What was a RESULT of the conquest of Asia Minor by the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century?
2 Answers
The Crusades
Explanation:
The emergence of the Seljuk Turks fractured the political realm of the Arab World.
After the Byzantines lost a crushing defeat in Manzikert (1071), the Seljuk Turks conquered most of the land in Asia Minor, which decreased Byzantine influence in the land.
Alexius I Comnenus, asked the Pope for help against the Seljuk Turks, and the pope decided to call for a crusade because the Arab World was divided. The pope was so successful in assembling an army to help the Byzantines that it was incredibly more than what Alexius expected.
Alexius thought that this army was going to help them reconquer the lost Byzantine territories, but in the end each leader of the crusading army decided to just keep the land for themselves instead of giving it back to the Byzantines, which led to the formation of the Principality of Antioch, Edessa, and more importantly the Kingdom of Jerusalem, which led to more Crusades and Jihads.
The conquest of the Seljuk Turks was the most important factor in the start of the Christian Crusades to reconquer Jerusalem.
Explanation:
The Muslim Empire under the Arabs had conquered Jerusalem from the Eastern Roman Empire in mid 700s AD. However the Christians living there were allowed to remain and worship. Pilgrims from Europe could come freely to Jerusalem
This changed with the conquest of Asian Minor by the Seljuk Turks. The Turks converted to Islam. Not only did they defeat the Eastern Roman Empire they defeated the Islamic Empire based in Egypt taking control of Jerusalem. When the Turks took control of the city of Jerusalem they wanted it to be a scared city like Mecca or Medina and restricted the freedom of Jews and Christians within the city and pilgrims from Europe.
Based on an appeal from the Eastern Roman Empire for help against the Turks and reports of atrocities against the Christian pilgrims to Jerusalem The Pope called for military Crusades to free Jerusalem from the Turkish Islamic rule. This set off at least 400 years of warfare between the Christian and Muslim civilizations, which continued long after the Seljuk Turks had been defeated and the Kurdish Muslims ruled Jerusalem.
