First Crusade First Crusade The First Crusade (1095–1099) was the first of a number of crusades that attempted to recapture the Holy Land, called for by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095. Urban called for a military expedition to aid the Byzantine Empire, which had recently lost most of Anatolia to the Seljuq Turks. The resulting military expedition of primarily Frankish nobles, known as the Princes' Crusade, not only re-captured Anatolia but went on to conquer the Holy Land (the Levant), which had fallen to Islamic expansion as early as the 7th century, and culminated in July 1099
Pope Urban V Legate to Italy to arrange the business. Then, through the mediation of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, Urban lifted his excommunication against Bernabò, obtaining Bologna only after he signed a hasty peace that was highly favorable to Bernabò. In May 1365 the Emperor Charles visited Avignon, where he appeared with the Pope in full imperial regalia. He then proceeded to Arles, which was one of his domains, where he was crowned King by the Archbishop, Pierre de Cros, OSB. Urban V's greatest desire was that of a crusade against the Turks. In 1363, King John II of France and Peter