Jump to content

Sack of Constantinople

Coordinates:41°01′00″N28°58′37″E/ 41.0167°N 28.9769°E/41.0167; 28.9769
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other sieges of the city, seelist of sieges of Constantinople.

Sack of Constantinople
Part of theFourth Crusade

Venetianmosaic in theSan Giovanni Evangelistadepicting the fall of Constantinople, made in 1213
Date12–15 April 1204
Location
Constantinople,Byzantine Empire
(modern-dayIstanbul,Turkey)
Result Crusader victory
Territorial
changes
  • Capture and sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders
  • Establishment of theLatin Empire
Belligerents
Crusaders
Republic of Venice		 Byzantine Empire
Commanders and leaders
Boniface I
Enrico Dandolo		 Alexios V Doukas
Strength
22,000[1]: 269 
60 war galleys and 150 transports[1]: 106 		 15,000[2]
20 war galleys[1]: 159 
Casualties and losses
2000 Greek civilians killed by Crusaders[3]

Thesack of Constantinopleoccurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of theFourth Crusade.Crusaders sacked and destroyed most ofConstantinople,the capital of theByzantine Empire.After the capture of the city, theLatin Empire(known to the Byzantines as theFrankokratia,or the Latin occupation[4]) was established andBaldwin of Flanderscrowned as Emperor Baldwin I of Constantinople inHagia Sophia.

After the city's sacking, most of the Byzantine Empire's territories were divided up among the Crusaders. Byzantine aristocrats also established a number of small independent splinter states—one of them being theEmpire of Nicaea,which would eventuallyrecapture Constantinople in 1261and proclaim the reinstatement of the Empire. However, therestored Empirenever managed to reclaim all its former territory or attain its earlier economic strength, and it gradually succumbed to the risingOttoman Empireover the following two centuries.

The Byzantine Empire was left poorer, smaller, and ultimately less able to defend itself against theSeljukand Ottoman conquests that followed. The actions of the Crusaders, therefore, accelerated the collapse ofChristendomin the east, and in the long run helped facilitate the later Ottoman conquests of southeastern Europe.

The sack of Constantinople is considered a turning point inmedieval history.Reports of Crusader looting and brutality horrified the Orthodox world; relations between theCatholicandOrthodox Churcheswere wounded for many centuries afterwards.

Before the siege

[edit]

TheMassacre of the Latins(Italian:Massacro dei Latini;Greek:Σφαγή τῶν Λατίνων), a massacre of theRoman Catholicor "Latin" inhabitants ofConstantinopleby the usurperAndronikos Komnenosand his supporters in May 1182,[5][6]affected political relations betweenWestern Europeand theByzantine Empireand led to thesack of Thessalonicaby Normans.[7]Although regular trade agreements were soon resumed betweenByzantineand Latin States, some Westerners sought some form of revenge.[8]

Map showing Constantinople and its walls during the Byzantine era

Following thesiege of Constantinople in 1203,on 1 August 1203 the pro-CrusaderAlexios Angeloswas crowned Emperor Alexios IV of the Byzantine Empire. He attempted to pacify the city, but riots between anti-Crusader Greeks and pro-Crusader Latins broke out later that month and lasted until November, during which time most of the populace began to turn against him.[9][10]

On 25 January 1204, the death of co-EmperorIsaac IIset off rioting in Constantinople in which the people deposedAlexios IV.He turned to the Crusaders for help, but was imprisoned by the imperial chamberlain,Alexios Doukas,who declared himself Emperor on 5 February before executing Alexios IV on 8 February by strangulation.[11]Emperor Alexios V then attempted to negotiate with the Crusaders for a withdrawal from Byzantine territory without payment, but they refused in order to avenge Alexios IV and receive the money that was promised.[11]In March 1204, the Crusader and Venetian leadership decided on the outright conquest of Constantinople in order to settle debts, and drew up a formal agreement to divide the Byzantine Empire between them.[12]

Siege

[edit]

By the end of March, the combined Crusader armies were besieging Constantinople as Emperor Alexios V began to strengthen the city's defences while conducting more active operations outside the city. By the first week of April, the Crusaders had begun their siege from their encampment in the town ofGalataacross theGolden Hornfrom Constantinople.[13]

On 9 April 1204, the Crusader and Venetian forces began an assault on the Golden Horn fortifications by crossing the waterway to the northwest wall of the city, but, because of bad weather, the assault forces were driven back when the troops that landed came under heavy archery fire in open ground between Constantinople's fortifications and the shore.[13]

Capture of the city

[edit]
The siege of Constantinople in 1204, byPalma il Giovane

On 12 April 1204 weather conditions finally favoured the Crusaders as the weather cleared and a second assault on the city was ordered. A strong north wind aided the Venetian ships near the Golden Horn to come close to the city wall, which enabled attackers to seize some of the towers along the wall. After a short battle approximately 70 Crusaders managed to enter the city. Some Crusaders were eventually able to knock holes in the walls large enough for a few knights at a time to crawl through; the Venetians were also successful at scaling the walls from the sea, although there was extremely bloody fighting with theVarangians.The Crusaders captured theBlachernaesection of the city in the northwest and used it as a base to attack the rest of the city, but while attempting to defend themselves with a wall of fire they ended up burning down even more of the city. Emperor Alexios V fled from the city that night through the Polyandriou (Rhegium) Gate and escaped into the countryside to the west.[citation needed]

Sack of Constantinople

[edit]
The originalHorses of Saint Markdisplayed insideSt Mark's Basilicain Venice; replicas adorn the outside.

