ABSTRACT
This chapter explores whether the stance of the Komnenian rulers towards the ideology and practice of the Crusade and its political consequences mainly in the region of Syria and Palestine (an area particularly important for the Byzantines, strategically as well as ideologically) was influenced principally by their perception of ‘holy war’ and the crusading idea, by the Byzantine notion of Christianitas and Romanitas, and the emperor’s responsibilities and obligations, or whether it was shaped each time by the contemporary political conditions. Τhis issue is explored through case studies pertaining to the First and Second Crusades (1096-1099 and 1147-1149, respectively), because these crusades played a key role in shaping the Eastern Romans’ perceptions and attitudes vis-à-vis the crusading movement.
