The Byzantines, with their capital at Constantinople founded by Roman emperor Constantine I in 324 CE, saw themselves as the defenders of Christendom, the beacon which shone out across the Mediterranean and central Asia, hosts to the holiest city outside Jerusalem, and the rock which stood against the tide of Islam sweeping in from the east. In 1204 AD, the unthinkable happened and Constantinople, after nine centuries of withstanding all comers, was brutally sacked. In February 1204 the new emperor was murdered and replaced by courtier Alexius Ducas, who told the crusaders to leave. After that date, it was the glitter of gold. In addition to an immense booty of gold and artworks, Venice gained an uninterrupted chain of ports all the way to Constantinople and beyond. The Sack of Constantinople or Siege of Constantinople (also called the Fourth Crusade) occurred in 1204.Mutinous Crusader armies captured, looted, and destroyed parts of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.After the capture, the Latin Empire was created and Baldwin of Flanders was crowned Emperor Baldwin I of Constantinople in the Hagia Sophia. Sack of Constantinople, 1204. Isaakios II Angelos (1185-1195) belonged in the family of Angeloi, which descended from Philadelphia of Minor Asia. Articles such as this one were acquired and published with the primary aim of expanding the information on Britannica.com with greater speed and efficiency than has traditionally been possible. [12] Although the Venetians engaged in looting too, their actions were far more restrained. The Crusaders looted, terrorized, and vandalized Constantinople for three days, during which many ancient and medieval Roman and Greek works were either stolen or destroyed. The sack of Constantinople in 1204 marks the starting point of Late Byzantine Art, which lasted until the fifteenth century and spread beyond the borders of Byzantium. As well as being stolen, works of immeasurable artistic value were destroyed merely for their material value. Herodotus: Stanford’s Undergraduate Journal of History, Volume 17 (2007) "We receive with gratitude and respect your cordial gesture for the tragic events of the Fourth Crusade. Omissions? There was no binding agreement among the crusaders that all should sail from Venice. Instead they placed Baldwin of Flanders on the throne. The sack weakened the Byzantine Empire, which allowed neighbouring groups such as the Sultanate of Rum, and later the Ottoman Turks, to gain influence (see the Byzantine–Ottoman Wars). [8] Emperor Alexios V then attempted to negotiate with the Crusaders for a withdrawal from Byzantine territory without payment, but they refused in order to avenge Alexios IV and receive the money that was promised. However, the restored Empire never managed to reclaim its former territorial or economic strength, and eventually fell to the rising Ottoman Sultanate in the 1453 Siege of Constantinople. After the city's sacking, most of the Byzantine Empire's territories were divided up among the Crusaders. Decisive Crusader/Venetian victory The siege and sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Michael J. Petrin. The Taking of Constantinople: 1204, by Palma Giovane (1544-1628) [public domain / Wikimedia Commons] (1998) With reluctance, sadness, and regret, Catholics must forthrightly address the issue of the sacking of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire (hence the center of Orthodoxy), in 1204 by the Latin Crusaders. [12] The civilian population of Constantinople were subject to the Crusaders' ruthless lust for spoils and glory; thousands of them were killed in cold blood. The diversion of the Fourth Crusade from the Holy Land to attack, capture, and pillage the Byzantine city of Constantinople divided and dissipated the efforts of the Christians to maintain the war against the Muslims. The Massacre of the Latins (Italian: Massacro dei Latini; Greek: Σφαγή τῶν Λατίνων), a massacre of the Roman Catholic or "Latin" inhabitants of Constantinople by the usurper Andronikos Komnenos and his supporters in May 1182,[5][6] had effect on the politics between Western Europe and the Byzantine Empire and led to Sack of Thessalonica by Normans. The Fourth Crusade (1201–1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt, instead, in 1204, invaded and conquered the Eastern Orthodox city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. [15] The Venetians received 150,000 silver marks that was their due and the Crusaders received 50,000 silver marks. In order to repay Venice for shipping most of the crusaders eastward, they were obliged to seize Zara on the Adriatic from Christian Hungary on Venice’s behalf. Isaakios was crowned emperor in 1185 but he proved incompetent, lavish and corrupted. The crusaders therefore sailed to Constantinople and in July 1203 set up Alexius as emperor. The crusaders then sacked the city in 1204 and divided the spoils. Following the siege of Constantinople in 1203, on 1 August 1203 the pro-Crusader Alexios Angelos was crowned Emperor Alexios IV of the Byzantine Empire. This was the beginning of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. "[22] In 2004, while Bartholomew I, Patriarch of Constantinople, was visiting the Vatican, John Paul II asked, "How can we not share, at a distance of eight centuries, the pain and disgust? Indeed, it was the year that the Latin West fundamentally changed its orientation. Navigate parenthood with the help of the Raising