The relative failure of the Third Crusade, although it caused despondency in the West, did not force the idea of conquering Jerusalem to be abandoned. The sudden death of Saladin (there were rumors that the assassins had a hand in it, which, however, is unlikely) and the subsequent collapse of the Ayyubid state stirred up the hopes of the Catholic world. The son of Frederick Barbarossa, the young and energetic Emperor Henry VI, sent several large German detachments to Palestine, which managed to achieve some success - Beirut, Laodicea and several small cities were recaptured. With the support of Pope Celestine III, the German emperor began preparations for a great crusade. However, an evil fate seemed to hang over the Germans in the crusading movement. Just as a large German army was about to march to the Holy Land, Henry VI unexpectedly died at the age of only thirty-two. The army, held together only by the will of the leader, immediately disintegrates, and the idea of a crusade hangs in the air again.
The situation changes at the beginning of 1198. Celestine III dies in Rome, and the youngest of the cardinals ascends to the apostolic throne under the name of Innocent III - at the time of his election he was thirty-seven years old - Lotario Conti, Count of Segni. The pontificate of this extremely active pontiff became the most famous in the history of the papacy. Innocent III almost succeeded in achieving the implementation of the program of his great predecessor Gregory VII. Using the temporary weakness of the Empire, he was able to become the supreme arbiter of Europe, and such large European states as England, Portugal and Aragon under him generally became vassals of the apostolic throne. However, the first task of Innocent III is to organize a truly significant crusading enterprise. Papal messages calling for a crusade were sent to most countries in Europe. To those who accepted the cross, the Pope promised complete remission of sins for just one year of military service for Christ's purposes. He himself gave a tenth of his income to the needs of the holy pilgrimage.
As usual, the papal calls inflamed a large number of priests and monks. Among these propagandists of the crusade, Fulk of Neuilly, the “second edition” of Peter the Hermit, stood out with particular fervor. His sermons attracted crowds of thousands; Soon rumors spread that he could heal and perform miracles. An uneducated man, but an eloquent fanatic, Fulk subsequently claimed that two hundred thousand people took the cross from his hands. It is worth noting, however, that all these hundreds of thousands, if they existed, did not play any role in the crusade, for the common people, who especially eagerly followed Fulk, were simply excluded from participating in it.
But in one case, the agitation of Fulk of Neuilly still worked in the right direction. This happened at a knight's tournament in Ecrie in the fall of 1199. Many sovereign lords and hundreds of knights gathered for the tournament. Fulk, who arrived here, asked permission to speak in front of a brilliant society and was a huge success. Thibault, Count of Champagne, and Louis, Count of Blois and Chartres, accepted the cross from the hands of the preacher. Their example proved contagious, especially in Northern France. In February 1200, Count Baldwin of Flanders joined the crusaders, and with him most of his vassals. From that time on, the preparation for the crusade moved into the second phase - the phase of necessary technical solutions.
The entire year 1200 was spent in meetings of the leaders of the campaign. Thibault Champagne was elected military leader as the first to accept the cross. In order to ensure the delivery of the crusaders to the Holy Land, an embassy was sent to Venice and... this choice of the northern French counts turned out to be fatal both for the Holy Land and for the fate of the entire crusader movement. The Venetians, for whom holy goals had long ago become an empty phrase, charged an unheard-of price for the transportation of the crusader army - eighty-five thousand marks of silver (about twenty tons). Pisa and Genoa, which could have become an alternative to the Venetians, at this time came into mutual strife, and the ambassadors were forced to sign a draconian treaty.
Be that as it may, with the signing of the agreement, the decisive stage of preparation for the campaign began - the time to collect funds and the necessary military and food supplies. But in the midst of this preparation, Thibault Champagne, still very young (twenty-three years old), unexpectedly dies, and the campaign is left without a leader. For deeply religious Europe this was too much.
Two military leaders - Henry VI, and after him the Count of Champagne - die one after another in the prime of life. The majority begins to believe that a curse hangs over the planned campaign; it is displeasing to God. Soon Counts Ed of Burgundy and Thibault of Bar refuse the offered honor of becoming the leader of the crusaders. The fate of the trip becomes quite vague.
The solution was found by one of the ambassadors to Venice. Marshal of Champagne Geoffroy de Villehardouin, the future chronicler of the campaign, managed to find a man who was quite adventurous in character, and at the same time enjoyed undisputed authority in the Catholic world. It was Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, brother of the famous Conrad of Montferrat - the hero of the defense of Tire from Saladin, killed by the Assassins at the moment of his triumph - Conrad was proclaimed King of Jerusalem. Revenge for his brother, a penchant for adventure, a good opportunity to get rich—either one reason or another, or all of them together played a role here, but Boniface of Montferrat happily agreed to lead the “Army of Christ.”
The election of a new leader and the collection of a colossal sum for payment to the Venetians at that time greatly delayed the start of the pilgrimage. Only in the spring of 1202 did pilgrims begin to leave their lands. And here problems immediately arose. A significant part of the crusaders refused to come to the gathering in Venice - either not trusting the Venetians, known for their cunning, or out of a desire to save money. Of course, the fact that there was no truly authoritative figure among the crusader leaders also played a role - unlike the Second and Third Campaigns, where kings and emperors led the troops. Now every baron or count, not bound by vassal relations, pulled the blanket over themselves, not considering it necessary to submit to military discipline. The result was very disastrous - by August 1202, only a third of the forces that were supposed to participate in the campaign had gathered in Venice. Instead of the thirty-five thousand whom the Venetians agreed to transport under the treaty, from eleven to nineteen thousand people converged on the Lido Island near Venice. Meanwhile, Venice demanded payment of the entire huge sum, although now such a number of ships was no longer needed. Naturally, it was not possible to collect the entire amount: this relatively small part of the army simply did not have that kind of money. Twice a fundraiser was announced, and yet thirty-four thousand marks were not enough. And then the Venetians offered a “way out” of the situation.
Crusader ship. Layout
As compensation for the missing amount, the crusaders were offered to take part in a campaign against the city of Zadar, a major port on the Adriatic Sea, which had long been a trade competitor of Venice. There was, however, one small problem - Zadar was a Christian city, and the war with it had nothing to do with the struggle for faith. But the Venetian Doge Enrico Dandolo, in fact, took the crusader leaders by the throat. After all, a huge amount - more than fifty thousand marks - had already been paid, and the Venetians had no intention of returning it. “You cannot fulfill the terms of the agreement,” Dandolo told the crusaders, “in this case, we can wash our hands of it.” The Crusade was on the verge of complete collapse. Moreover, the militant pilgrims simply did not have the means to feed themselves, and the Venetians were in no way going to feed them for free. Locked on the island of Lido, as if in a prison, under the threat of starvation, the “Soldiers of Christ” were forced to agree to the Venetian proposals. And in October 1202, a gigantic fleet of two hundred and twelve ships sailed to Zadar.
The fleet arrived under the city walls on November 12. A siege began, which the pilgrims, clearly feeling deceived, waged very reluctantly, and many of them directly declared to the Zadar ambassadors that they were not going to fight against the Christian city, because it was disgusting to God and the church.
The intervention of Enrico Dandolo was again required, and under his pressure the discontent brewing in the camp of the besiegers was temporarily extinguished. The counts and barons pledged to continue the siege, and Zadar eventually capitulated on 24 November.
However, on the third day after the conquest, the conflict between the pilgrims and the Venetians flared up again, and it came to an open battle. The initiators of the discord were simple crusaders, among whom religious sentiments were especially strong. Their hatred of Venice, which stood in the way of God’s holy work, was very great. The battle on the streets of Zadar continued until late at night, and only with great difficulty did the crusader leaders manage to calm down this feud, which claimed the lives of more than a hundred people. But although the army leaders managed to keep the soldiers from further clashes, the split in the army continued. By this time, rumors had already reached here that Innocent III was extremely dissatisfied with the attack on the Christian city and could excommunicate the entire army from the church, which automatically made the entire campaign illegitimate.
In the end, the crusaders' fears were not justified. The Pope forgave the pilgrims for the sin of war against Christians, wisely shifting the blame onto the Venetians, whom he excommunicated. But in the meantime, while the “Soldiers of Christ” were still warily awaiting the papal verdict, an event occurred that finally turned the campaign away from the “path of the Lord” and turned it into an adventure unprecedented in its scale. At the beginning of 1203, ambassadors from Tsarevich Alexei, the son of the deposed Byzantine Emperor Isaac Angelos, arrived in Zadar, where the crusaders had to stay for the whole winter (in those days they did not sail in the Mediterranean Sea in winter).
Here it is worth briefly turning to Byzantine history, since without understanding the situation that had developed in the “Roman Empire” by this time, it will be impossible to understand the entire further course of events. And at the end of the 12th – beginning of the 13th centuries, Byzantium was going through difficult times.
The “Silver Age” of the Komnenos for the Greek Empire ended in 1180 with the death of Basileus Manuel, the grandson of Alexios I Komnenos. From this moment on, the country enters an era of political storms, civil wars and palace coups. The short but terribly bloody reign of his brother Andronikos ended with his death in the fire of an uprising, the collapse of the Komnenos dynasty and the accession to the throne of the representative of the new dynasty - Isaac Angelos. But the Angels were far from equal to their great predecessors. The country never knew peace, it was shaken by riots, and the governors did not obey the orders of the basileus. In 1191 Cyprus was lost, conquered by Richard the Lionheart; At the same time, Bulgaria rebelled and soon gained independence. And in 1195, Isaac Angel's brother Alexei, taking advantage of the army's dissatisfaction, carried out a military coup and declared himself Emperor Alexei III. Isaac, on his orders, is blinded and put in a prison tower along with his son and heir, also Alexei. However, in 1201, young Alexei manages to escape and goes to seek help from the German Emperor Philip, who is married to his sister Irene. Philip received his relative with honor, but refused military support, since in Germany itself at that time there was a fierce struggle for supreme power. However, he advised Alexei to seek help from the crusaders who had just captured Zadar, and promised all possible support in this. At the end of 1202, German ambassadors, representing both Emperor Philip and the Byzantine prince Alexei, went to the crusaders for assistance.
