1 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 for thousand of years the holy land of the middle east was run with blood. here the scars of battle was between the three of the great religion of the world. but the deepest would was made by the war between christians and muslims began at the close of the 11 century. fought for 200 years for a state a tiny strip of land which was a few hundred miles long. But with the greatest prize Jerusalem. now this holy war is passed as legd. there were those who saw it by their own eyes. great chronicles from two different worlds Christian and Muslim wrote of great deeds, great battles and great warriors. about men who laid down their lives. 2 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this was the collision of two great faiths, the clash between the crescent and the cross. 3 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 this was the crusades. 4 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Of all the cities in the world, Jerusalem has the most troubled past and the most troubling future. 5 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For the Jews, it is the site of the great temple of Hewet and Solemn. For Muslims, the place where Mohammed ascended to heaven. For Christians,a place where their messiah was crucified. 6 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 After his death, the world of Jesus Christ took root and Jerusalem slowly shed almost 4 centuries of Roman occupation to embrace Christian rule. 7 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But in the seventh century, the holy city was forcible seized by a new faith, Islam. 8 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Now 400 years later, the Christians wanted the Jerusalem back. Across Europe some 60000 warriors were gathering, reading themselves for battle. 9 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the leaders was veteran war lord Duke Lord Godfrey. He would head his own army of what would become a three year crusade across 3000 miles to reclaim Jerusalem in the name of God. 10 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Godfrey was more than just an acclaimed fighter. A generous benefactor of the catholic church. He was also an immensely pious man. 11 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 As far as I am concerned, there is one key thing is driving people to take up the cross. And then it is they actually believe this crusade is a spiritual war and it is going to purify their souls of sin. 12 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Yes, I am sure they've got all their agendas and looking forward at the same time. But there is one thing at the core and across larges range of people, is the spirituality. 13 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It is the religion that is driving this. 14 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The Franks which is catch old word for everyone who participated in the crusades were regarded for many centuries until this day, as barbarians who came to destroy the peak of Islamic civilization. 15 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is a very strong thing which goes down right to this day. So the word crusade is electric and people know it. They they know what happened in that world. 16 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 there was good reason why men would risk everything to journey to a distant land to which they might never return. 17 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Lighted by famine and wrecked by petty wars, the European homeland was a cursed place. 18 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They craved a better life in this world, and the next. 19 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 I think if you were to take a time machine back to the late 11th century, the first thing that probably strike you was what a violent society it was. 20 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 At a time where central government was not very well organized. 21 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The great monarchies of France and Spain haven't developed. Its petty lordships, local Catalans, they raid they fight they strike one another. It is a time of endemic lawlessness. 22 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 One of the most learned men in the crusades, painted a disturbing portrait of this chaotic world. 23 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A senior arch bishop and consort of king, William Artair wrote the history of crusades as he saw it. 24 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In nearly all the circle on the earth, belief had failed. 25 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The fear of lord no longer prevailed among men. Justice had perished from the world. Violence held sway among the nations. 26 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Fraud, treachery overshadowed all things. All virtue had departed and cease to exist as useless. 27 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Evil reigned instead. 28 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There was only one organization which had the potential to stem this anarchy, the church. 29 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The catholic faith dominated the 11 century western Europe. 30 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 World of the middle ages was a world that was deeply concerned with matters of religion. And it is almost impossible for us in secular age today to overestimate how concerned they were. 31 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 it is almost impossible for us to understand how concerned they were. 32 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 People are bombarded with the fact that they are threatened by sin from all corners of life. Just by everything they can do in life is potentially sinful. It is literally the air they are breathing is contaminated with sin. 33 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The church could absorb a man of his sin. But it lacked the political muscle to wash away the ill of an entire society. 34 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The secular rulers of Europe had pushed the papacy to the sidelines. Until 10AD when a new pope arrived in Rome, Pope Urban II. 35 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Pope Urban was an astute individual a man who understood the political, social and religious currents and needs of his time. 36 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Someone who know how to bring those things together and channel them into productive outlets. 37 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Pope Urban needed a master plan to put the catholic church back on the political map. 38 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The answers to his prayers would come in the form of a desperate plea for help from an old rival. 