Alexios I asked the Pope for military assistance because he needed help in fighting off the Seljuq Turks. Twenty years after defeating the Byzantines at the Battle of Manzikert, the Seljuqs continued to make dangerous inroads into Asia Minor, threatening the Byzantines on their eastern borders.
As the Byzantine army had proved woefully inadequate in dealing with this threat, Alexios made a desperate plea to Pope Urban II for military assistance. In doing so, he inadvertently precipitated the First Crusade.
