The Crusades The Crusades were military expeditions planned and carried out by western European Christians. The crusades started around 1095. The purpose of these crusades was to overtake and gain control of the Holy Land from the Muslims. The Holy Land was Jerusalem and the Christians believed that gaining control of it was their fate. The pope would gather the people together and incite them. The origin of the crusades was a result of the expanding Turks in the middle east. These Turkish forces invaded Byzantium, a Christian empire. The crusaders were a militia, sent out to recover what they thought was theirs. The first crusades were essentially started by Pope Urban II. On November 27