The previous battles had largely been caused by attempts to destroy castles and sea trade routes and gain economic advantage in the region, and the crusade basically continued this pattern of conflict, albeit now inspired and prescribed by the Pope and undertaken by Papal knights and armed monks.
Prethodne bitke uglavnom su uzrokovane pokušajima uništenja dvoraca i morskih trgovačkih puteva i te stjecanja ekonomske prednosti u regiji, a križarski je rat zapravo nastavio ovaj uzorak sukoba, iako je sada bio nadahnut i propisan od Pape i pod vostvom papinskih vitezova i naoružanih redovnika.