Emperor Alexios I Komnenos was the ruler of the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1118. He was responsible for asking for assistance from Pope Urban II with the Seljuk Turks. Emperor Komnenos had a daughter named Anna Komnena who wrote a book called The Alexiad. She was a historian who was able to record and recount all of the events that occurred during the Crusades. Anna was able to describe the arrival of the crusaders to the Byzantine Empire. Anna describes, “And they (the Crusaders) hastened on to the capital. One might have likened them to the stars of heaven or the sand poured out along the edge of the sea. For these men that hurried on to approach Constantinople were 'as many as there are leaves and flowers in the spring time,' as Homer says” (Comnena 2001). This description of the crusaders arriving suggests an awe-inspiring sight. The sight so many armed people entering a city would be enough to make anyone nervous. Emperor Komnenos however was not fearful of this sight and he welcomed these armies into his city because he needed their aide.
Emperor Komnenos had done a decent job of stopping the Seljuk Turks from advancing any closer to the capitol at this point. This was important seeing as the Seljuk Turks had already occupied Nicaea, Antioch, and Jerusalem. One of the main reasons Emperor Komnenos sought help from the Pope and the Catholic Church was because he was only able to hold the Seljuk advance at bay with his forces. He also wanted to preserve the Eastern Orthodox Church’s power within the Byzantine Empire. Being fearful of the seemingly overwhelming power and influence of the Seljuk Turks, Emperor Komnenos used his connections with the Church in order to increase the size of his fighting force. Now that the fighting force of the First Crusade had arrived, Emperor Komnenos could finally attempt to take back these important locations he had lost to the Seljuk armies.

Comnena, Anna. “The Alexiad of Anna Comnena Book X.” Internet History Sourcebooks, February 2001. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/AnnaComnena-Alexiad10.asp.