what led Pope Urban II to call christians to a religious war? Choose 2: The Byzantine emperor asked for help or the Seijuk Turks sent ships to attack the City of Rome or Vikings attacked parts of Europe from the north or the Pope wanted Christians in Europe to retake the Holy Land from the Muslims?
The two main factors that led Pope Urban II to call Christians to a religious war, known as the First Crusade, are:
1. **The Byzantine emperor asked for help:** The Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos sent emissaries to Pope Urban II asking for assistance against the Seljuk Turks who had made significant advances into Byzantine territory, capturing key cities and lands. The Byzantines, being of the Orthodox Christian tradition and not the Latin (Catholic) Church, seeking aid was significant in showing the dire nature of their situation.
2. **The Pope wanted Christians in Europe to retake the Holy Land from the Muslims:** The growing concern over the Muslim (Seljuk Turk) control over the Holy Land, which holds religious significance for Christians as the location of many events in the life of Jesus Christ, was another major factor for Urban II's appeal. The call to retake the Holy Land was also framed as a pilgrimage, with the added goal of aiding fellow Christians under Muslim rule.
The claim that the Seljuk Turks sent ships to attack the City of Rome is not accurate in this historical context, and the Viking attacks from the north were not a direct impetus for the call to crusade by Urban II. Vikings did indeed raid parts of Europe during earlier centuries but were no longer a significant threat by the end of the 11th century when the First Crusade was initiated in 1095.