Arriving in the East, the ambassadors make a stunning and very tempting offer to the crusader leaders. The pilgrims are asked to go to Constantinople and use military force to help Emperor Isaac or his heir Alexei return to the throne. For this, on behalf of Alexei, they promise to pay the crusaders a staggering sum of two hundred thousand marks in silver, to equip an army of ten thousand to help the crusaders in the Holy Land and, in addition, to maintain a large detachment of five hundred knights with Byzantine money. And most importantly, Tsarevich Alexei promises to return Byzantium to the fold of the Catholic Church, under the rule of the Pope.
The grandeur of the promises undoubtedly made a due impression on the Latin counts and barons. After all, there is huge money here, more than doubling the entire Venetian debt, and a just cause - the return of power to the rightful emperor. And the transition of Byzantium to Catholicism is comparable in holiness only to the recapture of Jerusalem from the infidels. Of course, the trip to the Holy Land is again postponed indefinitely, and the success of the proposed enterprise is by no means guaranteed. But does it really matter when it's at stake? such money?! And the leaders of the campaign agreed.
However, convincing ordinary pilgrims of the need to once again postpone the advance to the Holy Land was not at all easy. Many of the crusaders took the cross three or even five years ago. The campaign was already overly prolonged, and thousands of the most fanatical pilgrims demanded that they be immediately taken to Acre. Even the persuasion of the priests did not really help, and soon some of the most irreconcilable left the army and headed by ship to the shores of the Levant. But the core of the army was preserved; moreover, with the departure of the dissatisfied, continuous discord ceased. In May 1203, the entire Venetian crusading army boarded ships and moved towards Constantinople.
On June 26, the giant squadron (with Tsarevich Alexei joining it along the way) dropped anchor in Scutari, on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus. In this place, the width of the famous strait is less than one kilometer, so all the actions of the crusaders were clear to the Byzantines. In particular, it was absolutely clear to the Greeks that the crusading army was not too large in size, because even such a large fleet could carry no more than thirty thousand people. This set the stage for the complete failure of the initial negotiations: after all, the Greeks had significant forces even in the city itself, and the entire Byzantine army outnumbered the crusader army several times over. And if the empire itself had remained the same, as it was a quarter of a century ago, the fate of the pilgrims would have been sad. But since the time of the Komnenos, a lot of water has already flowed under the bridge. The authority of the supreme power fell to its limit. The usurper Alexei III was extremely unpopular among the people and relied only on the Varang squad loyal to him.
On July 11, realizing that further negotiations were pointless, the crusaders began landing at the walls of Constantinople. His first siege began. Here the “soldiers of Christ” were immediately lucky. Taking advantage of the sluggishness of the Greeks, they were able to capture the Galata fortress on the opposite bank of the Golden Horn Bay from Constantinople. This put the entire harbor of Constantinople into their hands and made it possible to stop the supply of troops, ammunition and food to the besieged by sea. Then the city was surrounded by land, and the crusaders, as during the siege of Acre, built a fortified camp, which served them considerable service. On July 7, the famous iron chain blocking the path to the bay was broken, and Venetian ships entered the Golden Horn harbor. Thus, Constantinople was besieged both from sea and land.
The most surprising thing about this unprecedented siege was that the number of besiegers was much smaller than the number of defenders of the city. Geoffroy de Villehardouin generally claims that for every pilgrim warrior there were two hundred Byzantine warriors. This is, of course, a clear exaggeration; however, there is no doubt that the besieged had an army three to five times larger than the crusader army. But the Greeks could neither prevent the landing of the pilgrims nor resist the capture of the harbor. This apparent weakness of the city's defenders testifies to the extent of the collapse of Byzantine political structures and the complete split of Greek society, which, even before the arrival of the crusaders, was constantly teetering on the brink of civil war. In fact, the largest Greek part of the army did not represent a real fighting force, since it had in its ranks many supporters of the overthrown Isaac Angelos. The Greeks were not at all eager to defend Alexei III, who was extremely unpopular among the people, pinning their hopes mainly on the Varangian mercenaries. Twenty years of continuous unrest and revolutions were not in vain for the empire. At a moment of extreme danger, the great Greek power found itself split and weakened, absolutely unable to defend itself even from a not very strong enemy, as subsequent events proved.
Plan of Constantinople
For ten days from July 7 to 16, the crusaders prepared for the assault on the city. July 17th was the decisive day. From land, the walls of Constantinople were attacked by French crusaders led by Baldwin of Flanders (Boniface of Montferrat remained to guard the camp, since there was a danger of attack from the outside); The Venetians, led by Enrico Dandolo, moved from the sea to attack. Baldwin's attack soon fizzled out, encountering fierce resistance from the Varangians, but the Venetian attack turned out to be quite successful. Led by a fearless blind (!) old man who personally led the assault, the Italian sailors proved that they knew how to fight not only at sea. They managed to capture first one tower, and then several more, and even broke into the city. However, their further advance stalled; and soon the situation changed so much that it forced the Venetians to retreat from the city and even abandon the already conquered towers. The reason for this was the critical situation in which the French pilgrims found themselves.
After the land attack was repulsed, Alexei III finally decided to strike at the crusaders. He withdrew almost all his troops from the city and moved towards the French camp. The French, however, were ready for this and took up a position near the fortified palisades. The troops approached to the distance of a crossbow shot, and... the Byzantines stopped. Despite their enormous numerical superiority, the Greek army and its insecure commander were afraid to launch a decisive offensive, knowing that the Franks were very strong in the field. For several hours both troops stood opposite each other. The Greeks hoped to lure the crusaders away from the strong fortifications of the camp, while the pilgrims awaited with horror the attack that seemed inevitable. The situation for the crusaders was truly critical. The fate of the Greek empire, the fate of the crusade and the entire crusader movement was decided here, in this many hours of silent confrontation.
Teutonic knights in battle. Miniature from the 14th century
Alexei III's nerves trembled. Not daring to attack, he gave the order to retreat to Constantinople. That same night, the Byzantine basileus fled the city, taking with him several hundred kilograms of gold and jewelry. After this, for another eight years, the unlucky usurper will rush around the country in search of allies, until in 1211 he finds himself in the Seljuk camp, and after the defeat of the Seljuk army from the Greeks (!), he ends his life in captivity of his successor, the Nicaean emperor Theodore Lascaris. But that is another story.
In Constantinople, the emperor’s flight was discovered the next morning and caused a real shock. The city, of course, was capable of defending itself for a long time, but the desertion of the basileus finally broke the resolve of the Byzantines. Supporters of reconciliation with the Franks gained the upper hand. Blind Isaac Angel was solemnly released from prison and restored to the throne. Immediately, ambassadors were sent to the crusaders with a message about this. This news caused unprecedented rejoicing in the army of pilgrims. The unexpected success could only be explained by the Lord's providence - after all, the army, which only yesterday was on the brink of destruction, today could celebrate victory. Boniface of Montferrat sends envoys to Isaac Angelus demanding confirmation of the terms of the treaty signed by his son. Isaac was horrified by the exorbitant demands, but, being in a hopeless situation, was forced to confirm the agreement. And on August 1, Tsarevich Alexei was crowned in a solemn ceremony, becoming his father’s co-ruler under the name of Alexei IV.
So, the crusaders essentially completed their task. The legitimate emperor was installed on the throne, he was submissive to his benefactors in everything. Soon the pilgrims receive from Alexei IV approximately half of the agreed amount - about one hundred thousand marks. This is quite enough to finally pay Venice in full. And the pilgrims remember the real goal of the campaign, for which they took the cross - the liberation of Jerusalem. The voice of ordinary pilgrims rushing to the Holy Land can be heard again. But the unprecedented, incredible success has already turned the heads of the leaders, and they are persuading the impatient to wait until Alexei IV fully pays off his bills. The thirst for profit turned out to be stronger than godly aspirations, and after some debate, the crusaders postponed their campaign in Palestine until next spring. Perhaps this decision was also influenced by Alexei’s request for military assistance, since he, loudly called “Basileus of the Romans,” had real power only in Constantinople itself. He also feels unsteady in the capital, since the population is extremely dissatisfied with the huge payments to the crusaders, for which Alexei even had to confiscate and melt down precious church utensils. The imperial treasury is empty, an attempt to borrow from the rich of Constantinople is unsuccessful: they are not at all eager to support the protege of the hated Latins. The crusaders themselves understand that in this situation it is difficult for the new basileus to fulfill the terms of the agreement, and decide to help him strengthen power in the empire. Soon about half of the Frankish army leaves with Alexei for Thrace; after a series of successful sieges and battles, they return in November 1203 with a sense of duty well done. However, after returning to the capital as a winner, Alexey becomes less and less accommodating. Under various pretexts, he delays further payments. Enraged by this, the crusader leaders sent envoys to both emperors demanding immediate payment. However, Alexey refuses further contributions, since the situation in the city is tense to the limit, and new exactions will inevitably lead to an uprising. Poor Angels found themselves between two fires. Alexey tries to explain the situation to the Venetian Doge - he is clearly smarter than his French colleagues - but Enrico Dandolo is adamant: either money or war. So, from the end of November, the crusading adventure moves into the next phase - the struggle against the legitimate emperor.
