Thou shalt be all the birds of the air at thy will.
—F. W. Faber.
THE FIRST CRUSADE
I. Causes of the Crusades
| Mecca | inhabitants | shrewd | apostles |
| Medina | increased | conquered | crusades |
| Mohammed | idolatry | zealous | hermit |
About six hundred years after the birth of Christ, a child named Mohammed was born in the city of Mecca in Arabia. The father of Mohammed died when the child was still a babe, and his mother was very poor. During his boyhood he earned a scanty living by tending the flocks of his neighbors, and much of his time was spent in the desert.
Even when young, Mohammed seemed to be religious. He often went to a cave a few miles from Mecca, and stayed there alone for days at a time. He claimed that he had visions in which the angel Gabriel came down to him, and told him many things which he should tell the people of Arabia. When he was forty years old, he went forth to preach, saying that he was the prophet of God.
At the end of three years he had forty followers. The people of Mecca, however, did not believe him to be a prophet. They were for the most part idolaters, and as Mohammed preached against idolatry, they finally drove him from the city.