27 November 1095
First Crusade is called

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In a speech in France, Pope Urban II calls for Christians to free the holy places of Palestine from Muslim rule. Thousands of European nobles, knights, clerics and others, including Robert, duke of Normandy (see 9 September 1087), set off the following year. Less than four years later, the pope's army captures Jerusalem. The Muslims strike back in 1144, capturing the city of Edessa, and the Second Crusade fails to dislodge them. In 1187, the Turkish leader, Saladin, enters Jerusalem, prompting the Third Crusade. It is led by Richard I and Philip II of France but, although they have some success, they fall out and return home. By 1291, the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem is history.

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