Storm of Constantinople. From a painting by Tintoretto
The crusaders themselves feel the legal vulnerability of their position, so the fighting is very sluggish. Innocent III also expresses dissatisfaction with the actions of the “pilgrims of Christ,” who is very annoyed by the continuous postponement of the trip to the Holy Land. And Alexei himself strives for reconciliation with the crusaders. Sometimes, however, he shows his teeth, like on January 1, 1204, when the Byzantines attempted to burn the entire Venetian fleet with the help of fireships. Thanks to the skill of the Italian sailors, this attempt failed, and the “strange war” continued.
Everything changed on January 25, 1204, when a violent uprising broke out in Constantinople. It was led mainly by monks, for whom Alexei’s stated idea of subordinating the Eastern Church to the Pope was hateful. For three days the entire city, with the exception of the imperial palaces, was in the hands of the rebels. Under these conditions, the Byzantine elite, already fearing for their own lives, decided to carry out a coup d'etat - in order to calm the population. On the night of January 28, the imperial adviser Alexei Dukas, nicknamed Murzufl, arrests Alexei IV and throws him into prison. The next day, Murzufla is crowned Basileus of the Romans. Old Isaac, having received news of the arrest of his son and the coronation of the usurper, cannot withstand the shock and dies. A few days later, on the orders of Murzufla, Alexei IV was also killed. The uprising of the plebs dies out by itself, and Murzufl, under the name of Alexei V, becomes the sole ruler of the empire.
The coronation of Alexios V significantly worsened the position of the crusaders. Even under the Angels, Murzuphlus was known as one of the most ardent opponents of the Latins. As soon as he came to power, he confirmed this, in the form of an ultimatum, demanding that the “Warriors of Christ” clear the Byzantine territory within eight days. The crusaders, naturally, refused - especially since in winter this was impossible anyway. However, despondency reigned in the pilgrim camp. The situation seemed rather hopeless. Both of their Byzantine proteges died, thereby losing the opportunity to split the Byzantine ranks. The situation was aggravated by the ensuing famine: after all, all food supplies completely stopped. The army, which was on the verge of starvation, ate almost exclusively horse meat, and every day dozens, or even hundreds of people died from hunger and deprivation. In addition, the Greeks almost daily launched forays and attacks, which, although they did not produce any serious results, kept the crusader army in constant tension.
An unexpected and happy turning point for the “Knights of Christ” came in February. Murzufl received news that a large detachment of crusaders led by Count Henry, brother of Baldwin of Flanders, had left the fortified camp in search of food. Alexey V considered the moment opportune to defeat the crusaders piece by piece. He took the most combat-ready part of his army and rushed in pursuit of the French detachment. The Greeks managed to approach quite unnoticed and attacked the rearguard of the crusaders with all their might. However, the Catholic knights once again showed that they had no equal in close combat on horseback. Despite the huge numerical superiority, the Greeks suffered a crushing defeat. Dozens of their noble warriors died, and Murzufl himself was wounded and fled to Constantinople, under the protection of the fortress walls. A terrible blow for the Byzantines was the loss in this battle of one of the greatest shrines of the empire - the miraculous image of the Mother of God, according to legend, written by the Evangelist Luke himself. Henry's knights also captured the imperial banner and insignia of royal dignity.
The heavy defeat and loss of shrines hit the morale of the Empire's defenders very hard. In turn, the crusaders were inspired by this victory and, inspired by the fanatical clergy, decided to fight to the bitter end. In March, a council of leaders of the campaign was held, at which it was decided to storm Constantinople. Murzuphlus, as a regicide, was subject to execution, and the crusaders had to choose a new emperor from among themselves. The rules for dividing the spoils were also agreed upon; at the same time, the Venetians and pilgrims received 3/8, respectively, and another quarter went to the newly elected emperor. The same applied to the division of lands.
On April 9, after careful preparation, the assault began. This time it was produced only from ships on which siege weapons and assault bridges and ladders had been installed ahead of time. However, the Byzantines were well prepared for defense, and the approaching ships were met by Greek fire and a hail of huge stones. And although the crusaders showed considerable courage, the attack soon failed completely, and the fairly battered ships were forced to retreat to Galata.
The heavy defeat caused great confusion in the crusader army. There were rumors that it was God himself who was punishing the sins of pilgrims who had not yet fulfilled their holy vow. And here the church had its weighty say. On Sunday, April 11, a general sermon took place, at which numerous bishops and priests explained to the pilgrims that the war against the schismatics - the enemies of the Catholic faith - is a holy and legal matter, and the subjugation of Constantinople to the Apostolic See is a great and pious act. Finally, in the name of the Pope, the churchmen proclaimed complete remission of sins to all who would attack the city the next day.
Thus, the Catholic Church, after much hesitation and doubt, finally betrayed its eastern brothers. Slogans of the fight against Islam, for the holy city of Jerusalem, were consigned to oblivion. The thirst for profit in the richest city in the world, which, moreover, contained the most important Christian relics, turned out to be stronger than the original holy goals. The crusader movement thus received a heavy, as it later turned out, fatal blow from its founder, the Roman Catholic Church.
Entry of the Crusaders into Constantinople. Engraving by G. Dore
The fate of Constantinople, however, had not yet been decided at all. Its defenders, inspired by the victory of April 9, were not going to surrender, and the crusader army lacked siege engines, lost during the first assault. The fate of the attack was decided by chance. One of the most powerful ships was blown straight to the tower by a stray gust of wind, and the brave French knight Andre D'Urboise was able to climb onto its upper tier and, in a fierce battle, managed to push his defenders to the lower floors. Almost immediately several more people came to his aid; the ship was firmly tied to the tower, and after that it was only a matter of time before it was captured. And the capture of this powerful fortification made it possible to land a large detachment with assault ladders under the wall. After a bloody battle, this group managed to capture several more towers, and soon captured the gates. As a result of this, the outcome of the assault was a foregone conclusion, and by the evening of April 12, the Franks captured almost a fourth of Constantinople. Alexey V fled the city, leaving its defenders to the mercy of fate, but not forgetting, among other things, to grab the treasury.
However, even after this it was too early to say that the city was already doomed. Part of the Constantinople nobility, who decided to continue the fight, gathered in the Church of Hagia Sophia, where they chose Theodore Lascaris, a relative of the Angels, known for his military talents, as the new emperor. But the “Warriors of Christ” themselves were by no means confident of victory and, fearing a Greek counter-offensive, set fire to that part of the city that separated them from the enemy. It soon became clear, however, that there was no need for the arson, which, by the way, destroyed almost half of the city. Theodore Lascaris, having hastily inspected the remaining loyal troops, came to the disappointing conclusion that further resistance with such forces was impossible. He gathered all the people personally devoted to him and that same night fled to the Asian shore of the Bosphorus, from where he expected to continue the fight. Looking ahead, let's say that his calculation was completely justified. Laskaris managed to unite around himself most of the Asia Minor possessions of Byzantium, and soon he turned into one of the main rivals of the victorious crusaders. He became the founder of the so-called Nicene Empire and for many years fought, mostly quite successfully, against the Catholic knights and their allies.
The fate of the Byzantine capital was now, alas, sealed. On the morning of April 13, the crusading detachments, not encountering any resistance on their way, spread throughout the city, and general looting began. Despite the calls of the leaders to maintain discipline and protect, if not property, then at least the life and dignity of the Greeks (calls, however, very hypocritical, because the leaders themselves showed themselves to be the worst of the bandits), the “soldiers of Christ” decided to repay themselves for all the hardships suffered for time of winter camp life. The largest city in the world was subjected to unprecedented devastation and destruction. Numerous Constantinople churches were robbed to the ground, altars were torn to pieces, and sacred vessels were melted down into ingots right there on the spot. The houses of rich townspeople and their residents themselves, who were forced by torture and threat of death to give up hidden treasures, became victims of robbery. Catholic priests and monks did not lag behind the soldiers, who especially zealously hunted for the most important Christian relics, and many of them had been collected in the city over nine centuries.
The captured treasures were innumerable. Even those “trophies” that a few days later managed to be collected in one of the guarded monasteries for subsequent division were valued at no less than four hundred thousand marks in silver. But even more was plundered, stuck to the greedy hands of counts and barons (Boniface of Montferrat distinguished himself with particular insatiability in robbery). As one of the participants in the assault on Constantinople, Robert de Clari, argued, the Byzantine capital contained, according to the Greeks, two-thirds of all the wealth of the world. This, of course, is an exaggeration, but the fact that the city on the Bosphorus was the richest in the world is beyond doubt. Modern historians believe that the total value of the booty captured by the crusaders exceeded a million marks in silver, and perhaps reached two million. Thus, it exceeded the annual income of all Western European countries combined! Naturally, after such a defeat, Constantinople never recovered, and the Byzantine Empire, restored only in 1261, remained only a pale shadow of a once great world power.