The Crusaderslooted,pillaged, and vandalized Constantinople for three days, during which many ancient and medieval Roman and Greek works were either seized or destroyed. The famous bronzehorsesfrom theHippodromewere sent back to adorn the façade ofSt Mark's Basilicain Venice, where they remain. As well as being seized, works of considerable artistic value were destroyed for their material value. One of the most precious works to suffer such a fate was a largebronzestatue ofHercules,created by the legendaryLysippos,court sculptor ofAlexander the Great.Like so many other considerable artworks made of bronze, the statue was melted down for its content by the Crusaders for surplus profit.[14]

Despite their oaths and the threat of excommunication, the Crusaders systematically assaulted the city's holy sanctuaries, destroying or seizing all that was deemed remotely of value; little was spared, and the tombs of the emperors inside the Church of the Holy Apostles fell victim to such looting as well.[15]Of thecivilianpopulation of Constantinople, it is estimated 2,000 were killed.[3]The Crusaders, with poor leadership, also sackedchurches,monasteriesandconvents.[3]The altars of these churches were smashed and torn to pieces for theirgoldand marble by the warriors.[15]The Venetians stole religious relics and works of art, which they later took to Venice.

It was said that the total amount looted from Constantinople was about 900,000 silver marks.[16]The Venetians received 150,000 silver marks that was their due and the Crusaders received 50,000 silver marks. A further 100,000 silver marks were divided evenly between the Crusaders and Venetians. The remaining 500,000 silver marks were secretly kept back by many Crusader knights.[17][18]

Aftermath

[edit]

According to aprearranged treatythe empire was apportioned between Venice and the crusade's leaders, and theLatin Empireof Constantinople was established. Boniface was not elected as the new emperor, although the citizens seemed to consider him as such; the Venetians thought he had too many connections with the former empire because of his brother,Renier of Montferrat,who had been married toMaria Comnena,daughter and for a time heir-apparent of Manuel I. Instead they placedBaldwin of Flanderson the throne. He was crowned Emperor in theHagia Sophiaas Baldwin I of Constantinople.[19][20]Boniface went on to found theKingdom of Thessalonica,[21]avassal stateof the new Latin Empire. The Venetians also founded theDuchy of the Archipelagoin the Aegean Sea.

Most of the Byzantine aristocracy fled the city. Amongst the ordinary people of the former empire there was no sympathy for the Byzantine elite, who were seen as having ruled the empire with increasing incompetence.[22]The contemporary Byzantine historian and eyewitnessNicetas Choniatesclosed his account of the fall of the city with the following description of a column of aristocratic refugees, including the Patriarch, making their way toSelymbria:

The peasants and common riff-raff jeered at those of us from Byzantium and were thick-headed enough to call our miserable poverty and nakedness equality...Many were only too happy to accept this outrage, saying "Blessed be the Lord that we have grown rich", and buying up for next to nothing the property that their fellow-countrymen were forced to offer for sale, for they had not yet had much to do with the beef-eating Latins and they did not know that they served a wine as pure and unmixed as unadulterated bile, nor that they would treat the Byzantines with utter contempt.[22]

— Nicetas Choniates

Byzantine aristocratic refugees founded their ownsuccessor states,the most notable of these being theEmpire of NicaeaunderTheodore Laskaris(a relative of Alexius III), theEmpire of Trebizondand theDespotate of Epirus.

The sack weakened the Byzantine Empire, which allowed neighbouring groups such as theSultanate of Rum,and later theOttoman Turks,to gain influence (see theByzantine–Ottoman wars).

