159th Pope of the Catholic Church. Pontificate 1088 - 1099. Started the First Crusade. Urban II's crusading movement took its first public shape at the Council of Piacenza, where, in March 1095, Urban II received an ambassador from the Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos asking for help against Muslim Turks who had taken over most of formerly Byzantine Anatolia. Urban II's also provided a programme of bringing Campania and Sicily firmly into the Catholic sphere after generations of control under the Byzantine Empire and the Aghlabid and Fatimid emirs. He was a Member of the Order of Saint Benedict.