On this day in history, December 9th, 1917,

On this day in history, December 9th, 1917, 107 years ago today, General Allenby captured
Jerusalem. On this day in history, 107 years ago today the crusades were finally complete…kind
of.

The Crusades were a series of wars initiated by the Catholics, to capture from the Muslims,
lands that used to be “Christian.” Beginning in A.D. 1095 Pope Urban the 2nd began giving
speeches encouraging Christians to take up the cross, defeat the Saracens in battle, and reclaim
the Holy Land. The Pope’s call to arms was marketed as a war for Christ. Tens of thousands of
“Christians” rose to the call of Pope Urban the 2nd. Inspired by promises of their sins being
washed away, and reaping all kinds of beautiful rewards, they zealously marched across the
continent to war. With the cross stitched across their shoulders, these Crusaders fought hard,
and initially reclaimed much Muslim territory. The success however was short lived. The
original Crusade for Christ turned into about 200 years of Crusades. After 200 years of war,
Muslims still controlled the Holy Land.

Now fast forward to the year 1917. The Crusades have been over for over 600 years. World
War 1 is raging on. In early December General Edmund Allenby, a British general, captured
Jerusalem from the Muslim Turks of the Ottoman Empire. 2 days after capturing the ancient
Holy City, General Allenby is reported as proclaiming, “The wars of the Crusades are finally
complete.” The press went wild. Newspapers had articles with Richard the Lionheart looking
down from heaven in a state of happiness. Church bells in London and Rome could be heard

ringing with joy. It seems that many of the Brit’s saw the war in Palestine against the Ottoman
Empire as a continuation of the old Crusades. Jerusalem was finally in the hands of the
Christians. The British government tried to stop the false propaganda. They sent a release to
the press stating that the war with the Turk’s was not a battle between Islam and Christianity.

Although the British public seemed to like the idea that the English fighting in World War 1 and
the capture of Jerusalem was a righteous Christian victory, it simply was not true. The English
victors knew that Jerusalem was a sacred city for people of many different faiths. The British
were respectful of all religious sites, and let the people continue to live and worship in peace.

107 years ago today, General Edmund Allenby captured Jerusalem during World War 1. To
many, this meant that the Holy wars were finally over and Richard the Lionheart could finally
rest in peace. Although officially not true, this is the story of how the Crusades were finally
complete…kind of.

Rend Petersen