Ancient Rome
The Byzantines survived during the 8th century and in the 9th century began to take back parts of the conquered lands. In 1000 AD, the Byzantine Empire was at its largest point, and culture and trade flourished. However, the expansion was suddenly stopped in 1071 at the Battle of Manzikert, which finally made the empire start becoming obviously weaker. After centuries of fighting and Turkic invasions, Emperor Alexios I Komnenos called for help from the West in 1095.