History of World

A siege is defined as the surrounding or blockading of a city or town by an army attempting to capture it, and on Tuesday, June 7th, 1099, the city of Jerusalem was under siege. Jerusalem, which was a city in the middle east that was designated as a great holy place, had been long awaiting this siege, for they had set out on a long and bitter journey for liberation several years before. However, the siege that took place in the city of Jerusalem was vastly different than any previous attempt on a city prior to Jerusalem. With a wave of enthusiasm inspiring over 100,000 men, women, and children, these individuals set out on a journey for liberation. As time and reality set in, many were forced to turn back, some by choice, and others due to tragedies that occurred during nautical explorations. However, due to an undying desire for liberation, many different people with various different backgrounds united all with one common goal in mind, liberate Jerusalem.

Despite the tragic sinking of a pilgrim ship which cost the lives of several hundred, the group of armies that gathered before Nicaea in June 1097 consisted of nearly 60,000 men, the largest since the Roman era (123). However, unlike the Romans which were a unified army, the composite of this near 60,000 man army was vastly different, and even created many internal problems. "There were people of so many nationalities on the crusade that they found it difficult to understand one another" (123). This factor combined with that fact that there was no overall commander for the crusade, but rather a committee of members, led to many discrepancies and quarrels between men. Nevertheless, these men still had one thing from which they could draw unity from, and that was a sense of a common mission which was reinforced by the imminent danger they experienced from living in the hostile middle east. With all their differences aside, the bottom line, and sole objective for all the men involved was to liberate Jerusalem.

During this time, very few people had a high opinion of the Christians, who were occupying the native land. This as a result was proactive in further uniting the crusaders, because taking back the holy land was one objective they could all agree on. Jerusalem was a sacred and desirable land for many reasons. It has a special place in the religion as well as the culture of medieval Europe, for it was the place where Christ died and his empty tomb was the