crusade really a war against Islam?

It is widely believed that the Crusades were a clash of civilisations. But a closer examination reveals a complexity that has eluded many historians.

Pope Urban II preaches the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont.

The Pilgrimage Origins of the First Crusade

To be a pilgrim - a choice that led not to contemplation but to holy war in the climate of 11th century Europe. Marcus Bull asks why.

Who were the first Crusaders?

Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade, which lasted from 1096 to 1099. Jonathan Phillips examines the origins and motives of the first Crusaders.

Crusades: The View from the East

The popular image of crusading is derived almost entirely from western accounts of the victorious First Crusade. Yet when historians examine Byzantine sources about the campaign a very different picture emerges, argues Peter Frankopan.

The storming of Jerusalem by the crusaders, Jean Dreux, c. 1450-60. National Library of the Netherlands. Public Domain.

The Capture of Jerusalem

The capture of the Holy City by the forces of the First Crusade was a victory against the odds, but its legacy has borne bitter fruit.

The Kharāghān twin towers, built in 1053 in Iran, as the burial place of Seljuq princes.

Muslim Responses to the Crusades

Robert Irwin on how Islam saw the Christian invaders.

A 12th-century French map of Jerusalem showing the main religious sites and crusaders chasing out the infidel.

Jerusalem: Dark and Satanic

Outremer, the crusader kingdom, and its capital Jerusalem entered a golden age during the 1130s. Simon Sebag Montefiore portrays its extraordinary cast of kings, queens, conquerors and criminals.

The Dome of the Treasury in the Umayyad Mosque, Damascus, was built in 789. Photo by Roberta F.

War in Paradise

Jonathan Phillips explains how Damascus, ‘Paradise of the Orient’ and a spiritual home for Muslims, became a major battleground of the Second Crusade.