Quote:
Originally Posted by AENeuman
4. Crusades were much more political and economic than getting land back from the evil doers. The peaceful economic success of Islam in Christian lands was a factor, for example. So was a the very political Pope Urban II
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Urban probably was a true believer, but, yes, the call for Crusade came not long after the Investiture Controversy between Pope and Holy Roman Emperor (which was the result of the HRE trying to nominate a rival Pope to the one nominated by the Church and the Emperor and Pope trying to depose each other). It was a way of unifying the Church under the newly powerful Papacy.