First Crusade:18th May 1096

First Crusade:18th May 1096, Peter the hermit preaching the Peasants Army. (Image Courtesy: Wikipedia)

On 18th May 1096, the first crusade which was later called as the "People's Crusade" had taken place. It was an unstructured movement of local peasants and their supporters, led by Peter the Hermit.

Purpose of the People's Crusade was to remove The Seljuk Turks from Anatolia region, who was suppressing the Jews badly in the Rhineland region. This movement got very famous and many peasants had participated in this holy purpose. The hidden purpose of this movement was to capture the Holy Land.

Peter the hermit tried his best to guide the peasant's army against the Seljuk Turks but this movement had been defeated badly in October 1096 by the Turks.

This movement is also called the Spring Crusade. 

Vital Information:

The Seljuk Turks: 

The Seljuq dynasty or Seljuks was a Sunni Muslim dynasty by religion. Later they became more of Persianate Society and made their contribution towards upliftment of Turko-Persian community. They established The Seljuk Empire and captured Anatolia and the Holy Land. They were the main target of the first crusade.

Peter the Hermit:

Peter the hermit got birth around 1050 C.E. and according to Anna Comnena, Peter had attempted to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before 1096 but was prevented by the Seljuk Turks from reaching his goal and was reportedly mistreated. He used this supposed mistreatment to preach inflammatory statements about the Turks toward upset Christians.

The Holy Land:

The Holy land is referred to an area which is located between the Jordan River and Mediterranean sea.

This land has a great historical significance for Muslim, Christian and Jew religions. It was the holy city of Judaism, historical region of Jesus's ministry and the site of the Isra and Mi'raj event in Islam. It is also called Jerusalem. To capture this was the only motive of the first crusade.

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