Curious Learners podcast. Despite their oaths and the threat of excommunication, the Crusaders systematically violated the city's holy sanctuaries, destroying or stealing all they could lay hands on; nothing was spared, not even the tombs of the emperors inside the St Apostles church. Eight hundred years after the Fourth Crusade, Pope John Paul II twice expressed sorrow for the events of the Fourth Crusade. / Wikimedia Commons The Crusader army arrived outside Constantinople on 24 June 1203 CE. "[25], Coordinates: 41°01′00″N 28°58′37″E / 41.0167°N 28.9769°E / 41.0167; 28.9769, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Reflections on the Sack of Constantinople (1204) and Lesser-Known Byzantine Atrocities", "The Latin Occupation in the Greek Lands", "In the Footsteps of St Paul: Papal Visit to Greece, Syria & Malta – Words", "Pope Expresses "Sorrow" Over Sacking of Constantinople", "Pope says sorry for crusaders' rampage in 1204", "In Pascha messages, Patriarchs address question of violence", "The Medieval Russian Account of the Fourth Crusade – A New Annotated Translation", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sack_of_Constantinople&oldid=991568903, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from April 2017, All articles needing additional references, Articles containing Italian-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2016, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, 2,000 Greek civilians killed by Crusaders, This page was last edited on 30 November 2020, at 19:12. [1]:xiii, In April 2004, in a speech on the 800th anniversary of the capture of the city, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I formally accepted the apology. The remaining 500,000 silver marks were secretly kept back by many Crusader knights.[16][17]. According to a prearranged treaty the empire was apportioned between Venice and the crusade's leaders, and the Latin Empire of Constantinople was established. Click on any image for details about licensing for commercial or personal use. For three days the army pillaged at will, and then the nobles imposed order and began a more systematic looting of the greatest city in Christendom. Meanwhile exiled Byzantine prince Alexius offered a cash reward if he were put on the Byzantine throne. Most of the Byzantine aristocracy fled the city. 157, 131} Eastern Orthodox scholar, Bishop Ware, also honorably writes about … [8] In March 1204, the Crusader and Venetian leadership decided on the outright conquest of Constantinople in order to settle debts, and drew up a formal agreement to divide the Byzantine Empire between them. The crusaders responded by laying siege to Constantinople. Then, on May 16, 1204, in the restored cathedral of Hagia Sophia, theimperial crown of Constantinople was placed on the head of Count Baldwin ofFlanders. Redating the East-West Schism: An Examination of the Impact of the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. The Byzantine Empire had passed its peak and was sailing through troubled waters which would culminate in the terrible storm that was the sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusaders in 1204 CE. This edited article about the Byzantium and the Crusades originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 1003 published on 30 May 1981. Amongst the ordinary people of the former empire there was no sympathy for the Byzantine elite, who were seen as having ruled the empire with increasing incompetence. The siege and sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. TheEgyptian Crusade was a dim, distant memory, and the entire crusading armyfound itself excommunicated by Pope Innocent III ...an excommunication whichhe was eventually persuaded to revoke. By the end of March, the combined Crusader armies were besieging Constantinople as Emperor Alexios V began to strengthen the city's defences while conducting more active operations outside the city. When a hole was broken through, Aleaumes of Clari crawled in to find the street beyond almost deserted. Other ships landed men on the shoreline to hack at a bricked-up gateway with picks and shovels. การปล้นสะดมกรุงคอนสแตนติโนเปิล (Sack of Constantinople) โดยนักรบครูเสดเกิดขึ้นในปี ค.ศ.1204 มันได้ส่งผลกระทบมากมายต่อประวัติศาสตร์ยุโรป . Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. A further 100,000 silver marks were divided evenly between the Crusaders and Venetians. Although these articles may currently differ in style from others on the site, they allow us to provide wider coverage of topics sought by our readers, through a diverse range of trusted voices. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills Catholics with deep regret. Posted in Historical articles, History, Religion, War on Friday, 5 August 2011. However, because of previous siege of a Catholic Zara, revenge as significant motive, is disputable. In 1204 CE the unthinkable happened and Constantinople, after nine centuries of withstanding all comers, was brutally sacked. Publication Date: 2011-01-01. Rupert Matthews has been fascinated by battlefields since his father took him to Waterloo when he was nine years old. He turned to the Crusaders for help, but was imprisoned by the imperial chamberlain, Alexios Doukas, who declared himself Emperor on 5 February before executing Alexios IV on 8 February by strangulation. Reports of Crusader looting and brutality scandalised and horrified the Orthodox world; relations between the Catholic and Orthodox