"The Seljuk sultans governed their Christian subjects with mercy and tolerance, and even partial Byzantine historians have hinted in some cases that the Christians preferred the rule of the sultans to that of their emperors. The Christians under the Seljuk were happier than those in the heart of the Byzantine Empire, and those living on the Byzantine frontier, which was constantly subject to raids, were the most miserable. As far as religious oppression and coercion is concerned, there is no sign of it in the Seljuk period." - William Mitchell Ramsay (1895)
The occupation of Constantinople (Istanbul) by the Latin Crusaders in 1204: “Every head was in agony. In the narrow streets there was bitter crying and wailing, in the broad avenues there was lamentation, from the churches there was groaning, the shouting of men, the screaming of women. / These madmen (Latins) opposed everything that was holy. They showed no mercy to pious women, to young girls of marriageable age, or to those who had chosen virginity and entered monasteries and dedicated themselves to God. / The Ishmaelites (Muslims) did not behave like this. Because when they captured Zion (Jerusalem) (in 1187) they treated the Latins with mercy and kindness.” - Niketas Choniates (1204)