Apology

[edit]
This article is part ofa serieson
Catholic–Eastern Orthodox relations
Overview
Schisms
Reasons for theGreat Schism
Further division motives
Medieval reunification attempts
Modernecumenicrelations

Eight hundred years after theFourth Crusade,Pope John Paul IItwice expressed sorrow for how the events transpired. In 2001, he wrote toChristodoulos,Archbishop of Athens,saying, "It is tragic that the assailants, who set out to secure free access for Christians to the Holy Land, turned against their brothers in the faith. The fact that they were Latin Christians fills Catholics with deep regret."[23]In 2004, whileBartholomew I,Patriarch of Constantinople,was visiting theVatican,John Paul II asked, "How can we not share, at a distance of eight centuries, the pain and disgust?"[24][25]This has been regarded by some as anapologyto the Greek Orthodox Church for the slaughter perpetrated by the warriors of the Fourth Crusade.[1]: xiii 

In April 2004, in a speech on the 800th anniversary of the capture of the city, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I formally accepted the apology. "The spirit of reconciliation is stronger than hatred," he said during a liturgy attended by Roman Catholic ArchbishopPhilippe Barbarinof Lyon, France. "We receive with gratitude and respect your cordial gesture for the tragic events of the Fourth Crusade. It is a fact that a crime was committed here in the city 800 years ago." Bartholomew said his acceptance came in the spirit ofPascha."The spirit of reconciliation of the resurrection... incites us toward reconciliation of our churches."[26]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdPhillips, Jonathan (2004).The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople.London: Jonathan Cape.ISBN9781448114528.
  2. ^S. Blondal,The Varangians of Byzantium,164
  3. ^abcDonald M. Nicol,Byzantium and Venice: A Study in Diplomatic and Cultural Relations,(Cambridge University Press, 1999), 143.
  4. ^Jacobi, David (1999), "The Latin empire of Constantinople and the Frankish states in Greece", in Abulafia, David (ed.),The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume V: c. 1198–c. 1300,Cambridge University Press, pp. 525–542,ISBN0-521-36289-X
  5. ^The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Middle Ages: 950–1250.Cambridge University Press. 1986. pp. 506–08.ISBN978-0-521-26645-1.
  6. ^Gregory, Timothy (2010).A History of Byzantium.Wiley-Blackwell. p. 309.ISBN978-1-4051-8471-7.
  7. ^Vasiliev, Aleksandr (1958).History of the Byzantine Empire. 2, Volume 2.University of Wisconsin Press. p.446.ISBN978-0-299-80926-3.
  8. ^Madden, Thomas F. (29 September 2006).Enrico Dandolo and the Rise of Venice.JHU Press.pp. 83, 173, 257.ISBN978-0-8018-9184-7.
  9. ^"Alexius IV Angelus | Byzantine Empire, Fourth Crusade, Constantinople | Britannica".Encyclopedia Britannica.Retrieved25 September2023.
  10. ^Brand, Charles M. (1968)."A Byzantine Plan for the Fourth Crusade".Speculum.43(3): 462–475.doi:10.2307/2855839.ISSN0038-7134.JSTOR2855839.
  11. ^abRobert of Clari (1936). "62".The Conquest of Constantinople.Translated by Holmes McNeal, Edgar. New York: Columbia University Press.
  12. ^Robert of Clari (1936). "68".The Conquest of Constantinople.Translated by Holmes McNeal, Edgar. New York: Columbia University Press.
  13. ^abDavid Nicolle,The Fourth Crusade 1202–04;The betrayal of Byzantium. (2011) Osprey Campaign Series #237. Osprey Publishing.
  14. ^"Preface".Clir.org.Retrieved30 December2008.
  15. ^abVictor Roudometof,Globalization and Orthodox Christianity: The Transformations of a Religious Tradition,(Routledge, 2014), 47.
  16. ^Byzantium and the Crusades.Bloomsbury. 2014. p. 175.ISBN978-1-7809-3736-6.
  17. ^Konstam,Historical Atlas of The Crusades,162
  18. ^W. Treadgold,A History of Byzantine State and Society,663
  19. ^Герцберг, Г. Ф.История на Бизантия,Москва 1895, с. 359–360
  20. ^Gerland, Е.Geschichte des lateinischen Kaiserreiches von Konstantinopel.1. Teil:Geschichte des Kaisers Balduin I und Heinrich.Homburg v. d. Höhe 1905. pp. 1–10
  21. ^"The Latin Occupation in the Greek Lands".Fhw.gr. Archived fromthe originalon 7 January 2010.Retrieved29 December2008.
  22. ^abAngold, Michael (1997).The Byzantine Empire 1025–1204.pp. 327–28.ISBN0-582-29468-1.
  23. ^"In the Footsteps of St Paul: Papal Visit to Greece, Syria & Malta – Words".Ewtn.com.Retrieved18 May2009.
  24. ^"Pope Expresses" Sorrow "Over Sacking of Constantinople".Atheism.about.com. 30 June 2004. Archived fromthe originalon 7 August 2011.Retrieved18 May2009.
  25. ^Connolly, Kate (30 June 2004)."Pope says sorry for crusaders' rampage in 1204".The Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 12 January 2022.Retrieved1 January2017.
  26. ^"In Pascha messages, Patriarchs address question of violence".Incommunion.org. Archived fromthe originalon 13 May 2009.Retrieved18 May2009.
[edit]

41°01′00″N28°58′37″E/ 41.0167°N 28.9769°E/41.0167; 28.9769

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sack_of_Constantinople&oldid=1248232740"