Vyzantinist t1_irhihx1 wrote on October 8, 2022 at 4:56 AM

Reply to comment by Wintersbone7 in Did the first crusade impact significantly the war-making capacity of states like england, west and east francia? And did later crusades impose equal burdens, or was the distribution of this burden different for the 2nd and 3rd crusades? by Qazwereira

To be fair, Alexios I wasn't expecting anything like a crusade. He simply asked the Pope to encourage western knights to head east to help the Byzantines in their struggles against the Turk. Pilgrims like Robert III of Flanders had previously sent knights to help the Byzantines, so Alexios was probably expecting if the Pope made appeals for the desperate plight of Orthodox Christians more western European knights would be willing to head east to fight for the empire.

Wintersbone7 t1_iri94dl wrote on October 8, 2022 at 11:45 AM

That’s exactly it. Thank you. Be careful what you wish for, it just might come true.