Dominate 2025 AP World History – Unleash Your Inner History Buff!

The correct answer, which identifies the invasion of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks as the event that most directly inspired Urban's invocation of Constantinople, reflects the broader geopolitical context of the time. The Seljuk Turks played a significant role in the destabilization of Byzantine territories, particularly in Anatolia, which had been a stronghold of the Byzantine Empire. This invasion not only threatened the very existence of the Byzantine state but also prompted urgent calls for help from the Western Christian kingdoms, leading to Pope Urban II's call for the First Crusade.

The significance of this event lies in the way it exemplified the shifting balance of power in the region and the resulting fear among Christian leaders regarding the safety of Jerusalem and other key Christian sites. Urban’s invocation of Constantinople served to rally support for reclaiming territories lost to Muslim powers, as well as to assert the influence of the papacy in addressing the crisis faced by the Byzantine Empire.

In contrast, other events such as the conquest of Constantinople by the Abbasid Caliphate and the invasions of the Balkans by the Avars and Bulgars occurred in different historical contexts and were not as directly tied to the immediate circumstances that prompted Urban’s call to action. The conversion of the people of