Why did Urban II call the First Crusade? (Ep.2: Political ambition)

On 27th November 1095, at a great council he had summoned at Clermont in France, Pope Urban II preached the First Crusade. His motives for doing so have been much debated ever since. In this episode, Associate Professor Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) explores the role played by Urban’s own political ambition for greater authority and influence both in the Latin West and further afield. Was it the main reason Urban called his crusade?

This episode is the second in a mini-series of three. The complete mini-series includes:

Ep.1: What role did the appeal from Alexios I play?

Ep.2: What role did political ambition play?

Ep.3: What role did religious conviction play?

Recommended works by Associate Professor Nicholas Morton:

Encountering Islam on the First Crusade

The Crusader States and their Neighbours: A military history 1099-1187

The Field of Blood: The Battle for Aleppo and the Remaking of the Medieval Near East

The Mongol Storm: Making and Breaking Empires in the Medieval Near East

Further reading:

Andrew Jotischky: Crusading and the Crusader States (2nd Ed.)

Jonathan Phillips: The Crusades 1095-1204

Jonathan Riley-Smith: The Crusades: A History

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Music by Aroshanti.

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