Sokaklarından Süt ve Bal Akan Kutsal Belde: Haçlı Seferleri Öncesinde Kudüs Algısı

Abstract

Jerusalem, one of the oldest known cities, with its settlement dating back to 3,000 B.C., is a unique place considered as being sacred by the three great divine religions. It started being a frequent destination of pilgrims who wished to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, from the VIth century, when Christianity gained freedom. While there were some interruptions in the visits of the Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem, which passed into Islamic rule in 638, they did continue until the time the Crusades began. Jerusalem, which remained under Islamic rule for more than four centuries, enjoyed a calm and prosperous period during this time. Jerusalem, which is very much worthy of the phrase, “sacred land flowing with milk and honey,” as depicted in the Old Testament, was very wealthy due to its function as the meeting point of commercial activities, as well as being a great centre of religion throughout history. Indeed, the tales of the riches seen by the Christian pilgrims in Jerusalem became a topic which was frequently talked about among the people in a very short time. When the weak economic and social structure of eleventh century Europe is taken into consideration, it is easy to understand the reasons for the love of and desire to attain Jerusalem. Our paper will discuss the perception of Jerusalem, which was the motivation behind the Crusades, following the famous Sermon at Clermont, when Pope Urban II made his call for the Crusades, on the axis of its economic dimensions in addition to its religious dimensions, by taking into account the sources from the period.