The First Crusade (1096-1099) …show more content…
He cunningly crafted his rallying message for the crusade. He said that those who participated in the liberation of God’s Church from the hands of Muslims would be forgiven for their sins. He did this upon the request of Emperor Alexios I of Byzantine, who feared the advancing Seljuk Turks, who had taken over some of his southern territories and were approaching Constantinople. Pope Urban II was quick to respond to this request for certain political reasons. He knew that the Byzantine empire was mainly dominated by the eastern church (the Orthodox Church). He saw Emperor Alexios I’s request as an opportunity he could not forgo to reach out to the Eastern church which had in the past differed greatly with the Western Church (Catholic Church). He believed that by helping the Byzantine empire and the Eastern Church, he would be able to unite both the Western and Eastern Churches under his