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In the spring of 1097 the Crusaders arrived in Constantinople. Alexios, in his appeal for help, had assumed that the West would provide him with mercenaries who would submit to the Byzantine High Command. But the troops that now stood at the gates of Constantinople were self-confident knights with about 30,000 armed men - quite a potential threat to the weakened empire. To be on the safe side, the emperor swore allegiance to the commanders of each army, knowing that the Crusader objectives would not have to coincide with his own political plans in the future. In this oath, after some hesitation, the Crusaders fought to subordinate all territories recaptured by the Turks to Emperor Alexios. Accompanied by a Byzantine army, the Crusaders set out shortly afterwards from Constantinople for Jerusalem. On the way there, they conquered the occupied Nicaea in June 1097 and shortly thereafter beat the Seljuk main force in an open field battle. The Muslims were completely taken by surprise by this success. The Crusaders, on the other hand, had mastered their first triumph and moved on to Antioch in present-day Syria.

The siege of the well-fortified city dragged on for months quite unsuccessful, because the Crusaders on the thick walls of the strategically important city ran their heads. Disappointed and exhausted by the exertions, the first knights returned home. In this critical situation, the Byzantine general Tatikios, who supported the besiegers, committed a momentous mistake. He let himself be convinced that the siege promised little success and returned to Constantinople without any results. That was the license the crusaders had been waiting for. They voided their oath on Alexios and claimed the conquered city for themselves. In one fell swoop, the Emperor realized that Western support created more problems than it solved. The armies that were to keep their backs were self-employed and pursuing their own goals. One of the leaders of the Crusaders, Baldwin I of Boulogne, separated from the main army and established its own county in Edessa near the Euphrates. Bohemond I, another commander-in-chief, founded his principality in Antioch, and Raymond of Toulouse established the county of Tripoli on the Syrian coast. All in one area that the Byzantines still considered theirs.

Despite this division, the main army reached the holiest city of Christianity in June 1099. After only four weeks siege of Jerusalem on July 15, 1099 in the hands of the Crusaders. What followed was an indescribable carnage among the population, in which the conquerors made no distinction between Christian and Muslim populations. The glorious victory was then celebrated with the establishment of the new Kingdom of Jerusalem. For the Byzantine Empire, this success was not unproblematic. Although the direct threat of the Seljuk Turks was initially banned, instead there were now warring Crusaders on Byzantine territory. And far worse, most of the new gentlemen refused to recognize the command of Constantinople.