Why did the People's Crusade Fail?

Question	Answer
WHY DID THE PEOPLE'S CRUSADE OF 1096 FAIL?	1) POOR LEADERSHIP 2) LACK OF UNITY 3) LACK OF SUPPLIES/FINANCE
POOR LEADERSHIP	1) Peter the Hermit was the leader of the crusade and whilst he was a charismatic and skillful preacher he lacked the necessary organisational skills. He led a large amount of pilgrims into battle with few skilled knights and military leaders and few supplies. At Constantinople Emperor Alexius had warned the contingent to wait for the official crusade but Peter was unable to control the army and persuade them to wait.
LACK OF UNITY	A key reason for failure was the lack of unity between the French, German and Italian contingents. The separate armies were crushed one by one by the forces of Kilij Arslan. Many German troops led by Reinald were killed at Xerigordon and a further army was destroyed at Civetot following a rumor spread by Turkish spies that there had been a victory at Xerigordon. This demonstrates the lack of unity and communication between the armies. By the time Peter the Hermit reached Jerusalem to meet the French army their numbers had diminished and they were drastically outnumbered by the Muslims.
LACK OF SUPPLIES	Peter's preaching was only answered by the peasants and the common folk as he was of the lower class himself. His army consisted of poor people said to have been walking around bare foot with barely any weapons and few skilled knights. Many peasants abandoned the crusade after experiencing horrific pogroms.

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	Created by anadavies.x over 10 years ago