The conquest of Constantinople, in fact, marked the end of the crusade, although a significant part of the crusaders, who received fiefs on the lands of the defeated empire, remained to complete the conquest. Soon after the capture of the Byzantine capital, Baldwin of Flanders was declared emperor of the newly proclaimed Latin Empire. Boniface of Montferrat also grabbed a good jackpot for himself, receiving the rich Kingdom of Thessalonica. Other, smaller leaders of the campaign were not offended by the lands either - about a dozen independent or semi-independent states were formed within the boundaries of the former Byzantine Empire. However, the fate of the two main ones turned out to be sad: Emperor Baldwin already in the next 1205 suffered a crushing defeat from the Bulgarian Tsar John Asen and soon died in Bulgarian captivity; Boniface of Montferrat was killed in a minor skirmish with the same Bulgarians, and his head was sent to the same John Asen and adorned his banquet table.
In general, despite the grandiose, unprecedented success of the Fourth Crusade, its influence on the crusader movement as a whole should be considered purely negative. Firstly, the conquest of Constantinople and the founding of the Latin Empire and small crusader states split the hitherto united theater of military operations. The Holy Land, in dire need of volunteers, now received fewer and fewer of them, since the majority of Christian knights now preferred to fight for the faith not in distant Palestine, but on the much closer Balkan Peninsula. Secondly, the captured booty and lands, and the very attitude of the Catholic Church - the initiator of the Crusades - towards these conquests destroyed the very spirit of the “holy pilgrimage”. The thirst for profit turned out to be stronger than the desire to liberate Christian holy places, which gives only spiritual satisfaction. Victory often turns into defeat: such a defeat for the entire Christian world was the Fourth Crusade, which eventually opened the road to Islam to Europe. From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book author
Popov Alexander
The Fourth Crusade In 1198, Innocent III became Pope, who decided to lead the next Crusade and thereby restore the authority of Rome. The Pope sent legates to all Catholic countries with a demand to hand over a fortieth part of state property From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book From the book New Chronology and the Concept of the Ancient History of Rus', England and RomeChapter 22. The fourth original of the great war. Conquest of Constantinople by the Turks The fourth and final original of the great war was the conquest of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. There are already much fewer duplicates of this event in the Scaligerian chronological version than
From the book History of the Middle Ages. Volume 1 [In two volumes. Under the general editorship of S. D. Skazkin] From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Skazkin Sergey DanilovichThe Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) especially clearly revealed the true goals of the crusaders and revealed a sharp aggravation of contradictions between Western European countries and Byzantium. It was started at the call of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216). Initially
authorChapter 17 The Fourth Crusade and the Conquest of Constantinople The relative failure of the Third Crusade, although it caused despondency in the West, did not force them to abandon the idea of conquering Jerusalem. The sudden death of Saladin (there were rumors that they had something to do with it)
From the book Crusades. Under the shadow of the cross From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Domanin Alexander AnatolievichIV. Fourth Crusade Message from Pope Innocent III on the Crusade Burning with an ardent desire for the liberation of the Holy Land from the hands of the wicked, ...we decree... that one year from this June... all those who have undertaken to sail overseas will gather in the kingdom
From the book History of the Crusades From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Uspensky Fedor Ivanovich5. The Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade has a special significance in history and occupies an exceptional position in literature. Not to mention the fact that in the fourth crusade it is clearly not a religious, but a political idea that comes to the fore; it is distinguished well
From the book Crusades. Medieval Wars for the Holy Land by Asbridge ThomasTHE FOURTH CRUSADE Contrary to the hopes and expectations of Pope Innocent III, the Fourth Crusade was largely secular, subservient to non-ecclesiastical leaders, and influenced by worldly concerns. Real enthusiasm and active recruitment for the expedition
From the book Crusades. Holy Wars of the Middle Ages From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Brundage JamesChapter 11 Turning Point: The Fourth Crusade The Third Crusade did not solve any of the major problems of Western communities in the Middle East. For these communities to continue to exist, they needed permanent military garrisons, significantly larger than
From the book 500 famous historical events From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Karnatsevich Vladislav LeonidovichFOURTH CRUSADE. SACKING OF CONSTANTINOPLE Portrait and seal of Pope Innocent III The Fourth Crusade clearly showed what goals the crusader army actually pursued and what its Christian piety was worth. No wonder Pope John Paul II
From the book Millennium around the Black Sea From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Abramov Dmitry MikhailovichThe Fourth Crusade In 1198, the energetic and active Innocent III became pope. From the very beginning of his reign, he called on Western European monarchs and feudal lords for the Fourth Crusade with the goal of returning Jerusalem and liberating the Holy Sepulcher.
From the book History of the Crusades in documents and materials From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Zaborov Mikhail AbramovichFourth Crusade and conquest of Constantinople
From the book Templars and Assassins: Guardians of Heavenly Secrets From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Wasserman JamesChapter XVIII The Fourth Crusade Another source of good fortune for the Templars was the accession to the throne in 1198 of Pope Innocent III, a strong and influential leader who reigned for 18 years. He showed an iron will to make the Church the head of a theocratic
From the book Papacy and the Crusades From the book The Complete History of Islam and Arab Conquests in One Book Zaborov Mikhail AbramovichChapter Four. Papacy and the Fourth Crusade From the first to the fourth crusade. The First Crusade was not the only one in history. The reasons that gave rise to it continued to operate partly in the 12th century. and to a much lesser extent - in the 13th century. Not once
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was the last of the major campaigns. The initial goal was the liberation of the territory of Palestine and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher from the Seljuk Turks, but later these campaigns began to take on the character of solving the political problems of the popes and other rulers, as well as the spread of Catholicism throughout the Baltic states and partly in the lands of Rus'.
This campaign became a turning point in a series of campaigns due to the fact that it revealed the true goal of the West. This became clear after the capture of Constantinople and the creation of the Latin Empire. Christians of the Hungarian city of Zadar and the Byzantine Empire became victims of murders, robberies and robberies of the knights.
Background. Causes
1198, January - Pope Innocent III ascended the papal throne (pontificate 1198–1216). These were difficult times for the Christian East. 1187 - Jerusalem was captured by Saladin, the Christians of the Holy Land were in distress. Pope Innocent is seriously concerned about the situation of the Catholic diaspora in the East. In this situation, he took upon himself the mission to call Europe to a new Crusade. He wanted to try on the Latin and Greek churches again, to strengthen the dominance of the church, and at the same time his own claims to supreme supremacy in the Christian world.
It was obvious that the fate of the Holy Land depended on Egypt, because the conquest or only the weakening of rich, conveniently located and politically significant Egypt could stabilize the situation in the Latin East.
Beginning of the Fourth Crusade
Campaigns of Western European knights to Palestine with the aim of liberating the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem...
Pope Innocent III called for the Egyptian campaign. But the crusaders did not have the fleet needed to cross the sea. The ships - on the condition of payment of 85 thousand marks in silver - were provided by Venice. 1202, summer - the leaders of the “pilgrims” gathered in Venice discovered that even if they sold their personal jewelry, they would still not be able to contribute the necessary funds. The Venetian Doge (Venetian ruler) Enrico Dandolo, a 94-year-old blind old man, offered the crusaders to “work off” the missing amount. His goal was a trading rival - the city of Zadar in Dalmatia, which belonged to the Hungarian king.
1202, November - without a shadow of a doubt, the “liberators” stormed and plundered the Christian city. The Pope excommunicated Venice and the crusaders, but at the same time he ordered the legate to lift the excommunication if the campaign continued.
Meanwhile, ambassadors from the German emperor and the Byzantine prince Alexei arrived to the leaders of the knights. During the coup d'etat, his father Isaac II Angelus lost his throne and was blinded by his own brother. The request for help was met with the sympathy of the Venetians, who competed with Byzantium in Levantine trade, and the tacit consent of the Pope, who formally forbade the crusaders to harm Christian lands, but secretly hoped to extend the influence of the “apostolic see” to the eastern churches.
Capture of Constantinople
1203, summer - as a result, instead of Egypt, the leader of the campaign, Boniface of Montferrat, sent an army to Constantinople, and soon after this Byzantium capitulated. Isaac II was restored to the throne, and Alexei IV became his co-ruler. Despite the fact that emergency measures were taken, they were unable to collect the reward of 200 thousand marks promised to the knights. The exactions caused discontent among the people and led to the overthrow of only the rulers restored to the throne. Alexei V, who received the throne, announced his intentions to break with the “Latins.” The latter, without thinking for a long time, took Constantinople by storm in 1204.
The production volumes exceeded all expectations. The city was mercilessly plundered. Art monuments and libraries were destroyed. What was not destroyed by the crusaders was burned in fires. Not only palaces and houses were destroyed, but also Christian churches. The Christian shrine, the Church of Hagia Sophia, could not escape the common tragic fate.
After the capture of Constantinople, the Byzantine lands were seized and divided among the leaders of the campaign. A new state of the Crusaders appeared on the territory of Byzantium, the so-called Latin Empire (1204–1261). “So-called” because the knights themselves called the new state the Roman Empire, and historians dubbed it “Latin” much later. One of the leaders of the crusaders, Count of Flanders Baldwin, became the head of the Latin Empire. Venice received the island of Crete, the Ionian and Cyclades islands, part of the Peloponnese, the city of Adrianople and, most importantly, part of Constantinople, with coastal areas.
Results of the Fourth Crusade
The fourth campaign, the complete failure of the idea of a “papal crusade,” which led to the sack of Constantinople by knights, at the same time marked a deep crisis in the crusader movement, the victim of which was the largest Orthodox power. The result of this campaign was a complete split between Western and Byzantine Christianity. The Fourth Crusade is often called the “cursed” one, because the crusaders, who vowed to return the Holy Land to Christianity, turned into ordinary mercenaries who were only interested in easy money.
