[isdw9166]

I just finished your lecture “Crusades-Foreign” and I just want to make sure I understood something right because usually the crusades are taught in a way indicating the Christians were the aggressors. My understanding now is that the crusades were actually started as a defensive measure against the Seljuk Turks who were conquering the Byzantines?

[theignoredgender]

Indeed. The crusades were a counter-attack against the Muslims that took over Christian territory.

[Jason Jewell]

James, that’s essentially correct. Muslim encroachment on Christian territory had been happening continuously since the seventh century, but the Seljuk attack on the Byzantine Empire is an important short-term cause of the First Crusade.

[Author]

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