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What Is The Justness Of The First Crusade Unjust?

586 Words3 Pages

The First Crusade was started to help the Byzantine Empire against the Turks. It ended with the Christians capturing Jerusalem. This shaped medieval history and sparked a lasting conflict between the East and West. The three main arguments against the justness of the First Crusade are cannibalism, greed, and genocide. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, Aristotle, and Cicero speak on what constitutes a just war. Between all these men, peace seems to be a vital component of a just war. If the crusades were unjust, these arguments are the strongest of the opposition. The First Crusade was considered unjust because of cannibalism, greed, and genocide. Famine had ravished the ranks of Christendom, causing them to begin to eat the flesh of the Saracens. The Church condemns any type of cannibalism as inhuman. The Crusades intended to journey to Jerusalem. Bohemond and the Princes faltered from this intention. It is also seen that the …show more content…

Regarding cannibalism, it must be noted the extreme circumstances the Crusaders faced during the siege of Ma'arra, where starvation led to desperate measures. While cannibalism is condemned universally, arguments are made that the dire situation forced by the prolonged siege could lessen the moral culpability of those involved. Concerning greed, while individual Crusaders may have been motivated by personal gain, the overarching goal of reclaiming Jerusalem for Christianity was driven primarily by religious fervor and territorial concerns. Regarding genocide, while atrocities were committed during the capture of Jerusalem, they were not organized or intended to eradicate an entire city. The intentions of the Crusade, as initially conceived by Pope Urban II, were noble, aiming to protect Christian pilgrims and aid the Byzantine Empire against the threat of the Turks. Despite the deviations from this original intention by some crusaders, the overarching goal remained to liberate the Holy

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