Middle Ages Egypt and suffering from a series of internal civil wars. The Byzantines also faced a revived Bulgaria, which in the late 12th and 13th centuries spread throughout the Balkans. The crusades were intended to seize Jerusalem from Muslim control. The First Crusade was proclaimed by Pope Urban II (pope 1088–99) at the Council of Clermont in 1095 in response to a request from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118) for aid against further Muslim advances. Urban promised indulgence to anyone who took part. Tens of thousands of people from all levels of society mobilised across Europe and captured
Guilliaume de Montfort Guilliaume de Montfort Guilliaume de Montfort () (died 27 August 1101) was a French bishop, most notably the Bishop of Paris from 1095 to 1101. Montfort's date of birth is not known, but it was some time before the death of his father, Simon I de Montfort in 1087. He was Bishop of Yves some time before becoming the Bishop of Paris. In 1095, Pope Urban II held the Council of Clermont at Clermont-Ferrand, France. It excommunicated Philip I of France and Bertrade de Montfort, William's sister, for adultery. William had been noted as a great supporter of Urban II,