Byzantine Culture

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The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204

Discover the Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople in 1204, when Western Crusaders captured and pillaged the Byzantine capital. Learn about the events, the consequences, and the long impact on East-West relations.

The Fourth Crusade, originally intended to recapture Jerusalem by way of Egypt, was diverted to Constantinople, where the Crusaders, induced by the scheming of the deposed Byzantine prince Alexios IV Angelos and the doge of Venice Enrico Dandolo, captured and sacked the city in April 1204. The sack of Constantinople, perhaps the most traumatic event in the entire history of the Byzantine Empire, established a Latin Empire in Constantinople, divided the Byzantine state into a number of successor states, and inflicted wounds on East-West Christian relations that have never fully healed. The event is still remembered in the modern Greek world as “the Catastrophe.”

The Fourth Crusade is one of the most controversial episodes in medieval history, and it has been the subject of intense historical debate. Some historians have emphasized the role of the Byzantine usurpers in inviting the Crusaders to Constantinople, while others have emphasized the economic interests of Venice and the political ambitions of the Latin West. The result, however, was indisputable: the sack of Constantinople was a catastrophe for the Byzantine Empire and a turning point in the history of the medieval Mediterranean.

The Background

The Origins of the Crusade

The Fourth Crusade was proclaimed in 1198 by Pope Innocent III, who called for a new expedition to recover the Holy Land, which had been lost to the Muslim forces of Saladin in 1187. The new crusade was led by several powerful nobles, including Boniface of Montferrat, Baldwin of Flanders, and Louis of Blois, and it was supplied by a contract with the Republic of Venice, which agreed to provide a fleet to transport the army to Egypt.

The original plan was to attack Egypt, the center of Muslim power in the eastern Mediterranean, and to use Egypt as a base from which to recapture the Holy Land. The plan was supported by the Byzantine emperor, Alexios III Angelos, who hoped to recover the Byzantine territories lost to the Seljuk Turks in the aftermath of the Battle of Manzikert. The Byzantine emperor offered the Crusaders a substantial payment in exchange for their assistance.

The plan fell apart, however, when the Byzantine emperor was overthrown by his brother Isaac II Angelos, who had been deposed and blinded by Alexios III. The new emperor, Alexios IV, the son of Isaac II, was sympathetic to the Crusaders, and he offered them a still larger payment in exchange for their help in recovering his father’s throne. The Crusaders agreed, and they set off for Constantinople.

The Diversion to Zara

The Crusaders’ first stop was at the city of Zara, on the Adriatic coast, which had been a Venetian possession but which had recently revolted against Venetian rule. The Crusaders, who needed money to pay the Venetians, agreed to help Venice in subduing the city, and they captured and sacked Zara in November 1202. The sack of Zara, a Christian city, caused a scandal in the Latin West, and Pope Innocent III excommunicated the Crusaders for their action.

The sack of Zara also set a dangerous precedent. The Crusaders had shown that they were willing to attack Christian cities in the service of their political and economic interests, and the diversion to Constantinople, which was to follow, would be the logical consequence of this willingness.

The Capture of Constantinople

The First Siege

The Crusaders arrived at Constantinople in the summer of 1203, and they demanded that the deposed emperor, Isaac II, be restored to the throne. The current emperor, Alexios III, refused to comply, and the Crusaders launched an attack on the city. The Crusaders were able to breach the walls of the city and to drive Alexios III from the throne, and the deposed emperor Isaac II was restored, with his son Alexios IV as co-emperor.

The new emperor, however, was unable to pay the Crusaders the large sum he had promised, and the Crusaders, who had been waiting in the suburbs of the city for months, became increasingly impatient. The new emperor also lost the support of the population of Constantinople, who resented the presence of the Latin Crusaders and who suspected the emperor of having sold out to the West.

The situation came to a head in January 1204, when a popular uprising in Constantinople overthrew the emperor Alexios IV, who was killed by his own subjects, and installed a new emperor, Alexios V Doukas, nicknamed Murzuphlos. The new emperor refused to honor the promises of his predecessor to the Crusaders, and the Crusaders, who were now determined to take the city by force, prepared for a final assault.