39 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In 1095, a desperate call for help was dispatched to the head of the catholic church, Pope Urban II. 40 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Sent from the imperial court of Constantinople, it came from the eastern christian rival. The political master of the Greek orthodox church. 41 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The byzantine emperor, Alexius I. The power of Alexius's empire was slipping. 42 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The influence of his orthodox church had once stretched as far as the holy land of the middle east. 43 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Islam was now the dominant force in the region. The Celt Turks were recent converts to Islam. 44 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They had emerged from the steps of central Asia and swept down into the middle east in search of land. 45 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Fierce some warriors, their armies numbered tens of thousands. 46 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They seized control of the Muslim territories of Persia, Syria and Palestine and finally captured the holy city of Jerusalem. 47 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Then they turned their gaze north and stormed their way to the doorstep of the great Byzantine capital, Constantinople. 48 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The status qua, the existing power politics and balance of the region had changed. 49 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The Byzantine had lost great area of taxation, the recruitment of the troops. They had lost a lot of prestige as well. 50 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 By 1095, the emperor Alexius desperate to strike back. But he couldn't do it alone. 51 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He appealed to the pope in the spirit of the Christian brotherhood to send an elite force of knights to help him keep the Turks at bay. 52 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He presented pope Urban with the perfect opportunity to enhance his political power. 53 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 You've got to understand that the popes of that period were politicians. 54 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Much more so than they are now. At that time the popes were big players, scheming, manipulating, intriguing, politicking. 55 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They were basically, the politicians of the church. 56 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Pope Urban was set to hijack the misfortune of the Byzantine empire. 57 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He would launch his own holy war against Islam. 58 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A crusade that would strengthen his papacy and put Rome back at the center of the world political stage. 59 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The idea of the crusade satisfy a number of particular agenda for the pope. It allows him to increase his authority over the knighthood of western Europe at the expense of other secular rulers. 60 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It directs a violent knights away from their practices of brutalizing the church in the west. 61 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It also rolls back the infidel, it begins to allow the Christians to reclaim the holy places. 62 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In Nov 10, 1095, the pope performed a spell binding open air sermon outside the towm of Clermont in France. 63 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was a rally in call, to the princes, knights, clerks and the common man to wage a war under the banner of the catholic church. 64 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Urban must have been a remarkably charismatic and effective speaker. 65 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Being at his speech must have been like being at some kind of a mass rally. Elements of all of those things together. 66 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 There were thousands and thousands of people there. 67 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 His sermon was a cleverly crafted piece of religious spin. 68 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Spiced with exaggerated tales of Muslim atrocities against Christian pilgrims living in the holy land. 69 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It demonised the Turks and presented the crusade as the apocalyptic war of two faiths. 70 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 His words were received as words from Gods. They were received by young and old alike eagerly as a command from God. 71 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A cradle of our faith, the native land of our lord, and the mother of salvation is now forcibly held by a people without God. 72 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 For many years now, the wicked rays of Satan sons, followers of unclean practices have oppressed with tyrannical violence the holy places where the feet of our lord rested. 73 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Dogs have entered into the holy places. Priests have been slain in the sanctuaries. Virgins are forced to choose between prostitution and death by torture. 74 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The emotional intensity of the moment was very high. And when the end of the speech was reached, Urban gave an appeal and people came forward to take the cross. 75 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Literally to take the strip of clothes and put them on their clothing, over their breasts, over their heart perhaps. 76 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And indicate that they were taking vows and going to go to east to rescue their brothers. 77 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Inspired by the possibility of great prestige and honour, tens and thousands of men and women, families, even whole villages took vows to join pope Urban's crusade. 78 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But for many as the young knight who wrote an eyewitness account of his journey to Jerusalem, there was another attraction, the promise of great riches. 79 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Lord pope said if anyone wish to save their souls, they must not hesitate to undertake the humble spiritual way of the lord. 80 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And if it did not have a great deal of money, the divine mercy should provide for.He said "take the world to the holy land and rescue it from the dreadful race. 81 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Rule over yourselves, for that land floweth with milk and honey. 