Alexius I was a ruler of the Byzantine Empire. When Alexius called for help to defend his empire against the Seljuk Turks in 1095, Pope Urban II asked all Christians to join a war against the Turks. The Pope told Christians that fighting the war would repay God for their sins and that if they died on a crusade they would go straight to heaven. The Christian soldiers were called "crusaders". The Christian armies marched to Jerusalem, attacking several cities on their way. In 1099 they won the battle for Jerusalem. As a result of the First Crusade, four crusader states were created. These were the County of Edessa, the Principality of Antioch, the County of Tripoli and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. 