f people who believed in him. His death, which was viewed as a heinous act committed by Jews who were violently persecuted thereafter due to this extreme Christian viewpoint, as all Christians believed absolved all mortal sins and assured entrance to the kingdom of God. In essence, the Christians believed that the Islamic religion was a perversion of Christianity. It was their legitimate right and duty to re-claim territory lost to the Muslims. Pope Urban II invoked hate towards the Muslims by characterizing them as 'barbarians who were guilty of inhumane outrages against the Christians of the East." Those who fought against the " 'pagans' were following the Divine Will and thereby earned God's friendship (Andrea 356)."Capturing land lost, the Christian Crusaders did so in a wholly un-Christian manner. Brutality and force was the tactic of the re-conquista. Christian knighthood became a salient means to inspire soldiers to "achieve salvation through the exercise of their warlike prowess (Hollister 197)." The Crusaders slaughtered their enemies. An eyewitness to the Jerusalem Christian crusaders described the aftermath of indiscriminate killings that occurred. The survivors were up to their "ankles with the blood of the slain (Hollister 198)." The Crusaders succeeded in their campaign of violence, in their campaign to eradicate the Muslim hold, and in furthering their leadership as the pre-eminent religion of the world.The Crusades are defined by three characteristics: "piety, pugnacity, and greed (Hollister 196)." It was this combination added to the promise of great land and resources that fueled the crusading soldiers. And, it worked. It was a powerful stimulant for their ambitious goals. Although the Crusades occurred over a protracted period, the achievement reached full culmination. The fight in the name of Christianity proved successful for these unforgiving, aggressive, and ambitious crusaders....
