What was a crusade?

* In the literal sense it was a medieval "war ", called for by the Pope approved by to regain the holy Land from Islam . The crusaders have often been glamorized, but often they behaved abominably. For example, before the First Crusade left the Rhineland it massacred a number of Jewish communities there. In Palestine and on the way to and from the country they often committed atrocities. But the crusaders also performed an invaluable service for Europe and the Byzantine Empire. They halted the Muslims' advance across Turkey and into Greece. Without the crusades, Islam would have taken over large amounts of Christendom.