After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 A.D., Europe has been besieged by waves of invasion from tribes of peoples such as Goths, Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Lombards, Suebi, Frisii, Jutes, Franks, Huns, Cumans, Avars, Bulgars, Alans, Moors, Mongolians, Khazars, Tatars, Vikings, Normans, to name a few, who brought war and pillage across Europe from 376 to 800 A.D.
These attacks were followed by the bloody incursions and invasions of the Ottoman Empire in various European countries for several centuries in their quest to establish the sought-after Caliphate. The Crusades were the logical Christian reaction to defend their faith, territories, and way of life.