Following the Byzantine defeat at Manzikert, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos faced growing pressure from Turkish advances. In response, he turned to the West - and Pope Urban II answered with a call that ...

The tradition of popes taking new names upon their election is one of the most recognizable customs in the Roman Catholic ...

The First Crusade was one of the most extraordinary ... threatened by the rising power of the Muslim Seljuk Turks. But when Pope Urban II preached a sermon at Clermont in 1095, the result was ...

One pope (Urban VI) served only 13 days ... Urban II for launching the First Crusade; Innocent XII for stamping out nepotism; and John XXIII for launching Vatican II. Some popes, particularly ...

Blessed Pope Urban II launched the first crusade, impacting not only medieval Europe but the Middle East for centuries to come, fostering cultural exchange, eventually bringing the Franciscans to ...

The Komnenos Dynasty came from obscure origins to revive the Byzantine Empire after a disastrous period of weak emperors and ...