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At the Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade, declaring holy war against the Muslims who had occupied the Holy Land and were attacking the Eastern Roman Empire.
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Council of Clermont
1095 Catholic Church synod starting the First Crusade
The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, called by Pope Urban II and held from 17 to 27 November 1095 at Clermont, Auvergne, at the time part of the Duchy of Aquitaine.Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Pope Urban II
Head of the Catholic Church from 1088 to 1099
Pope Urban II, otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermont, which ignited the series of Christian military…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
First Crusade
1096–1099 Christian re-conquest of the Holy Land
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, which were initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. Their aim was to return the Holy Land—which had been conquered by the Rashidun Caliphate in the…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Religious war
War primarily over religious differences
A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war, is a war and conflict which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion and beliefs. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to which religious, economic, ethnic or…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Muslims
Adherents of Islam
Muslims are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraham as it was revealed to Muhammad, the last Islamic prophet.…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Holy Land
Abrahamic term for Israel and Palestine
The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionally synonymous with what is known as the…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
Byzantine Empire
Continuation of the Roman Empire (330–1453)
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, it…Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)