The Emperor Alexius Comnenus I
Alexius Comnenus - together with his brother, Isaac, joint founders of the
Comneni Dynasty of Byzantine rulers. Alexius began to rule when the Byzantine
Empire had already passed its zenith some few centuries earlier under Basil and
now, in the last quarter of the 11th century, was struggling to defend itself
against the encroachments all around but particularly from the increasing
strength of the Seljuk Turks in the east. In 1071, the Empire had suffered its
most humiliating and fateful defeat in its already 700-year long history, at the
Battle of Manzikert and by the time Alexius ascended the throne, the Empire was
in almost desperate straits.
Early in the last decade of the 11th century,
Alexius wrote to Pope Urban II asking for help from the west in recovering lost
territories - ostensibly for Christendom. This agenda fitted in well with the
policies and developing plans of the Pope; European society, also, at that time
was in flux in social, political and religious sectors: the feudal system was
failing, younger sons of noble families were without inheritance, there was much
violence throughout western society and it seemed like a good opportunity to
direct that violence outward - not unlike many policies undertaken today by
hard-pressed governments. Above all were the religious themes of the times: the
end of the first millenium was on the threshhold, the anti-Christ ruled in the
Holy Land and reigned supreme over sacred Christian sites in Jerusalem. What
better solution for all these ills but to declare a "Holy War"?
So it was,
that in the summer of 1095, Pope Urban II, during a long pastoral journey
through Iberia and southern France, when he finally reached Clermont Ferrand,
called upon the Christian world to answer the call of Alexius, take up the Cross
and liberate the Holy Sepulchre from the hands of the Saracen. The call was
answered and in the summer of 1099 - July 15th - the walls of Jerusalem were
stormed, Jerusalem captured in the name of Christianity and tens of thousands of
innocent Moslems, Jews and Oriental Christians slaughtered in the name of the
Prince of Peace!
Read Pope Urban's call here
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