Political considerations were also important. Papal encouragement, the hope of eternal merit, and the offer of Indulgences motivated thousands to enroll in the cause. To help rescue the Holy Land fulfilled the ideal of the Christian knight. For Christians, the very name of Jerusalem evoked visions of the end of time and of the heavenly city. Jerusalem had been under Muslim rule since the 7th century, but pilgrimages were not cut off until the 11th century, when the Seljuk Turks began to interfere with Christian pilgrims. Such an armed pilgrimage was regarded as a justifiable war, because it was fought to recapture the places sacred to Christians. The Crusaders continued an older tradition of the pilgrimage to the Holy Land, which was often imposed as a penance now, however, they assumed a dual role as pilgrims and warriors. The causes of the Crusades were many and complex, but prevailing religious beliefs were clearly of major importance. Crusaders wore a red cloth cross sewn on their tunics to indicate that they had assumed the cross and were soldiers of Christ. The word crusade, which is derived from the Latin word crux ('cross'), is a reference to the biblical injunction that Christians carry their cross (Matthew 10:38). The Crusades were Christian military expeditions undertaken between the 11th and the 14th century to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims.

Crusader kings 2 crusades