During the 7th century A.D., the Islamic army surged over the Middle East and North Africa, drastically shrinking Byzantine control. That wasn’t even the end of it. Emperor Alexius I was forced to call to Western Europe for assistance in protecting his now-smaller kingdom against an attack of Islamic Turks in the 11th century. The Crusades and centuries of conflict between Islam and Christianity began with this step.
The Byzantine Empire would thereafter deteriorate through the years until it was finally defeated by Ottoman Turks in 1453 when Constantinople fell to them. How did a once-powerful empire come to be so vulnerable? Well, it’s not entirely due to the invasions. Scientists now believe that several very genuine hazards – some of which we still face today – are to blame.
