The capture of Jerusalem was the primary goal of the First Crusade, a military campaign organized by western rulers, the Pope, and the Byzantine Empire.
The First Crusade was conceived by Pope Urban II following an appeal from the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, who wanted to fight back against the expanding Muslim Seljuk Turks who had robbed Byzantium of a good portion of Asia Minor.
The fact that Jerusalem, the holiest city in Christendom, had also fallen, proved a great motivator for knights to travel from all over Europe and try to retake it — and after a short siege, the city was captured on July 15, 1099 CE. But the defense of the Holy City would require more crusades over the coming years, and none would be as successful as the first.
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