The Importance of Jerusalem to the Papacy

Question 1

when was the last time christians had controlled jerusalem, before the first crusade?

Answer 1

The Christians had not controlled Jerusalem since the Arabs captured it from the Byzantines in 638.

Question 2

how did Urban II use Jerusalem to spur people to join the First Crusade?

Answer 2

Urban was able to a present a long-term fact - 457 years of uninterrupted Muslim rule - in terms of a pressing injustice against God. Therefore the sense of urgency of Urban’s speech was a substantial achievement and was a key reason for the success of his message.

Question 3

what was the holy sepulchre?

Answer 3

supposedly the spot where Jesus had been buried and the church marking it also encapsulated the spot where Jesus had been crucified; the holiest of all relics in Jerusalem

Question 4

which caliph, in 1009, ordered that the church of the Holy Sepulchre and other Christian places in and around Jerusalem be razed to the ground?

Answer 4

Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim

Question 5

why were Fatimids after Caliph al-Hakim generally understanding towards Christian pligrims?

Answer 5

• Muslims could sympathise with the idea of pilgrimage due to their own experience of the Haij
• Jerusalem was also a holy place in Islamic tradition

Question 6

what was the Dome of the Rock?

Answer 6

the Dome of the Rock had been built late 7th c. on the site from where it was believed Muhammad had ascended into heaven

Question 7

why was the Holy Land a dangerous place for pilgrims from the 1060s forward?

Answer 7

• due to the conflict between Shia Fatimids and Sunni Seljuk Turks; law and order broke down in unstable conditions
• Pilgrims often attacked and robbed; e.g. Great German Pilgrimage 1064-65

Question 8

which pilgrimage was famously attacked and robbed in the holy land?

Answer 8

Great German Pilgrimage 1064-65