A new Latin empire was founded in the East - Romagnia. At this time, the position of Venice strengthened significantly.
The divided once powerful Byzantine Empire would never again become as brilliant as before the fourth campaign.
Fourth Crusade 1202 - 1204 has a special significance in history and occupies an exceptional position in literature. Not to mention the fact that in the fourth crusade it is clearly not a religious, but a political idea that comes to the fore; it is distinguished by a well-thought-out and skillfully executed plan.
Directed against the Byzantine Empire and ending with the conquest of Constantinople and the division of the empire, this campaign is an expression of long-hidden hostility and satisfaction of the mood that the first Crusades . 4
By the end of the 12th century. no longer had any of the political figures any doubt that Crusades V Holy land there is an idle deed that cannot secure Jerusalem. After enormous sacrifices made to satisfy religious feelings, after three great crusades, in which the German emperors, French and English kings took part, Jerusalem still remained in the hands of the infidels.
Syria, Palestine and the mountain gorges of Asia Minor have already swallowed up to a million crusaders. Muslims mocked Christians, and the last thought that came to mind was that God was not blessing the cause of the European Christianity.
But most military and political figures of that time were of the opinion that failure crusades lies in the systematic opposition to Europeans on the part of the Byzantine emperor: he was said to incite Muslims and set up ambushes crusaders, he enters into alliances with infidels and in every way harms success and development Christian principalities on holy land. 4
Main role in preparing new crusade played by Pope Innocent III.
Christianity in the Middle East. He wanted to reconcile the Latin and Greek churches again, strengthen the dominance of the church, and at the same time his own claims to supreme supremacy in Christian world.
The successes that he brought first crusade exactly one hundred years ago, the loss of Jerusalem and failure third crusade gave him no rest.
Innocent began a series of measures to stir up the Catholic world with the idea of a new crusade, which should have been sent not to Palestine, but to Egypt, because from there Islam drew strength to fight against Christians. 4
In August 1198 he proclaimed a new crusade to the East and sent his prelates everywhere to preach it. They appealed to everyone to go to Holy land in the name of Christ's.
Then Innocent wrote letters to King Philip Augustus of France and Richard the Lionheart of England, who had been at war with each other since Richard's return from captivity in 1194. The Pope urged the kings, under the threat of an interdict on their possessions, to conclude peace or at least a truce on five years, not only because the war they unleashed brought unbearable misery to the ordinary inhabitants of their kingdoms, but also because military action would interfere with the recruitment of troops for crusade, planned by dad.
In addition, dad increased the tax on crusade, which all clergy and even monasteries, which until now were exempt from such taxes, were required to pay.
Innocent himself set an example of inspiration crusader idea: he equipped the ship at his own expense, provided it with a crew and supplies, donated a tenth of the income of the Roman throne to crusade and demanded a deduction for the same subject of 1/40 of all the income of the Catholic Church. 4
However, the pope’s call did not find such an enthusiastic response as happened before...
At the end of 1199 the idea of a new crusade found its first supporters in France. These were Thibault, Count of Champagne, Louis of Blois and Baudouin, Count of Flanders and Gennegau.
The first two counts, as relatives of the royal house, by their consent to participate in the campaign, largely ensured the success of the further movement, and, indeed, their vassals and sub-vassals soon joined them.
As for the Count of Flanders, his participation is also explained by family legends, for the Counts of Flanders from the time First Crusade were the liveliest exponents crusader ideas. 4 
In May 1201, the commander-in-chief dies crusade, Count Thibault, and his place is taken by the Italian prince, Boniface, Margrave of Montferrat, who has since played a leading role in the campaign. As soon as in August he agreed to accept the cross and leadership, some German spiritual and secular princes, hitherto indifferent to the movement, began to prepare for the campaign.
Since, first of all, it was necessary to provide themselves with means of crossing to Muslim lands, the princes came to the decision to contract in Venice, as the first maritime power of that time, a sufficient number of ships for transportation crusaders to Alexandria.
For the provision of ships, ship crews and support crusaders For food, the Venetians demanded 85,000 marks in silver. The payment of the sum of 85 thousand marks was divided into three terms, the last term expiring in June 1202.
When, however, in 1202, at the appointed time, the army arrived in Venice, its strength was only 11,000 people, and the funds did not amount to half the required amount. 2
To avoid collisions between crusaders and the Venetians, the arriving army was stationed on the island of Lido near Venice. The Venetians, fulfilling their obligations in accordance with the treaty, delivered food to it for crusaders.
When crusaders it was proposed to fulfill part of the contract for the final payment of the agreed amount, they were unable to realize the required amount and were ready to pay only half. The Venetian government, for its part, suspended the supply of supplies to the Lido and refused to provide ships for transportation to Egypt.
You can understand how despondent they are crusaders, being without food under the hot sun of the summer months. Hunger began in the camp, diseases appeared, discipline was upset, many fled, others indulged in robbery and robbery...
How were the Venetians going to make up for the lack of money?
Finding the treasury empty, the head of the Venetian Republic, 90-year-old Doge Dandolo, proposed crusaders to recapture for his republic the city of Zara (now Zadar, Croatia), captured by the Hungarians in 1186, and only then Venice would show generosity.
The situation was extremely indecent. Zadar was a Christian city that previously recognized the authority of the Republic of St. Mark, but in 1183 came under the authority of the King of Hungary.
Moreover, the Hungarian king Imre had recently accepted the cross himself, and therefore his property - including the city - was under the protection of the Holy See...
The plan to capture Zadar was discussed between the leaders of the campaign and the Venetians, but simple crusaders They knew nothing about him, he was kept strictly secret from them, and although many warned against this step, crusaders agreed to the Doge's proposal...
Zara was well defended by the Hungarian garrison and provided soldiers of the cross significant resistance, but on November 24, 1202 it was taken by storm and suffered terrible devastation, including the inhabitants of the Christian city crusaders treated as infidels: captured, sold into slavery, killed; churches were destroyed and treasures were stolen.
In response, the pope excommunicated the entire army crusaders- for shedding “brotherly blood.” But for the majority crusaders it didn't make much of an impression. They spent the whole winter in the city, which again belonged to Venice. 2
In the spring of 1204 army of the cross headed for the Byzantine capital of Constantinople. The Venetians supported them in this enterprise, as they wanted to strengthen their position as a trading power in the eastern Mediterranean at the expense of Byzantium.
In March 1204, an agreement took place between the commander-in-chief of the forces crusaders Prince Boniface and Doge of Venice Dandolo, whose subject was a plan for the division of the empire. This agreement decided:
take Constantinople by military force and install a new government of Latins in it;
the city should be plundered and all the loot, put in one place, divided amicably. Three shares of the spoils should go to repay the debt of Venice and satisfy the obligations of Tsarevich Alexei, the fourth share should go to satisfy the private claims of Boniface and the French princes;
upon the conquest of the city, 12 voters, 6 each from Venice and France, will begin to choose an emperor;
the one who is elected emperor receives a fourth of the entire empire, the rest is divided equally between the Venetians and the French;
the side from which the emperor is not elected receives the Church of St. into its power. Sophia and the right to elect a patriarch from the clergy of their land;
the contracting parties undertake to live in Constantinople for a year in order to establish the new order;
a commission of 12 persons will be elected from the Venetians and French, whose duties will be the distribution of fiefs and honorary positions among all participants in the campaign;
all leaders wishing to receive fiefs will give the emperor a vassal oath, from which only the Doge of Venice is exempt.
The signing of this treaty was followed by a detailed plan for the distribution of parts of the empire. It can be noted that this plan was drawn up by people who knew the empire well: the most tasty morsel fell to Venice: the coastal regions, important in commercial, industrial and military terms. This is how the history of the immediate fate of the empire was written. 4
And although this time there was no shortage of 
warning voices crusaders it didn't stop. Having anchored in front of Constantinople, they demanded that the city pay compensation “for protection.”
When it became clear that there were no people willing to pay, at the military council of the Latins it was decided to storm Constantinople from the Golden Horn near the Blachernae Palace.
At dawn the fleet crusaders lined up along the harbor in a front half a league long; large cargo ships were wedged at various points between the galleys and horse carriers. These ships were brought as close as possible to the walls and bridges were thrown from them to the towers, while some of the troops landed and tried to climb the walls using ladders from the ground.
The benefit of the Byzantine position was high walls and ditches. For a long time crusaders They tried to fill up the ditches and approach the walls with stairs, but the defenders of the city showered them with a hail of arrows and stones from above.
By the evening of April 9, the tower was taken, and crusaders They burst into the city, but did not dare to take advantage of the occupied position and left the position for the night. The third fire since the siege occurred in the city, destroying two-thirds of the city.
On April 12, 1204, the final assault on Constantinople began. Driven from behind by a strong wind, the fleet crossed the bay and approached the same part of the wall. Large ships managed to throw bridges onto the tops of several towers. The attacking squads broke through and drove back the defenders. Venetians living in the city supported crusaders.
Rest warriors of the cross They disembarked and, climbing the ladders to the camps, opened the gates from the inside. The horses were taken out of the transport ships, knights sat on them and rushed through the gate. The Greeks retreated further into the city, and the attackers fortified themselves in a strip along the wall they had captured.
At night, the Germans, fearing an attack, set fire to the houses in front of them, and a new large fire engulfed the city, increasing the horror of what was happening.
