The Fourth Crusade: When Crusaders Sacked Constantinople
Автор: Before the Modern Age
Загружено: 2026-01-09
Просмотров: 8
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The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) was supposed to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim control. Instead, it became one of history's greatest betrayals when Crusaders attacked Constantinople—the largest Christian city in the world.
It started with debt. The Crusaders owed Venice 34,000 silver marks they couldn't pay. The blind 90-year-old Doge Enrico Dandolo offered a deal: help Venice conquer cities, and he'd forgive the debt. First, they attacked the Christian city of Zara. Pope Innocent III immediately excommunicated the entire army.
Then a Byzantine prince named Alexios promised the Crusaders 200,000 silver marks to help him reclaim his throne. They agreed, conquered Constantinople in 1203, and put him in power. But Alexios couldn't pay—the treasury was empty. A coup killed him, and the new emperor refused to honor the deal.
In April 1204, the Crusaders attacked again. For three days, they looted Constantinople's 900 years of accumulated wealth. They destroyed priceless artifacts, burned ancient libraries, and stole sacred relics. The Byzantine Empire never recovered, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
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