The Crusades were long series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims, mostly,

lasting roughly two centuries.

Battles and various clashes that were Crusade-esque would roll that for longer than that, but

the main thrust of the fighting took place in just under 200 years.

The primary goal of the Crusaders was to take the Holy Land away from Muslim forces,

especially the city of Jerusalem, a land full of sacred sites for both Christianity and

Islam.

Also, the Abrahamic root of those Western religions, Judaism.

In 1095 Pope Irwin II issued a speech at the Council of Claremont, calling Christians

to take up arms to help the Christian Byzantine Empire in their fight against Islamic forces.

This speech marked the beginning of a long series of conflicts that led to the deaths

of an estimated 1.7 million people.

Historians now estimate that only one in 20 even survived to reach the Holy Land on

their quests.

During the Crusades kicked off, the Pope assured knights, nobles, and a bunch of regular

citizens that they would be forgiven of all of their sins if they died while participating

in the Crusades.

The Pope essentially gave Western European forces a license to kill and also to commit

various other crimes without any spiritual consequences.

All would be washed away if one was fighting for the Pope.

I mean, God, for the glory of Rome.

While many people absolutely did participate in the Crusades for pious faith-based reasons,

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