The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of ConstantinopleIn 1202, zealous Western Christians gathered in Venice determined to liberate Jerusalem from the grip of Islam. But the crusaders never made it to the Holy Land. Steered forward by the shrewd Venetian doge, they descended instead on Constantinople, wreaking terrible devastation. The crusaders spared no one: They raped and massacred thousands, plundered churches, and torched the lavish city. By 1204, one of the great civilizations of history had been shattered. Here, on the eight hundredth anniversary of the sack, is the extraordinary story of this epic catastrophe, told for the first time outside of academia by Jonathan Phillips, a leading expert on the crusades. Knights and commoners, monastic chroniclers, courtly troubadours, survivors of the carnage, and even Pope Innocent III left vivid accounts detailing the events of those two fateful years. Using their remarkable letters, chronicles, and speeches, Phillips traces the way in which any region steeped in religious fanaticism, in this case Christian Europe, might succumb to holy war. |
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abbot Alexius III Alexius’s amongst assault attack Baldwin of Flanders battle bishop Blachernae palace Boniface of Montferrat Byzantine Empire Byzantium camp campaign capture century Champagne Christ Christian church churchmen Comnenus Conrad contingent Count crusade leaders crusader army Dandolo defenders divine doge doge’s Egypt emperor enemy envoys Europe expedition fight fleet force Fourth Crusade France French God’s Golden Horn Greeks Hagia Sophia Holy Land honour horses huge Hugh of Saint-Pol imperial Innocent’s Isaac Jerusalem King knights Latin Empire Levant Lord Louis of Blois marquis Martin medieval military Murtzuphlus Muslims needed Niketas Choniates nobles northern offered papacy papal Peter Philip Pope Innocent Prince Alexius relics Robert of Clari ruler sack of Constantinople sail Saladin Second Crusade ships siege of Zara Soissons Sources spiritual take the cross Thibaut Third Crusade throne took tournament towers Venetians Venice Villehardouin walls warriors West westerners William of Tyre wrote