Today marks 930 years since the beginning of the event that led to great tragedies in the history of the Middle East and Europe - the Crusades.
Modern.az recalls that on this day in 1095, Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade, aimed at reclaiming the most important Christian shrines in Jerusalem from Muslim hands. In early winter of 1095, the first participants of this unprecedented initiative began to set off towards the East along European roads.
Although the First Crusade achieved its goal with the capture of Jerusalem, battles with Muslim forces that lasted for more than two centuries subsequently began. In total, the 8 Crusades carried out led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the devastation of the Middle East.
