Byzantine Empire & Crusades.

>>3071071
The Byzantine Empire was the eastern Roman Empire.

They didn't ask for help retaking Jerusalem, they wanted help to reconquer Anatolia from the Turks who had invaded during the period of imperial weakness after the disaster at Manzikert, but the Latins thought that was boring and wouldn't budge unless it was fighting for Jerusalem.

>>3071095
Alright thanks.

>>3071127
>>3071095
Well, yes and no.

The Empire had dealt with some issues from Latins (Norman invaders), but those were beaten off.

Economy was growing, thanks for the trade advantages given to Venetians and others (helped mobilise the agricultural economy).

Empire was on the rebound. Went to western Europe, tried to get the Pope to put out something about helping them as mercs being holy. Joked about 'hey, if we keep going, we might reach the Holy city'.

The Pope then did a 'YOU ALL GOTTA CRUSADE BOIS'

And then massive unwashed waves of latins started pouring into the empire

>>3071071
The Seljuks conquered almost the entirety of Greek and Armenian Anatolia after 1071. So they needed help getting it back. They teamed up with the western knights and btfo'd the Turks at Nicaea and took back most of Anatolia with ease. Then they had good luck again and btfo'd a larger Turkish army from Persia at Antioch and took Lebanon, western Syria, and Palestine.

To add to this

Religion was a big fucking thing then. For the Catholic Church it has always been a huge issue that there existed two seperate entities.

It has always been a dream of the Romans to reunite into one universal church (preferably with Rome as the forefront). They thought that crusades and aid could make the eastern church more open to reunification.

Most of the crusades were failures in its original objectives

>>3071257
Eh, they weren't really seperate.
Yeah, the schism happened, but they got over it.

It wasn't really till the accident of 1204 that the divide became a 'FUCKING CATHOLIC FUCKS' and 'STAY MAD ORTHODOX HERETICS'

Latins were Chads and the Byzantines were nerds in a shut locker.

>>3071342
That's so wrong

>>3071342
The contrary actually

French, Germans, and Normans described the Greeks as degenerates sex-crazed cowardly men

>>3071342
t.nord

Just watch Kingdom of Heaven. You'll discover that they weren't actually interested in God or religion or faith at all. In fact most of the Crusaders frowned on any kind of literal interpretation of the bible. They all just wanted land and gold, and used faith as a convenient excuse. The good ones who weren't greedy just wanted to pray and be nice to people, while the Templars were all evil psychopathic islamophobes and caused the war with Saladin that led to Jerusalem surrendering. By the way Saladin was a really good guy and let everyone in Jerusalem go home because he was tolerant and the muslims were multicultural like the Christians should have been. It was all really the Crusader's fault for not having modern 21st century social and moral values.

>>3072846
Anyone who believes this is wrong

>and what was the reason for them asking Pope urban the 2nd for help retaking Jerusalem

Retard.

>>3072846
bait