The Final Assault

The final assault came on 9 April 1204, after the Crusaders had built siege engines and had been reinforced by a Venetian fleet. The Crusaders were able to breach the walls of the city at several points, and the population of Constantinople, which had been defending the city, was forced to flee. The Crusaders poured into the city, and the sack of Constantinople began.

The sack was one of the most brutal in medieval history. The Crusaders, who had been angered by the long delay and by the failure of the Byzantines to pay the promised sum, gave themselves up to a frenzy of violence, looting, and destruction. The great churches of the city, including the Hagia Sophia, were stripped of their treasures, the libraries were burned, the monasteries were sacked, and the population of the city was massacred or enslaved.

The famous description of the sack, written by the Byzantine historian Nicetas Choniates, who was an eyewitness, has become one of the most powerful indictments of Western behavior in the medieval period: “The horses trampled on the holy and undefiled relics of the saints, the holy vessels of the church, and the sacred offerings. … Pity and mercy were nowhere to be found, and no respect was shown for age or rank. … The old suffered the same fate as the young, and women were treated with the same brutality as men.”

The Consequences

The Latin Empire

The sack of Constantinople was followed by the establishment of a Latin Empire in the city, with Baldwin of Flanders as the first Latin emperor. The Latin Empire controlled Constantinople and much of the European part of the Byzantine state, although it never controlled the whole empire. The Latin Empire was established by the Treaty of Constantinople, in which the lands of the Byzantine Empire were divided among the Crusaders, the Venetians, and the Greek successor states.

The Latin Empire was a fragile state, surrounded by hostile Greek states and under constant pressure from the Bulgarians and the Seljuk Turks. The Latin emperors were unable to extend their control over the Greek lands, and the Latin Empire was eventually reduced to the city of Constantinople itself, which it held until 1261, when the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptured the city.

The Greek Successor States

The sack of Constantinople was followed by the establishment of a number of Greek successor states, including the Empire of Nicaea in western Asia Minor, the Despotate of Epirus in northwestern Greece, and a number of smaller states in the Balkans and the islands. The most important of these states was the Empire of Nicaea, which was ruled by the Laskarid dynasty and which claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire.

The Empire of Nicaea was the strongest of the Greek successor states, and it gradually expanded its territory at the expense of the Latin Empire and the other Greek states. In 1261, the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos recaptured Constantinople, and the Palaiologan dynasty ruled the restored Byzantine Empire until its final fall in 1453.

The Long-Term Consequences

The sack of Constantinople had profound consequences for the Byzantine Empire and for the medieval world. The empire never recovered from the catastrophe, and the loss of the economic resources of Constantinople, the destruction of the libraries, and the trauma inflicted on the population were wounds that would never heal. The empire was reduced to a small Balkan state, and it was unable to mount an effective resistance to the Ottoman Turks, who would eventually absorb it.

The sack of Constantinople also had profound consequences for the relationship between Eastern and Western Christianity. The Great Schism of 1054 had already divided the two branches of Christianity, and the sack of Constantinople deepened the division. The memory of the sack has been a persistent element of the Greek national identity, and it has been a major obstacle to the reunion of the Eastern and Western churches.

The sack of Constantinople was also a major event in the history of Western Europe. The treasures of Constantinople, including the famous four bronze horses of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, the crown of thorns, and many other relics, were taken to the West, where they have remained. The artistic and architectural influence of the sack on the West was significant, and the Byzantine artistic tradition was transmitted to the West through the artifacts and the artists who were taken to Italy.

Conclusion

The Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople in 1204 was one of the most traumatic events in the entire history of the Byzantine Empire. The sack of the city, the destruction of the libraries, the looting of the churches, and the massacre of the population were wounds that would never heal. The empire was reduced to a small Balkan state, and the great dreams of the Byzantine emperors were never realized. The event has been remembered in the modern Greek world as “the Catastrophe,” and it has been a persistent element of the Greek national identity. To understand the sack of Constantinople is to understand one of the pivotal moments in the history of the medieval Mediterranean.

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