Reflections of the First Crusades on Byzantine sources

One of the most important events that shaped the history of the Middle Ages is the Crusades. Since its inception, it has affected many states, civilizations and continents. For this reason, it has always continued to be the focus of attention of researchers. The Crusades have a special importance for Byzantine history. We examined the views on the beginning of the Crusade, the role of religion, kings and lords in the Crusades, and the return to hostility of the Orthodox (Eastern, Greek)-Catholic (Western, Latin) conflict that resulted in the capture of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade. While doing this analysis, we explained the sources of the period, the identities of the authors separately from the Crusader and Byzantine sources, and we examined the perspectives of the Byzantine sources on the Crusades. It is important to understand the accuracy of the sources and research works that hold Alexios Komnenos responsible at the start and end of the campaign. It is important to understand the campaigns. Since all of the Byzantine writers were people who worked in important positions in the empire and met with the emperors in person, the state of the empire from the 10th to the 13th centuries, the attitude of the people and the palace. It allows us to see the cause and effect relationship. There are many research works explaining the connection between the Crusades and Byzantium with Latin and Islamic sources. An effort was made to complete this research and to shed light on it by comparing all period sources.