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In early 1096 Hugh and Philip began discussing the First Crusade after news of the Council of Clermont reached them in Paris. Although Philip could not participate, as he had been excommunicated, Hugh was said to have been influenced to join the Crusade after an eclipse of the moon on February 11, 1096.

That summer Hugh's army left France for Italy, where they would cross the Adriatic Sea into territory of the Byzantine Empire, unlike the other Crusader armies who were travelling by land. On the way, many of the soldiers led by fellow Crusader Emich of LeiningenCount Emich of Leiningen (also spelled Leningen (d. 1117) was a count in the Rhineland in the late 11th century. The original idea for the First Crusade that had been preached by Pope Urban II at the Council of Clermont in 1095 had already turned into a m joined Hugh's army after Emich was defeated by the HungariansThe Republic of Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. It is known locally as the Country of the Magyars or Magyarorszag''. Magyar Koztarsasag ( In Detail) ( Full s, whose land he had been pillaging. Hugh crossed the Adriatic from BariBari is the second largest continental city of Southern Italy, with a population of 326,201 (2001) along 116 sq. Capital of Apulia (or Puglia) region, on the Adriatic Sea, its province is the fifth largest and most populated in Italy, with 1,551,331 inhab in southern Italy, but many of his ships were destroyed in a storm off the Byzantine port of DyrrhachiumImage:Durres. jpg|thumb|200px|Durres Photo by ] Durres ( Albanian: Durres or Durresi is the most ancient city of Albania and one of the most economically important as the biggest port city. It is located at 41. 45°E and has a population of around 114,000. Hugh and most of his army was rescued and escorted to ConstantinopleConstantinople (Roman name: Constantinopolis; Greek: Konstantinoupolis or ) is the former name of the city of Istanbul in Turkey. Its original name was Byzantium ( Greek: Byzantion or Bυζαντιο&nu pronounced roughly B, where they arrived in November of 1096. Prior to his arrival, Hugh sent an arrogant, insulting letter to Emperor Alexius I, demanding that Alexius meet with him. Alexius was already wary of the armies about to arrive, after the unruly mob led by Peter the HermitPeter the Hermit was a priest of Amiens, in France. According to Anna Comnena, he attempted to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before 1096, but was prevented by the Turks from reaching his destination. It is uncertain whether he was present at Urban's gre had passed through earlier in the year. Alexius kept Hugh in custody in a monastery until Hugh swore an oath of vassalage to him.

After the Crusaders had successfully made their way across SeljukThe Seljuk Turks ( Turkish: Selcuk Arabic: Saljuq al-Saljiqa Persian: Saljuqiyn also Seldjuk Seldjuq Seljuq were a major branch of the Oghuz Turks and a dynasty that occupied parts of Central Asia and the Middle East from the 11th to 14th centuries. The S territory and, in 1098, captured Antioch, Hugh was sent back to Constantinople to appeal for reinforcements from Alexius. Alexius was uninterested, however, and Hugh, instead of returning to Antioch to help plan the siege of Jerusalem, went back to France. There he was scorned for not having fulfilled his vow as a Crusader to complete a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and Pope Paschal II threated to excommunicate him. He joined the minor Crusade of 1101, but was wounded in battle with the Turks at Heraclea in June, and died of his wounds in October in Tarsus.