BYZANTIUM AND THE CRUSADES

The first great city to which the Crusaders came in 1089 was not Jerusalem but Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Almost as much as Jerusalem itself, Constantinople was the key to the foundation, survival and ultimate eclipse of the crusading kingdom.It was the threat to Constantinople which led Urban II to preach the First Crusade, yet the Byzantines were extremely suspicious of this and subsequent crusades, often failing to provide for military and diplomatic support. The riches and sophistication of the great city nevertheless made a lasting impression on the crusaders and, through them, on western European culture.