Emperor Alexei Ducas, despairing of a favorable outcome, fled; Panic began in the city, people fled to distant neighborhoods and organized a desperate defense in the cramped streets, setting up barriers to the Latins.
On the morning of April 13, Boniface of Montferrat entered the city, the Greeks asked him for mercy, but he promised the army a three-day robbery and did not go back on his word...
This was followed by three days of robberies and murders. Units crusaders rushed in all directions to collect prey. Shops, private homes, churches and imperial palaces were thoroughly searched and looted, and unarmed residents were beaten.
Those who, in the general chaos, managed to make their way to the walls and flee the city considered themselves lucky; This is how Patriarch Kamatir and Senator Acominatus were saved, who later vividly described the terrible days of the robbery.
Particularly noteworthy is the barbaric attitude warriors of the cross to monuments of art, to libraries and Byzantine shrines. Breaking into temples crusaders They threw themselves at church utensils and decorations, broke open shrines containing the relics of saints, stole church vessels, broke and beat precious monuments, and burned manuscripts.
Many private individuals accumulated wealth for themselves at this time, and their descendants were proud of the antiquities stolen in Constantinople for centuries. Bishops and abbots of the monasteries subsequently described in detail, for the edification of posterity, what shrines they acquired in Constantinople and how. Although they described the history of theft, they called it holy theft...
A certain Martin, abbot of a monastery in Paris, entered these days into a Greek temple, where the Greeks carried away their treasures and shrines from the surrounding houses in the hope that the bearers of the cross would spare the churches of God. The abbot, leaving the soldiers to deal with the crowd seeking protection in the church, himself began to search the choir and sacristy to see if he could find anything more valuable. Then he came across an old priest and demanded from him, under threat of death, to show where the relics of saints and treasures were hidden. 
The priest, seeing that he was dealing with a clergyman, pointed him to an iron-bound chest, into which the abbot put his hands and chose what seemed more important to him. So the abbot managed to steal the reliquary with the blood of the Savior, a piece of the tree of the cross, the bone of John the Baptist, part of the hand of St. Jacob. Western churches and monasteries were decorated with such shrines. 4
“The next morning the rising sun came into St. Sophia and stripped the doors and cut open the embolus bound in silver and the 12 silver pillars, and 4 iconostases and the table, and 12 thrones, and the altar barriers, otherwise everything was made of silver, and from St. I tasted expensive stones and pearls during the meal. They seized 40 cups and chandeliers and silver lamps, there is no number of them. Gospels, crosses and icons were stolen along with priceless vessels; the latter were removed from their places and their vestments were torn off. And under the table they found 40 cadets of pure gold, and in the choir and sacristy you can’t even count how many jewels they took. So they robbed St. Sophia, St. Theotokos of Blachernae, where St. The spirit descended throughout Friday, and then I woke up, but it’s impossible to say about other churches, as if there were no number. I peeled the monks and the monks and the priests, and beat some of them.” 4
Boniface and the detachment of German soldiers accompanying him were distinguished most of all by their ferocity and inexorability. crusaders; one of the German counts by the name of Katzenellenbogen stained himself with arson.
Priceless works of art were destroyed or stolen forever. The bronze four horses - the famous quadriga of the 6th century - was sent to Venice, where to this day it crowns the main portal of the Cathedral of St. Brand. More than half of the loot went to Venice! 2
When the greed of the winners was satisfied, they began to fulfill the clause of the agreement on the division of the spoils.
Here is what Uspensky F. writes: “You cannot, of course, think that everything crusaders They honestly fulfilled their obligation and showed all the loot. However, judging by the part that was shown, the French booty amounted to 400 thousand marks. Upon satisfaction of the obligations of Tsarevich Alexei and the payment of transportation fees to Venice, the remainder was divided between crusaders: each infantryman received 5 marks, the cavalryman received 10 marks, knight 20 each (only 15 thousand people participated in the division).
If we also take into account the share of Venice, and the share of the main leaders, then the total amount of production will extend to 20 million rubles (in rubles before 1917 - approx. author of the site
).
The best evidence of the enormous wealth found in Constantinople can be seen in the offer of the Venetian bankers to farm out all the loot and pay 100 marks to each infantryman, 200 to the cavalryman and 400 knight. But this proposal was not accepted, because it was considered unprofitable.
As for the monuments of art in which crusaders did not understand the point, then in this regard no numbers can depict the amount of harm and damage. The Latins attached some importance only to metal, which was poured into ingots, and marble, wood, and bone were of no use...” 4
Pope Innocent III, as soon as he learned of the fall of Constantinople, congratulated crusaders and was glad that the Byzantine capital had finally returned to the fold of its native church. But as soon as the pope learned about all the outrages that were happening during the fall of Constantinople, he was very angry: it was precisely this behavior crusaders in the holy city, in the capital of cities, most clearly showed the essence of this crusade and his goals...
The Pope sends letters to Boniface of Montferrat and legate Pietro Capuano (who by that time had arrived from Syria to Constantinople), directly condemning what happened and thus expressing his attitude, as the head of the Church, to the excesses of 1204.
In a letter to Pietro Capuano he writes:
“Having recently heard and understood from your letters that everyone crusaders, who stayed to defend Constantinople from last March until now, you freed them from the pilgrimage vow and from bearing the cross, we could not help but oppose you, since you should not have and could not encroach on this in any way, no matter who advised you another and in whatever way seduces your mind. For<...>they primarily and primarily for this purpose accepted the sign of the Cross<...>. to go to help Holy Land And<...>, having then lost their way, until this day they are chasing completely transitory benefits<.. .>.
How then does the Church of the Greeks, no matter how damaged it may be,<...>, will turn to church unity and reverence for the Apostolic See, if in the Latins [she] sees only an example of atrocities and dark deeds, and can rightly have more disgust for them than for dogs? 
After all, those who were not her own, but whom she considered to be seeking Jesus Christ, the swords that were supposed to be used against the pagans, were stained with the blood of Christians and did not spare either faith, age, or gender; They committed incest, adultery and debauchery in front of people, and not only married ladies, but even virgins dedicated to God were exposed to dirty lust.
And it is not enough for them that they took the imperial wealth and took trophies large and small, but even, what is more serious, they stretched out their hands to the treasuries of churches and their contents, stealing even silver boards from the altars and breaking them into pieces, desecrated the temples, carried away crosses and relics."
After this, the invaders began to divide the entire Byzantine Empire among themselves. The Emperor fled. In the election of the new emperor of Byzantium, the candidacy of Count Baudouin of Flanders was proposed, who, as a more distant ruling prince, seemed less dangerous to Venice.
During the voting, Baudouin received 9 votes (6 from Venice and 3 from the Rhine clergy), Boniface only 3. Baudouin’s proclamation followed on May 9.
The newly elected Latin Emperor Baldwin of Flanders received a quarter of the empire. The remaining three quarters were divided between Venice and the states crusaders. In Greece, the Frankish principalities arose in this way and became part of the newly formed Latin Empire.
In the autumn of 1204, the Latin government undertook the task of subjugating the empire, that is, campaigning in the provinces with the aim of conquering them. It was necessary to satisfy the expectations of the entire mass crusaders in relation to fief possessions. There were many people who wanted to receive lena, but there was nowhere to distribute it yet. Meanwhile The soldiers of Christ had long been languishing with the hope of settling in the regions of the empire as if at home, taking possession of the populated lands and resting from the labors they had endured.
The government generously distributed titles and titles, knights carefully studied the map of the empire and chose places to their liking. Dukes of Nicaea, Philippopolis, and Lacedaemon appeared, counts of less significant cities, duchies and counties were lost and won at dice. 4
Venice, as a maritime republic, established itself primarily in the Dalmatian and Ionian islands, thereby consolidating its dominant position in the eastern Mediterranean.
The Byzantine nobility founded the Nicene and Trebizond empires on the other side of the Bosphorus.
Christ (or what was considered this crown) was given as a pledge to the Venetians, and they, in turn, handed it over to the French king Louis IX the Saint. For this crown, Louis ordered the construction of the magnificent Gothic church of Sainte-Chapelle in Paris.
Fourth crusade did not achieve the goal due to the aspirations of the Venetians, who by that time controlled Mediterranean trade and thirsted for even greater power.
The Romance peoples benefited the most from this campaign. The historical role of France in the East begins precisely in 1204. It is not surprising that in Western European literature the events of the Fourth crusade a lot of space is allocated and that in terms of special treatment in general and in particular it occupies an exceptional position. 4
On Byzantine lands the so-called Latin Empire. And although the Franks were eventually expelled from most of Byzantium's territory, the empire was never able to regain its former power.
It’s a paradox, but for the first time this stronghold of Christianity in the East was conquered not by anyone, but by fellow believers - 
Christians 1.
The fall of Constantinople (Constantinople) in 1204 and the founding of Latin principalities in the regions of the Byzantine Empire was directly related to Rus', as it served as the implementation of the cherished plans of the Pope in relation to the Orthodox East. A letter from Pope Innocent III to the Russian clergy, written after the conquest of Constantinople, has been preserved, in which it was stated that the subordination of the Byzantine Empire to Rome should be accompanied by the conversion of all of Rus' to Catholicism... 4
Pope John Paul II, in an address to the Archbishop of Athens, during a visit to Greece on May 4, 2001, expressed his opinion on the events of 1204: “Of course, we are aggravated by past and present contradictions and ongoing misunderstandings. But in the spirit of mutual love we can and must overcome them, for the Lord requires this of us.<...>
For past and present cases where sons and daughters of the Catholic Church have sinned by action or inaction against their Orthodox brothers and sisters, may the Lord grant us the petition we ask of Him. Some memories are especially painful, and some events from the distant past have left deep wounds in the minds and hearts of people to this day.
