The First Crusade began in an attempt to recover Christian territory that had been conquered by the Muslims. The aim of the crusaders was to reconquer the holy city of Jerusalem in the name of God. The Crusades were catapulted by a speech given by Pope Urban II in the city of Clermont. The impassioned speech centered on Muslims, whose acts of savagery had sent all of Western Europe into a frenzy. The Byzantine emperor Alexius Commenus asked the Pope for help to stop the invasion of the Turks. This sparked an outcry as thousands of men, women and children responded to the pope's message. Urban began to prepare his plan and began a campaign asking others to preach on his behalf. Although the final outcome of the crusade was positive, many mistakes were made during the course of the war. The enthusiasm that followed was overwhelming. However, most of this support came from peasants who were neither experienced nor trained in combat. While preaching, Urban hoped that the listening knights would be available for battle. Although the knights proved to be the most glorious fighters, they came at a price. Knights developed their true ability to fight as mounted warriors. Their “warhorses” were extremely expensive and required a lot of care. During the tour, Urban tried to prevent certain types of people from joining the effort, but it proved difficult. There were more peasants than knights. Urban had the support and promises of two influential French leaders, Adhemar and Raymond. Urban also recruited many other famous leaders. The farmers' outcome only brought further problems. Peter the Hermit can be seen as a leading figure of the popular crusade. Peter can be described as a charismatic man who delivers... middle of paper... victory. According to Asbridge, if the First Crusade had not been successful, the faith of these truly devout soldiers would have been “less pronounced” (Asbridge 336). The fear of damnation, Asbridge explains, is what drove the crusaders to conquest. There was no passionate dedication to fighting for the church. Asbridge believes that more than anything it was a selfish need of the desire to ascend to heaven. The papacy saw the First Crusade as an opportunity to manipulate and burn the religion of Islam. Asbridge also states that Latin Christians were encouraged to believe that Muslims were savages intent on destroying them. The unspeakable violence that followed only caused the Crusader movement to expand. Other holy wars were fought, although none were as successful as the first. The First Crusade was only the beginning of the growing conflict between Islam and Christianity.