Decline of the Byzantine Empire of its territory in Asia Minor, and was in immediate danger of complete annihilation. It recovered following the Komnenian restoration, as Alexios I Komnenos restored relations with the Papacy, and requested aid against the Turks from Pope Urban II at the Council of Piacenza in 1095. Later that same year, the pope preached the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont. In the wake of the success of the First Crusade, the three competent Komnenian emperors, especially Manuel I Komnenos (r. 1143–1180), may have had the power to expel the outnumbered Seljuks, several factors combined to ensure that they never
Areopagus sermon what I am going to proclaim to you." Paul then explained concepts such as the resurrection of the dead and salvation, in effect a prelude to the future discussions of Christology. After the sermon a number of people became followers of Paul. These included a woman named Damaris, and Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus (not to be confused with Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite or Dionysius, the first Bishop of Paris). In the 20th century, Pope John Paul II likened the modern media to the "New Areopagus", where Christian ideas needed to be explained and defended anew, against disbelief and the