This website has an interesting version of the events that lead to the formation of the Crusade in the 11 - 12 th centuries. www.newadvent.org

peace
thats great salima thanks - i want to learn more about hakims motivations ...

stay tuned and continue to research with me when you have time are there any questions for you about it or another topic ... cant you just ... aint it just like my brain needing more 0(2)

:-)

Source 1:
www.historyguide.org

"Stability in both the Muslim and Byzantine worlds was essential for the easy and safe continuance of pilgrim traffic. But in the early 11th century this stability broke down as the Egyptian ruler of Palestine, Hakim (c.996-1021), abandoned the tolerant practices of his predecessors, and began to persecute Christians and Jews and to make travel to the Holy Lands difficult once again. Hakim destroyed Constantine's Church of the Holy Sepulchre and declared himself to be God
incarnate."

Source 2:
www.sundayschoolcourses.com

In various letters written after the Council of Clermont, Urban II explained his reasons for launching the crusade ? and what those that ?took the cross? could expect to gain from it:

?We know you have already heard from the testimony of many that the frenzy of the barbarians has devastated the churches of God in the east. and has even - shame to say - seized into slavery the holy city of Christ, Jerusalem. Grieving in pious contemplation of this disaster. we visited France and strongly urged the princes and people of that land to work for the liberation of the Eastern Church.? (Letter to Flanders, translation from Chronicles of the Crusades)

?We have heard that some of you desire to go to Jerusalem. because you know that this would greatly please us. Know, then, that anyone who sets out on that journey, not out of lust for worldly advantage but only for the salvation of his soul and for the liberation of the Church, is remitted in entirety all penance for his sins, if he has made a true and perfect act of confession. This is because he has dedicated his person and his wealth to the love of God and his neighbor.? (Letter to Bologna, translation from Chronicles of the Crusades; emphasis added)

thanks for your comment -- i am really interested in uncovering if / what particular incident set the crusade off ... the Muslims had Jerusalem for some time - so was there any incident that set the Pope to make the call??/

peace out

Well, I have learned from my class that I had taken over the last winter semester that the Pope called the first was to "help" out the Emperor of Constantinople, but it would suggest the Pope wanted expand the Pope's territory to include Byzantium and to take back Jersusalem.

thanks Q for getting all this together. I'll take a look and then we'll fig it out.

peace out.

of course salima there are many versions and his(stories) about the seminal incident that set of the first crusade - the following links is what i have found that talk about the issue generally ... i havent read them all yet only scanned them - if you have time to go through we can talk about what we know and dont know and piece it together -- what i was interested in by asking about the various histories was the role of Fatimid imam al-Hakim and Church of the Holy Sepulcher Jerusalem just before the crusades started so i googled it and these are a few links from that below after the ~~~~ lines

the first is interesting in couching the first crusade in terms of success :: www.geocities.com

the second link is a CHRONOLOGY OF THE CRUSADES people.westminstercollege.edu

third is a revisiting of the history of the crusades www.firstthings.com

fourth is the encyclopedia of the orient.. i-cias.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~
www.bibleplaces.com

October 17, 1009 ? Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher Destroyed chi.gospelcom.net

The holiest Christian site in Jerusalem www.trekker.co.il

The fourth-century Church of the Holy Sepulcher was largely destroyed by Caliph al-Hakim in 1009, and partially restored in 1048, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Monomachus. jeru.huji.ac.il

During this second period, the Church of Jerusalem and the Brotherhood suffered many persecutions and trials. The shrines were repeatedly ransacked and defaced by the successors of Omar Hatap, and there was great persecution all around. The most deadly persecution occurred during the time of the Fatimid Al Hakim (1007-1009), a schizophrenic, named the "Nero of Egypt" for his merciless acts. He persecuted ferociously both Christians and Jews. He ordered that in public Jews were to wear masks representing the head of an ox and bells around their necks; Christians were to wear mourning apparel and Crosses one yard in length. Also, Al Hakim ordered the destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. In the eleventh century, the Caliph Al Zachir, under a treaty with Byzantium, permitted the reconstruction of the shrines. www.monastery.org