Islam and the Seljuk Turks
Around the middle of the 10th century, the Abbasid caliphate began to collapse. The Shi'ite dynasty of the Fatimids attempted to try and unite all of the Muslims under one caliphate. They made Cairo their capital, and because they started this new dynasty, they became enemies of the Sunni in Baghdad. This split the entire Islamic world. The new Fatimid did succeed at becoming more powerful and also became very popular in Islam. Because of the geographical location of the capital, they were able to trade a lot with people in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. The Fatimids also hired people to fight for them, but not all of the groups hired decided to cooperate.
The Seljuk Turks had come from Asia because they wandered and never stayed in one spot. They had fought as mercenaries under the Abbasid dynasty, and they now fought for the Fatimids. They began to grow in size, and they eventually took over Baghdad and the Abbasid dynasty in 1055. The Turkish leader called himself the sultan. The Seljuk Turks then began to pose as a threat to the Byzantine empire and Egypt. The Byzantine empire decided that they needed to challenge the Turks, and that is when they looked to the papacy for help, beginning the Crusades.
The Seljuk Turks had come from Asia because they wandered and never stayed in one spot. They had fought as mercenaries under the Abbasid dynasty, and they now fought for the Fatimids. They began to grow in size, and they eventually took over Baghdad and the Abbasid dynasty in 1055. The Turkish leader called himself the sultan. The Seljuk Turks then began to pose as a threat to the Byzantine empire and Egypt. The Byzantine empire decided that they needed to challenge the Turks, and that is when they looked to the papacy for help, beginning the Crusades.
The Byzantine Empire
The Macedonian dynasty had done a good job in restoring the Byzantine Empire in the 10th and 11th centuries. Many of the following leaders then led the empire to decline again, and this caused problems. Struggles erupted between the aristocratic families and the military leaders who both wanted control. They then tried to buy people's support, but it didn't work because the peasants were the majority of land owners in the Byzantine state. The Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church began to have problems with one another, and Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael Cerularius excommunicated each other in 1054. This put a divide in between the two branches of the church. The Seljuk Turks also became a threat to the Byzantine Empire because they needed a lot of men to work for them, and they also had a strong army. In 1071, the Turks went into Anatolia and took over, with some of the peasants glad to be freed from their previous Byzantine rulers.
The Comneni dynasty began to prosper, with Alexius I Comnenus as their leader. They defeated the Normans on the Adriatic coast, the Pechenegs in the Balkans, and the Turks in Anatolia. Alexius knew that he needed more help to fight the Turks, so he called west for more help, thus igniting the fire of the Crusades.
The Comneni dynasty began to prosper, with Alexius I Comnenus as their leader. They defeated the Normans on the Adriatic coast, the Pechenegs in the Balkans, and the Turks in Anatolia. Alexius knew that he needed more help to fight the Turks, so he called west for more help, thus igniting the fire of the Crusades.