Changes

[[File: Manzikert Three.jpg |200px250px|thumb|left| An illustration of the Crusaders taking Jerusalem]]Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, concerned about the advances of the Turks in the aftermath of the defeat of Manzikert, sent envoys to the Pope in March 1095 to ask for aid against the Muslims. The Pope, Urban II responded favorably to the request for help from the Byzantines despite the Great Schism which had divided the Eastern and the Western Churches. The Pope may have hoped to reunify the Latin and the Greek Orthodox branches of Christianity<ref>Runciman p. 101</ref>. However, Urban II decided to urge Christian soldiers to travel to the Byzantine Lands and to fight the Turk and to regain the Hold Lands. This was not what Alexios wanted but soon a huge army of Crusaders was making its way across his remaining territories. This army managed to defeat the Turks and eventually conquered Jerusalem. The Crusades many argue helped to push back the Turks and to preserve the remaining lands of the Byzantine Empire. However, the Crusades were to take an unexpected turn. In 1204 the Fourth Crusade was diverted by the Venetians and it captured the Byzantine capital and this was a devastating blow to the Eastern Christian Empire<ref>Runciman, p. 213</ref>.