them under islam. islam had swept through what we now say is modern turkey and were getting fairly close to constantinople itself. when you can see muslims across the water, it s time to find which christians are left to help you. emperor aleki i of constantinople writes to the bishop of rome for help. he s asking 200 knights to help defend his city. what he gets is something entirely different. he s in part responding to an appeal from alexis. as the leader of the church, he s looking to improve the spiritual well-being of his people, but he s also a