82 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Nothing is ever motivated purely by religion or ideology. They knew perfectly well that there was a lot of wealth in that part of the world. 83 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 It was the center of trade all the trading caravans passed through this land. So they wanted part and they wanted the money, it was as simple as that. 84 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But the lure of the unimaginable wealth and the chance to seize the land that was said to flow with milk and honey was just the beginning. 85 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 News soon spread of even greater incentive. Pope Urban took an unprecedented step, he offered to those who pledge their souls to the crusade, a ticket directly to heaven. 86 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Those of you who once fought against brothers and relatives, now rightfully fight against barbarians. 87 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Know them that who ever sets out on this journey not out of lucks of worldly advantage, but only for salvation of his soul and liberation of the church is remitted in entirety all penance of his sins. 88 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Pope Urban marketed the crusade brilliantly, he struck a number of chords that the knight of western Europe wanted to hear. 89 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He said, look you are living this violent lives if you don't atone to your sins, you are going to hell. 90 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 What the crusade offered was a way of carrying out fighting and also receiving the spiritual award. That was the deal. 91 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 If you went on crusade, you got the remission of all you sins, you will not go to hell. 92 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The pope's sermon pushed the boundaries of Christian teaching. 93 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In his holy war a crusade is now a blessing of God to ignore his 6th commandment, 'thou shall not kill as long as he was an infidel'. 94 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 This is what the Pope actually want and he wants it so much that he is going to give spiritual reward to people who participated. 95 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Its literally like opening Pandora's box, I am not sure he is actually conscious of how dangerous an idea that he was tampering with. 96 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 But what it leads to is a very powerful out surge, a sense of hatred of the outside in western Europe. 97 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And it is turning against anyone who seems to be other than the expected norm of a western christian. 98 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Before the crusade had even left Europe, Christian fanatics swept up by the pope's words hankered to spill blood. 99 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 To these fundamentalists, any non-christian is an infidel. 100 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And the infidels were all around. 101 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 The pilgrims rose up in a spirit of cruelty against the Jews. They inflicted the most cruel slaughter on them. 102 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Claiming that the killings would be of service against the enemies of Christianity. 103 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They decapitated many, and destroyed their homes. 104 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They then divided all the looted money amongst themselves. 105 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Across Europe, thousands of Jews were massacred in the name of God. 106 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Murder and slaughter of the innocent had become the hallmark of the first crusade. 107 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 In the autumn of 1096, almost a year after the pope's sermon, armies from France, Jermany and Italy set out on the epic 3000 mile march to aid their Christian brothers and liberate their holy land from Muslim rule. 108 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 At the helm of the largest army from the Northern Europe was the Duke Godfrey of Bouillon. 109 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Godfrey was one of the senior leaders of the first crusade. 110 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was a pious man, in fact we know that he brought many monks with him for the expedition to help him in his daily prayers. 111 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was also a great warrior, he won the repute of feats in single combat and he was a respected man that leaders of the expedition felt thay could all deal with. 112 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 At Godfrey's side was his younger brother Baldwin. The count of Bouillon, ruthless to the core. 113 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Baldwin had once been destined for priesthood but it turned instead to a love of women and war. 114 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Plagued by lust and sins of the flesh. We might be quite discreet about all of this but it is an aspect of his character. 115 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 He was also a very pragmatic man, somebody who would not hesitate to brush aside others if they crossed him. 116 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 Following in the footsteps of Duke Godfrey and Count Baldwin, military historian John France uses 11 century sources as his guide book. 117 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 These medieval records reveal the harsh realities of life on crusade. 118 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 To take the cross must have been very very expensive. We know that people sold their lands, they mortgaged their land. 119 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 They seem to try to raise about six year's income just to live through the crusade. 120 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 A rich man would have had a whole retinue. He would come with his household, with everybody who would normally accompany him. 121 99:59:59,999 --> 99:59:59,999 And possibly wives and often forgotten many wives came in with their husbands. Because they too were inspired with this remarkable opportunity for salvation.