The Crusades

Byzantine Empire Ok if you remember the Roman Empire was broken into two groups: The Western Roman Empire, centered in Rome The Eastern Roman Empire, centered in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul)

Byzantine Empire Well, the one centered in Rome fell. However, the one centered in Constantinople survived. In fact it got bigger under the Emperor Justinian. (527 AD) But that was too good to be true so by the 8th century it was pretty small again. Just the Balkans and Asia Minor.

Byzantine Empire So, where does the Byzantine Empire fit in? Historians call this shrunk down version of the Eastern Rome Empire the Byzantine Empire. Which is a better name because it really has nothing to do with Rome. The people all speak Greek not Latin, and they are all Eastern Orthodox not “Catholic.”

Huh? I thought that this was supposed to be about the Crusades? It is all connected. The Byzantines end up having some troubles with the Seljuk Turks. (1071) They decided to suck it up and go ask for help from their western neighbors. Side Note

It Begins Alexius I the Byzantine Emperor asked Pope Urban II for help ridding their land of the Muslims. Urban II sees this as an opportunity to rally the Christians together and maybe get a break from fighting with Kings all the time. Urban II calls for a Crusade in 1095. (That whole church being burned down thing was basically just an excuse to legitimize the fighting.)

Don’t Forget to fill in the sheet during the video Crusading Here is a little video, of people smarter than me, to show you what went down during the Crusades. Enjoy! Don’t Forget to fill in the sheet during the video

Side Note Alright, the reason Byzantines don’t want to ask for help from the West is because there is some bad blood between the two. See in 1054, Pope Leo IX and the head Byzantine guy Michael Cerularius excommunicated each other. Bummer. This caused what is called a schism between those two branches of the church. Return