what was the first crusade
A+E Networks. The first of the Crusades began in 1095, when armies of Christians from Western Europe responded to Pope Urban IIâs plea to go to war against Muslim forces in the Holy Land.hristian knights waged a religious war against the Muslims in Jerusalem in an attempt to reclaim the Holy Land. 1  Contents. 2  The Crusades: Background. 3  The First Crusade (1096-99). 4  The Crusader States and the Second Crusade (1147-49).