Why did christians embarked on a number of crusades in the middle east?

Answer 1

From the Christian Side

The Crusade to Jerusalem was not the primary objective of the War. If it had been, the Crusades would have begun centuries earlier when Caliph Omar conquered Jerusalem and removed it from Christendom. The reason that the Crusades began was that the Byzantine Empire was being threatened and Constantinople (its capital) was being threatened by Turkish (Muslim) armies. As the Patriarchs and Leadership in Constantinople needed additional soldiers to defend their eastern borders, they requested assistance from the Pope. The Pope, in order to sell such an operation to Franks, Germans, Italians, and others who could care less about Byzantine problems was to stir up religious fervor and declare a Holy War. The primary objective was the stability of the Byzantine Empire, but the rallying cry was to free Jerusalem.

This resulted in turning the Crusades into a multinational Christian endeavor. Franks, Germans, Italians, and Slavs all fought in the Crusades at the urging of the Popes and the Orthodox Patriarchs. While the goal for the leadership was to protect Constantinople, for the populace, the goal became the religious one of evicting Muslims from the Holy Land. As a result, Christians slaughtered Muslims and Jews when they took over cities and refused to give quarter to any who opposed them. The eventual establishment of Christian Kingdoms was merely a by-product of the success (from a European perspective) of the First Crusade and these states were integrally linked to Europe and European dictates.

From the Muslim Side

The territories that had formerly been under Islamic control were being taken by foreigners who were slaughtering the local population in the name of Christianity. As a result, the Muslim leadership organized a defensive position to protect their subjects.

Answer 2

Matthew 26:52: Jesus said to him: Return your sword to its place, for all those who take the sword will perish by the sword

• This would have been the best time in HISTORY to pull out our weapons! Yet, our Savior told us that those who live by the sword die by it.

Matthew 24:4 And in answer Jesus said to them: "Look out that nobody misleads YOU; 5 for many will come on the basis of my name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many.

Matthew 7:15 "Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to YOU in sheep's covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. 16 By their fruits YOU will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? 17 Likewise every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit; 18 a good tree cannot bear worthless fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce fine fruit. 19 Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Really, then, by their fruits YOU will recognize those [men].

• True Christians do not fight in ANY wars. Really, how can I kill a person, if The Bible tells me that I must not even harbor resentment toward another.
  

Answer 3

It was Catholics who did the crusades because they were ordered to and they actually spent some of their time fighting against other Christians who thought that the Catholic church was not Christian at the time.

Answer 4

The Jews told them it was a sound business investment.