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There were seven Crusades in all, dating from 1095 to 1291, with the First Crusade being the most successful from a military point of view. The First Crusade was an attempt to re-capture Jerusalem. Christians had paid pilgrimage to the Holy Land since the time of Constantine. After Jerusalem had been captured by the Saljuk Turks in 1076, any Christian who wanted to pay a pilgrimage to the city faced a very hard time with the Moslem soldiers makin...

The Taking of Antioch in 1097 (The First Crusade) After a difficult four month march through hostile territory, the Crusader army reached the plain outside of Antioch, which stood on the bank of the Orontes River. In command of the strongly defended city was Turkish Chieftain Yaghi-Siyan. A long siege set in that it was as difficult for the Christians to endure as the Turks, with hunger and disease weakening both sides. Finally a garrison ma...

Jerusalem Conquered 1099 (The First Crusade) In January, the First Crusade under Raymond IV of Toulouse, Robert of Normandy, Godfrey of Bouillon, Robert of Flanders and Tancred of Taranto began the long march south from the rolling point of Antioch. By June, the Christian Army of 12,000 knights and 11,000 foot soldiers reached Jerusalem. The city was held by a Moslem garrison under the caliph Al-Mustali of Cairo since the displacement of the...