Much territory in Asia

The Turks had thus, in the course of a century, pushed their conquests to within sight of the New Rome. Their progress had been steady, in spite of a series of defeats. At the same time the Saracens in Syria had placed the whole of the Christian population in subjection. The empire had lost almost as much territory in Asia as it possessed in Europe.

The statesmen of the capital were fully alive to the necessity of using their utmost efforts to arrest the progress of their countless enemies. Unfortunately, at the time when Suliman was gaining his greatest success, the empire had other enemies to meet. Robert Wiscard, the Norman, was attacking it on the southwest at Durazzo, and had succeeded in destroying the Italian exarchate over the two Sicilies, while another branch of the Turks was making war in Europe on the northeastern frontier. Still, as we shall see, the New Rome was yet to make a stout resistance against its Asiatic foe.

While the Byzantine armies had been defending Europe the more intelligent of the statesmen

West Bad not failed to observe the danger West- to Christendom from the continual attacks of the Turks and the Saracens. Among such statesmen the popes were pre-eminent. They had their own quarrel with the Byzantine empire, a quarrel which was all the more bitter because it was founded mainly on the rejection of the claim of supremacy advanced by the elder Home, but they nevertheless saw that the empire was lighting the battle of Christianity against Mahometanism, and that it was the interest of the West to help. TIence, as early as 1074, Pope Gregory the Seventh summoned all Christian rulers to unite their forces in favor of the Eastern emperor against the Turks. A few months later he again called upon all the faithful to go to the aid of the empire against the miscreants.

Turks had become more formidable

Four years after the pope’s summons the Turks had become more formidable than ever balkan tours. On the one hand, they had received new strength from an irruption of fresh hordes from the East, who knew no other occupation than war, no other wealth than plunder, and, on the other, their power was strengthened by the appearance of another pretender to the imperial throne, who had applied for and obtained their assistance, and who, in return, delivered several fortified cities to them.

An Armenian writer of the period1 describes the kingdom of Bourn under Suliman as extending from the Euphrates to Constantinople, and from the Black Sea to Syria. Anna Comnena, the daughter of the Emperor Alexis, says that every part of the empire was at this period attacked with mortal convulsions, that the Turks overran and ravaged the East, while Eobert Wiscard lighted up the fire of war in the West, and that the empire had never been reduced to such a pitiable weakness.

Christian population

Suliman, who took the title of ghazi on account of his successes over the Christians, made Nicma the base of operations against the Christian population all round him as far as the Bosphorus, and levied taxes within sight of the imperial city itself.

Alexis, the first emperor of note of the great house of Com- Aiexis the nenos, did his best to drive away the invader; fought First. him and defeated him, and might possibly, as his daughter thinks, have recovered the Asiatic provinces, if the attack of Robert in the west of the empire had not compelled him to make peace. As it was, he succeeded in obtaining a treaty by which Suliman promised that he would not pass the river Drakon.

Aboul Cassim

A little later the difficulties in the western portion of his empire compelled Alexis to ask assistance from the Turks, and 7000 men were sent3 to his aid. When the emperor had defeated his Western invaders he attempted again to check the inroads of the Turks. The governor of Nicasa, Aboul Cassim, had violated the treaty, and the Turks were again on the shores of the Marmora. Their ruler was Ivilidi Arslan, the son of Suliman, who became sultan in 1095, and is often spoken of by Latin writers under the same name as his father.