I think of the terrible attack on the imperial city of Constantinople, for so long the stronghold of Christianity in the East. It is tragic that the soldiers sent to ensure free access for Christians to Holy Land, turned against their brothers in faith. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills the hearts of Catholics with deep sorrow.
How can we fail to see here the mystery of iniquity at work in the human heart?
Judgment belongs to God alone, and therefore we entrust the heavy burden of the past to His infinite mercy, asking Him to heal the wounds from which the spirit of the Greek people still suffers."
Information sources:
1. " "(magazine "Tree of Knowledge" No. 21/2002)
2. Wazold M. " Crusaders»
3. Wikipedia website
4. Uspensky F. “History crusades»
5. Parfentyev P., Bezrukov P. “Fourth crusade: myth and reality"
The era of knightly campaigns in the Middle East left a significant mark on the history of Western Europe. In this article we will highlight the background, main events, as well as some participants in the Fourth Crusade.
Why was this particular campaign chosen for this article? The answer is simple. It contributed to important changes in the political map of the world, and also completely redirected the foreign policy vector of European states.
You will learn more about these events from the article.
Situation in Europe
As a result of the first three crusades, the population of Western Europe decreased significantly. Many of those who returned from the Middle East quickly spent their stolen gold in taverns. That is, over a hundred years, a large number of impoverished, angry and hungry soldiers accumulate.
In addition, rumors begin to appear that the Byzantines are to blame for all the failures and defeats of the crusaders. They said that they were playing on two fronts, helping both the knights and the Muslims. Such words contributed to the growth of hatred in the lower strata of society.
On the other hand, weakened by the defeats of previous campaigns, the Holy See began to lose authority among European monarchs. Therefore, Innocent III needed participants in the Fourth Crusade for the rise of Rome.
As a result, fiefs on the territory of the former Byzantium became the only reward that the participants of the Fourth Crusade received. The table of states of the Francocratic period is given in history lessons. After reading the article to the end, you can easily compose it.
Causes of the Fourth Crusade
As history has shown, 4 crusades changed the direction of Western Europe's foreign policy. If previously the only goal was to conquer the “Holy Sepulcher,” now everything is changing dramatically.
The actual goals of the 4th Crusade did not coincide at all with the official version. But we'll talk about this later. Now let's look at the reasons for this military campaign.
Basically, the Fourth Crusade reflected the aspirations of secular power and the imposed thirst for revenge of ordinary soldiers. When they began to weigh the reasons for the defeat of the first three campaigns, especially the Second Campaign, they came to unexpected conclusions. It turns out that the main problem was not the quarrel between the commanders of the crusaders and the lack of a single common plan of action, but the betrayal of the Byzantine emperor.
We will talk about the reason for this conclusion a little further. Now it is important to note the aspirations of the Pope, which influenced the official goal of the military campaign.
The Fourth Crusade of 1202 - 1204 was supposed to propel the Holy See to a leading position in Europe. After the Second and Third Campaigns were defeated, the authority of Rome fell sharply. It increased significantly among the German rulers, who, instead of another “conquest of the Holy Sepulcher,” organized the forced baptism of the Wends.
In addition, the indignation of ordinary crusaders grew. Many of them were veterans or children of participants in the first campaigns, but did not receive proper remuneration. And from the knights of spiritual orders from the Middle East there was information about the debauchery and rich life of the soldiers who settled there.
Thus, the Fourth Crusade became a unanimous decision of the warlike part of the Europeans. True, everyone had their own motives. We will talk about them further.
Official and real goals
As mentioned above, the goals of the 4th Crusade differed among different segments of the population. Let's figure out what the difference was.
He began to again convene the “army of Christ” to defend the faith. But now Egypt, not Jerusalem, was declared the target. The Holy See believed that if the Fatimids fell, it would be easier to conquer Palestine.
On the one hand, he sought to gain maximum power in the Mediterranean region by weakening the Arab rulers. On the other hand, victory in the crusade under the personal command of the Pope was supposed to restore the authority of the representative of the Holy See in Western Europe.
The first to respond to the call of Innocent III was the French Count Thibault, who did not receive significant financial satisfaction for his ambitions in the war with England. Then his vassals arrived. But he soon dies, and the place of commander-in-chief is taken by the Margrave of Montferrat, Boniface.
He played a vital role in the campaign, but we will talk about his personality at the end of the article. The Fourth Crusade for secular rulers became an opportunity to improve their financial situation and gain new lands. Venice skillfully took advantage of the situation. In fact, an army of thousands of crusaders carried out the tasks of her doge.
He decided to expand the influence of the state, as well as make it the main maritime power in the Mediterranean. This was the real goal of the Fourth Crusade, but the consequences were simply stunning. We'll talk about this at the end of the article.
The campaign against the empire was supported by ordinary soldiers because the command played on the mood of the people. For more than half a century, everyone talked about the betrayal of the Byzantine emperor and longed for revenge for the half a million dead crusaders. Now it turned out to be possible.
Preparation
At the end of the twelfth century, Rome and the secular rulers of Europe began to independently prepare for a new crusade. The Holy See collected offerings from monarchs and nobles who did not want to go east. A huge army of poor people gathered in response to these calls. They believed that if gentlemen pay, then they have a chance to make money.
The nobles approached this issue more pragmatically. An agreement was signed with the Venetian Republic to lease a flotilla to transport troops to Alexandria. This was how the conquest of Egypt was planned to begin.
The Doge of Venice asked for 85 thousand silver marks. The deadline for collecting the amount was given until 1202. When by this time a significant part of the crusader army approached the city, the money had not yet been collected. The soldiers were stationed on the Lido Island, away from Venice, to prevent disease and unrest. They were supplied with food and provided the necessary services.
However, when the Doge learned that the army command was unable to raise the necessary funds, he stopped the service. Participants in the Fourth Crusade began to gradually disperse. The campaign was in danger of failure, so Boniface of Montferrat had to negotiate a barter with the Venetians.
From this moment on, the Fourth Crusade completely changes its direction. The army of the crusaders actually turns out to be mercenaries of Venice. The first task was the capture of the Croatian city of Zara. It was a Christian fortress under the patronage of the King of Hungary, who not so long ago also accepted the faith of Christ.
This attack went against all the principles of society regarding the protection of fellow believers. In fact, the Crusader army committed a crime against the Catholic faith and the Holy See. But no one could stop the soldiers thirsting for revenge, especially since Constantinople was planned as their next target.
Capture of Zara
After the goals of the Fourth Crusade were changed, they took on an exclusively secular direction. There could be no talk of any “defense of the faith,” since the first city taken was Zara, a Christian stronghold on the territory of modern Croatia.
This fortress was Venice's only equal rival in the Mediterranean. Therefore, the motives for such behavior of the Doge are obvious.
When the crusader command learned from Boniface about the condition of deferring payment for the crossing to Alexandria, many refused to participate. Some even separated and went to the Holy Land on their own or returned home.
However, the bulk had nothing to lose, since most of the soldiers came from the poorest strata of society. Any robbery was their only way to earn money. Therefore, the crusaders complied with the doge's request.
In November 1202, the soldiers of the cross approached the walls of Zara. This fortress was guarded by Hungarian and Dalmatian garrisons. They were able to hold out for two whole weeks against an army of thousands, which included many professional soldiers and battle-hardened veterans.
When the city fell, it was subjected to plunder and riots. The streets were littered with the corpses of residents. For such atrocities, the Pope excommunicated all the crusaders from the church. But these words were drowned in the sound of looted gold. The army was pleased.
Since winter had arrived, the crossing to Alexandria was postponed until spring. For six months the soldiers were stationed in Zara.
The fourth, speaking, began with the curse of the army by the Pope and resulted in systematic military actions of some Christians with others.
Fall of Byzantium
After the capture of Zara, the objectives of the Fourth Crusade moved from the south to the east. Now the hatred of the “Byzantine traitors” fueled by the army priests could be realized. At the insistence of the Venetian Doge, the flotilla is sent not to Alexandria, which was no longer interesting to the crusaders, but to Constantinople.
According to official documents, the army turned to the capital of Byzantium to help Emperor Alexei Angel. His father, Isaac, was overthrown by a usurper and imprisoned. In fact, this event intertwined the interests of all European rulers.
The 4 crusades always aimed to expand the influence of the Catholic Church in the east. If it didn’t work out with Palestine, then the second chance for Rome was the annexation of the Greek Orthodox Church. Verbally denying everything, Innocent III contributed in every possible way to the campaign against Constantinople.
French and German nobles also had designs on the wealth of the Byzantine Empire. Ordinary soldiers, fueled by calls to take revenge on traitors, became tools for those in power.
When the army approached the city, there was a struggle for power. Alexei, who promised a reward to the crusaders for his coronation, got scared and tried to escape. Instead, the people freed and re-proclaimed Isaac emperor. But the knights did not want to lose the money offered, they found and crowned Alexei. So there were two emperors in Constantinople at the same time.
Due to the difficult situation and high taxes, a rebellion began. To suppress it, the crusaders entered the city. But it is difficult to call this operation a peacekeeping operation. Constantinople was sacked and burned.
Consequences of the fall of Constantinople
It is interesting that the participants of the 4th Crusade planned and divided it back in Zara. In fact, the call of Alexey Angel became a gift of fate to divert the attention of the public and the rulers of other countries.