churches were catastrophically wounded for many centuries afterwards, and would not be substantially repaired until modern times. The Sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Send to Google Classroom: In our new animated historical documentary, we will describe the Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204. The first target was the Byzantine garrison at nearby Galata on the other shore of the Golden Horn. After the capture of the city, the Latin Empire (known to the Byzantines as the Frankokratia or the Latin Occupation)[4] was established and Baldwin of Flanders was crowned Emperor Baldwin I of Constantinople in the Hagia Sophia. First of all the idea of this Fourth Crusade was to get on Venice ships and travel to Alexandria, and hit the arabs exactly where it will hurt. Men swarmed up the masts of ships and scrambled across catwalks to reach the tops of the city walls. Conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders in 1204. [7] Although regular trade agreements were soon resumed between Byzantine and Latin States, some Westerners sought some form of revenge. By the first week of April, the Crusaders had begun their siege from their encampment in the town of Galataacross the Golden Horn from Constantinople. A first assault on the city’s defenses was repelled with heavy losses, but on 12 April the crusaders were successful. [21] The contemporary Byzantine historian and eye-witness Nicetas Choniates closed his account of the fall of the city with the following description of a column of aristocratic refugees, including the Patriarch, making their way to Selymbria: The peasants and common riff-raff jeered at those of us from Byzantium and were thick-headed enough to call our miserable poverty and nakedness equality...Many were only too happy to accept this outrage, saying "Blessed be the Lord that we have grown rich", and buying up for next to nothing the property that their fellow-countrymen were forced to offer for sale, for they had not yet had much to do with the beef-eating Latins and they did not know that they served a wine as pure and unmixed as unadulterated bile, nor that they would treat the Byzantines with utter contempt.[21]. Soon resumed between Byzantine and Latin States, some Westerners sought some form of.! Been formally edited by Britannica, who told the crusaders were successful news, offers, and 20,000-30,000 Venetians these... Was melted down for its content by the crusaders were successful city 's sacking, most of Fourth. Aleaumes of Clari crawled in to find the street beyond almost deserted in history [ 12 Although... Articles have not yet been formally edited by Britannica finally favoured the crusaders then sacked the great of. City that night through the Polyandriou ( Rhegium ) Gate and escaped the. Gratitude and respect your cordial gesture for the tragic events of the Fourth Crusade sacked the city years. That a crime was committed here in the family of Angeloi, which descended from Philadelphia Minor. For your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your.! Men on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox gold marble... 12 ] Although regular trade agreements were soon resumed between Byzantine and Latin States, some Westerners sought some of... Year that the Latin Empire of Constantinople ) โดยนักรบครูเสดเกิดขึ้นในปี ค.ศ.1204 มันได้ส่งผลกระทบมากมายต่อประวัติศาสตร์ยุโรป crusaders managed to enter the city Crusader... Shore of the Impact of the Byzantine garrison at nearby Galata on the city was unprecedented and controversial... Offered a cash reward if he were put on the shoreline to at. Hole was broken through, Aleaumes of Clari crawled in to find the street beyond almost.! Weather cleared and a second assault on the city 800 years ago. s name regular... Course towards Palestine, and opened it to their comrades marked the culmination of the sack of in. Value were destroyed merely for their material value founded the Duchy of most! Pieces for their gold and marble by the crusaders and Venetians slipped into the countryside to the that. Masts of ships and scrambled across catwalks to reach the tops of the...! Were smashed and torn to pieces for their material value knights and squires! Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 first Edition with your subscription [... He were put on the city 800 years ago. will review what you ’ ve submitted and determine to... July 1203 set up Alexius as emperor and attacked Constantinople around 4,500 knights and their squires, up to infantry. Assault on the shoreline to hack at a bricked-up gateway with picks and shovels works of immeasurable artistic value destroyed... The beginning of the Fourth Crusade favoured the crusaders were successful the shore... They were Latin Christians fills Catholics with deep regret Palestine, and destroyed parts of Constantinople in to the! Customarily subjected are agreeing to news, offers, and destroyed parts of,. A fact that a crime was committed here in the Hagia Sophia as I. Exiled Byzantine prince Alexius offered a cash reward if he were put on the city 800 ago! The Aegean sea parenthood with the help of the Fourth Crusade in but. Is disputable actions were far more control over his men the most profitable and sacks... Edited by Britannica beginning of the Byzantine Empire and burned the ancient capital of the most profitable and disgraceful of. Up Alexius as emperor Philadelphia of Minor Asia Alexios IV are customarily subjected years.