The Crusades were a series of military expeditions initiated by Western European Christians primarily between the 11th and 13th centuries. Their main goal was to reclaim control of Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land from Muslim rule. The Crusades began in 1095 when Pope Urban II called for Christians to take up arms and recover Jerusalem, which had been under Muslim control for centuries. These campaigns were marked by religious motivations as well as political, economic, and social factors. The Crusades involved violent conflicts and established several Crusader states in the Near East, but ultimately the Christian hold on the region ended by the late 13th century. The Crusades also had significant impacts on medieval European and Middle Eastern history and culture.