The captured state was planned to be divided into four parts. One was received by the proclaimed emperor from among the crusaders. The three remaining were divided between Venice and the French knights. It is noteworthy that the parties involved in the division signed the following agreement. The representative of one side receives the throne of the emperor, and the other - the tiara of the patriarch. The decision prohibited the concentration of secular and spiritual power in the same hands.
During the division of the empire, Venice showed cunning and successfully took advantage of the dependent position of the crusaders. This maritime state secured the richest and most promising coastal provinces.
Thus, the 4th Crusade was completed. The results of this military campaign will be announced further.
Results of the crusade
A conversation about the consequences of this military campaign should begin with the changes that occurred on the political map of medieval Europe. One of the strongest Christian empires was defeated and ceased to exist for half a century.
Participants in the Fourth Crusade divided the lands of Byzantium into several states.
Events marked the beginning of the so-called “period of francocracy,” which we will discuss later.
For now, it is important to note one feature. The objectives underwent a dramatic change during the Fourth Crusade. The result shows the deep crisis of similar European military campaigns. Now there could be no talk of any defense of the faith or assistance to Christians in the east. Since the crusaders managed to destroy the Christian empire in two years.
The main result of this military campaign led by Venetian merchants was the split of Christianity into Western and Eastern. Moreover, with an irreconcilable attitude towards each other.
All subsequent events of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries point exclusively to attempts by the Holy See to use traditional campaigns to the east in order to strengthen its own power.
Francocracy
As we said earlier, all participants in the Fourth Crusade were excommunicated from the church. Nobody wanted to give an answer for the crimes, so exclusively secular states were formed on the territory of the Byzantine Empire.
The Holy See was content with the fall and temporary incapacity of the Greek Orthodox Church.
What states were created in Byzantium?
The territory of the former Christian state was divided into the Despotate of Epirus and three empires - Latin, Nicene and Trebizond. These possessions turned out to be more viable and secure than the crusader states in the Middle East. There were several reasons for this.
Firstly, they were small territorially, so they could survive in the vicinity of “infidel” states. The crusader principalities in the Levant were simply crushed by the Seljuk wave.
The empire's governance system was built on the principles of Western European principalities. Small local feudal lords could provide greater protection to the lands than the large regular army once located in Constantinople.
Let's talk in more detail about the newly formed states.
The Nicene Empire lasted fifty-seven years. Its rulers considered themselves the direct heirs of Byzantium. This state was founded by Theodore Lascaris, a high-ranking Greek who fled from Constantinople. He was able to form a country from the fragments of the empire, and also defend it in alliance with the Bulgarians from the Seljuks and Latins.
The Empire of Trebizond became the longest-lasting formation in this territory. It existed for about two hundred and fifty years. It was founded and ruled by the Komnenos dynasty. This is the family of Byzantine emperors who reigned before the Angels. They were later expelled and settled in the former Roman province of Pontus. Here, with the money of a relative, the Georgian queen Tamara, Komnena, they buy possessions. Later, the Empire of Trebizond was created on this territory.
The Kingdom of Epirus became a very interesting phenomenon in history. It was founded by Michael Comnenus Ducas. This Greek initially supported Boniface in Constantinople. When he was sent to gain a foothold in Epirus, he became the sole ruler there and proclaimed himself the successor of Byzantium. It is noteworthy that his contemporaries called him the “Greek Noah”, who saved the Orthodox from the Latin flood.
The last on our list will be the Latin Empire. She, like Nicaea, lasted only fifty-seven years. Both states ceased to exist after the return of Constantinople by the Byzantines in 1261.
These were the consequences of the Fourth Crusade. The result of such a military adventure exceeded all expectations, forever splitting Europe into east and west.
Montferrat - leader of the Fourth Crusade
Previously, we listed some participants in the 4th Crusade. Many of them received fiefs in the Latin Empire. However, now we will talk about the leader of the military campaign of 1202 - 1204.
As mentioned above, the French Count Thibault was the first to respond to the Pope’s call. But he soon dies, and the crusaders are led by Boniface, an Italian prince.
By origin he was the Margrave of Montferrat. Participated in the wars of the emperors against the Lombard League and Sicily. From that time on, he gained recognition among the crusaders as an experienced commander.
In Soissons in 1201 he was proclaimed the sole leader of the Fourth Crusade. During this military campaign, he hides behind the Doge of Venice, showing the European rulers that it is not the crusaders who are responsible for all the atrocities, but Enrico Dandolo.
However, after the capture of Constantinople, he demanded to be made emperor. But he was not supported by the participants of the 4th Crusade. The Byzantines' answer was negative. They did not want to contribute to the rise of Montferrat. Therefore, Boniface received Thessalonica and the island of Crete as property.
The ruler of the Thessalonian state died in a battle with the Bulgarians, not far from the Rhodopes. His country existed for twenty years.
Thus, in this article we learned the background, course of events and consequences of the Fourth Crusade. We also met some of its outstanding participants.
Although his original goal was different. Dad InnocentIII, who ascended the papal throne in 1198, considered the liberation of St. the city of Jerusalem as his duty. All sovereigns, he said, are vassals of Christ and must help Him regain His possessions. He sent his legates to all Catholic countries to preach a new, fourth crusade; he demanded that all clergy give a fortieth part of their property to equip the crusaders and that circles be placed in churches to collect donations.
The rulers were busy with their wars, and no one took the cross. But one French preacher, Fulco of Neuilly, aroused such enthusiasm that, according to legend, up to 200 thousand people took the cross from his hands. He appeared at a tournament organized by the Counts of Champagne and Blois and convinced them to accept the cross (1199). Thus, an army of lords and knights was formed in the northeast of France for the fourth crusade.
To move the crusaders to the Holy Land, they needed a fleet. Six of them went to ask the Venetian Senate for ships; among these six was Ser Geoffroy Villehardouin, a champagne lord who later wrote the history of this campaign. The Venetian Senate agreed to transport and feed for a year an army of 4 thousand 500 knights, 9 thousand squires and 20 thousand servants (infantry) and to add 50 galleys to the expedition. The crusaders pledged to pay 85 thousand marks of silver (4 million 200 thousand francs); everything that would have been conquered during the fourth crusade was to be divided between the crusaders and the Venetians. The crusaders chose as their leader one Piedmontese prince, the Marquis of Montferrat Boniface, whom the knights loved for his courage, the poets for his generosity. The Venetians were commanded by their Doge Dandolo, a 90-year-old man.
Fourth Crusade. Map
The Fourth Crusade wanted to attack Muslims in Egypt, but it was in Venice's interests to send an expedition against Constantinople. The crusaders gathered in Venice. Since they could not pay the entire amount, the Senate offered them, in exchange for the rest of the money (34 thousand marks), to serve Venice with their weapons. The leaders of the Fourth Crusade agreed, and the Venetians led them to besiege the city of Zara on the Dalmatian coast, which greatly harmed their trade on the Adriatic Sea (1202). The pope forbade them, on pain of excommunication, to attack a Christian city, but when they took Zara (1203), he excommunicated only the Venetians, and forgave the crusaders, without even forbidding them to continue relations with those excommunicated.
Capture of Zara by participants of the Fourth Crusade. Painting by Tintoretto, 1584
Meanwhile, a palace revolution took place in the capital of Byzantium, Constantinople. Emperor Isaac II Angelus was overthrown by his brother, Alexei III, who had his eyes gouged out and kept him prisoner along with his son Alexius. In 1201, the latter fled and asked for help first to the pope, then to the German king Philip, married to his sister; Philip recommended him to the leaders of the Fourth Crusade. Alexei arrived at their camp near Zara and promised, if they helped him expel the usurper, to pay them 200 thousand marks, deliver them 10 thousand soldiers and recognize the supremacy of the pope.
Ally of the Crusaders of the Fourth Campaign, Tsarevich Alexei (later Emperor Alexei IV Angel)
Dandolo took advantage of this opportunity to lure the crusaders towards Constantinople. This would be, he said, only the beginning of a crusade. The pope limited himself to pointing out that although the Greeks had done wrong before God and the church, it was not the business of the pilgrims to punish them.
The crusaders came ashore in front of Constantinople. The army of Alexei III consisted exclusively of undisciplined mercenaries. Constantinople was defended only by the Varangians, who were used to fighting well, and the Pisan merchants, enemies of the Venetians. After a 13-day siege, Alexei III fled.
Participants of the Fourth Crusade near Constantinople. Miniature for the Venetian manuscript of Villehardouin's History, c. 1330
Isaac II, released from prison, was proclaimed emperor along with his son Alexios IV. But he was unable to fulfill any of the promises he made to the crusaders: neither to pay 200 thousand marks, nor to force his clergy to submit to the pope. The Greeks were indignant and proclaimed a new emperor under the name of Alexius V. He demanded that the participants in the fourth crusade leave within 8 days.
Siege of Constantinople by the Crusaders. Painting by P. Lejeune, turn of the 16th-17th centuries
The Crusaders besieged the city again (November 1203). Winter came, and they suffered a shortage of food supplies; but they could not leave, because the Greeks would kill them during the retreat. This second siege was characterized by great cruelty. Finally, during one battle under the walls, the crusaders captured the imperial banner and the miraculous icon of the Mother of God. A few days later, Constantinople was taken by storm (1204). Contrary to the orders of the leaders, the soldiers of the Fourth Crusade plundered and burned the city. In the European regions of Orthodox Byzantium, a Catholic church was founded that later existed for half a century. Latin Empire.
