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
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