Part 19

The Norman presence remained there until 'Abd al-Mu'min ibn 'Ali, head of the Almohad (al-Muwahhidoon) state, drove them out of their last stronghold, al-Mahdiyah, in 555 AH/1160 CE.83 At the time when there was a tilt in the balance of power in Muslim North Africa, we see that that this contributed to the Islamic resistance in the East, during the reign of Noor ad-Deen Mahmood Zangi and Salah ad-Deen al-Ayubi, as will be explained below. The Byzantine Emperor seeks help from Pope Urban II The Byzantine Emperor Alexios Komnenos (1081-1118 CE) sought help from Pope Urban II against the Seljuks. This plea for help was not the first of its kind, for it was preceded by a plea for help from the Emperor Michael VII to Pope Gregory VII, after the battle of Manzikert (463 AH), as mentioned above. It is well known that launching a war against the Turks was one of the aims behind the Byzantine call for help. Anatolia was regarded as more important than Jerusalem to the Byzantine state,84 hence when the Byzantine capital came under threat from the Seljuks, the Emperor had no choice but to seek help from the west in return for uniting the eastern and western churches. Pope Gregory VII sent a satisfactory response to Emperor Michael VII, which was based on both Christian brotherwould and political motives, because whatever army he was going to mobilize would put an end to the division between the two churches and increase papal influence in the east as well as the west. However, the war that broke out between Gregory VII and the Emperor Henry IV (the Holy Roman Emperor) prevented him from going ahead with his plan. When the Emperor Alexios Komnenos succeeded Michael VII, he sent a letter to Pope Urban II and to the senior feudal lords in 478 AH, calling on them to send help to save their brethren in the east and to protect Constantinople against the Seljuk threat.85 Alexios was hoping that the west would send him some mercenary troops, but Urban II did not want to put himself at the service of the Byzantine state, rather he wanted the papacy itself to take charge of offering help to the Christians in the east. This change of approach led to the Latin Christian world mobilizing a huge army, rather than sending mercenaries who would be subject to the whims and desires of the princes. This action of the Pope in response to the request of Emperor Michael VII shows the importance of innovative thinking, making the most of opportunities and using available means to serve their plans. We should learn a great deal from this lesson and apply it to Islamic endeavours. This difference in thinking caused a great deal of trouble from the outset, which soured the relationship between the Byzantines and the Crusaders. What is proven historically is that the one who was primarily responsible for the establishment of the Crusader movement was Pope Urban II. He is the one who proclaimed these wars86 and was supported by the church in the west. All contemporary Latin historians attribute to him the main role in launching the Crusades.87 Pope Urban II and his comprehensive plan for the Crusade campaign Urban II was born in 427 AH/1035 CE in Chatillon-sur-Marne. His name was Otho de Lagery and he studied under St. Bruno of Cologne, founder of the Carthusian Order. In 461 AH/1068 CE, he became a monk in the monastery of Cluny, near Macon, and joined the service of the influential pope at that time, namely Gregory VII, who had a strong belief in the superiority of the papacy over the empire. Odo was appointed cardinalbishop of Ostia in 473 AH/1080 CE, and he served the church in Germany during the period 477 AH/ 1084 CE — 478 AH/1085 CE. He supported, in a legitimate fashion, Pope Gregory VII during his conflict with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. Urban II was also connected to the synods (church councils) in Saxony which were held in 478 AH/1085 CE. When Pope Victor III died on 16 December 1087 CE in Monte Cassino, Clement III seized control of Rome, then Urban II was elected Pope after a lengthy delay in Terracina, which is south of Rome, near Gaeta. He took on the (papal) name of Urban II (481-493 AH/1088-1099 CE).88 We may note from the biography of this man that he was characterized by his great energy and the tight control that he exercised over all the regions that were subject to the influence of the "mother church". His attitude towards Spain illustrates an important dimension for us. This Pope supported the war against the Muslims. When the Spanish managed to subdue some areas that had been previously been under the control of their enemies, the Pope hastened to bring them under the influence of the Church of Rome. Undoubtedly in his support of the war against the Muslims, Urban II was following in the footsteps and following the teachings of Pope Alexander II. This confirms for us an essential fact, which is the existence of an ulterior strategy that the papacy in Rome was carefully executing in the eleventh century CE/fifth century AH, regardless of changes and successions of popes.