The People's Crusade was a popular, largely unorganized movement that preceded the official First Crusade in 1096.

It was inspired by the charismatic preaching of figures like Peter the Hermit.

The movement consisted mainly of peasants, poor townspeople, and some lower-ranking knights.

Lacking discipline and supplies, the bands of the People's Crusade often resorted to plundering the lands they passed through in Europe.

Some groups carried out violent anti-Jewish massacres in the Rhineland, a dark chapter of the crusading movement.

When the main body of the crusade reached the Byzantine Empire, Emperor Alexios I was alarmed by their unruliness.

The emperor quickly ferried the crusaders across the Bosphorus Strait into Anatolia.

Lacking military leadership and knowledge of the terrain, the People's Crusade was swiftly ambushed and annihilated by the forces of the Seljuk Turks.

Very few of its participants survived.

The People's Crusade serves as a tragic and violent prelude to the more organized and militarily successful Princes' Crusade.