ABSTRACT
There was no need for the Franks to establish new cities in the East. They occupied the existing cities, expanding them beyond their walls as the need arose and sometimes extending the walls to include the newly settled areas. Within the cities they built new public and private buildings and converted others to suit their own needs. In short they imposed certain changes, many of which are still very much in evidence today. With the introduction of Latin populations into the cities several mosques were converted into churches, existing churches were expanded or rebuilt and new churches were constructed. In the larger cities the military orders established new quarters and in the major port cities Italians from Venice, Genoa and Pisa established their own independent colonies.
