A popular theme in medieval history was the Crusades. Everyone imagines a knight with a cross on his shield going to Jerusalem and liberating the Holy Sepulchre from the pagans. Modern historians have counted about nine crusades against Muslims.
But in all this history, there is a unique situation: the fourth battle was against Byzantium. How could it happen that the "warriors of Christ" went to war against Christians? Who organized it, and what did this strange crusade lead to? Let's take a look.
Eugène Delacroix's The Conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders
Background information and background
In 1095, Pope Urban II may not have realized that he had turned a new page in the Middle Ages. In one of his speeches, he called on the knights and kings of Europe to assemble and travel to the Holy Land (now Israel and Palestine) to liberate Jerusalem from the Turks. Thus, the Crusades began. Today we realize that there are more military, financial, and strategic goals in this seemingly religious story. The Fourth Crusade was a vivid confirmation of this. But let's take it step by step.
The First Crusade was a great success for the Europeans: they drove the Turks out of the eastern Mediterranean and established some of their own states. These include the Principality of Antioch, the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Countdom of Tripoli and other countries. Everything shows that Christians will achieve their goal: to always gain a foothold in the Holy Land. But soon the Turks occupied some of the Crusader cities and had to organize a second crusade.
Soon, the Muslim leader became Saladin, who organized a retaliatory campaign of "Islamic fighters" . The Europeans began the Third Crusade, which involved legends of medieval Europe: Frederick Barbarossa and Richard the Lionheart. In 1191, the Crusaders occupied Cyprus, and shortly after, Saladin died. Everything shows the urgency of preparing for the Fourth Crusade in Europe.
Preparation and organization of events
Pope, this time Innocent III, once again asked for the organization of this movement. One by one, the monarchs and major feudal lords of Europe agreed to prepare their armies for the battle. But in 1201 an event occurred that reversed the course of history. Prince Alexei arrives on the Apennine Peninsula.
He considered himself the deserved heir to the throne of Byzantium, and his uncle Alexius III Angelus was a dictator and illegitimate ruler. The influence of relatives Sharif also followed: one of the organizers of the Crusades, Philip of Swabia, the ruler of Germany, was the husband of Alexei's sister.
Alexius made a generous promise to make the Byzantine Church obey the Pope and to give a generous monetary reward: 100,000 silver marks were given to Venice to transport the Crusaders, and 50 of his own landing ships were distributed, and 100,000 silver marks were given to the remaining Crusaders for the capture of Constantinople. Supported the Byzantine army of more than 10,000 people for a year, and cross-sponsored five crusader leaders (for life) to defend Palestine, and even personally joined the crusades.
Why the Venetians? At the beginning of the thirteenth century, there were two main rivals to trade in the Mediterranean: the Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Venice. Alexei understood that the wealthy chambers from Venice had agreed to provide funds and means of transport for the campaign to weaken the opponents. Soon, the Venetian Doge Enrique met with Alexius, and final preparations for the Fourth Crusade began. The final decision was to attack Constantinople, the capital of the Christian state of Byzantium. Well, it's an unexpected shift, isn't it?
Walls of Constantinople at the beginning of the 13th century / © Argos' Dad / ru.wikipedia.org
Siege of Constantinople
In May 1203, a Crusader army sailed into the Bosphorus region, preparing to storm Constantinople. Some sources indicate that the Crusaders did not know where they were sailing. Possibly, it involves individual knights, but by no means the organizers of the movement. In addition, the soldiers were promised wealth, so that even those who knew the true goal of the movement did not pay attention to who they had to fight.
On the night of 17-18 July, Emperor Alexis III Angel fled the city, leaving it at the mercy of the Crusaders. Constantinople was first conquered after Theodosius the Great erected a city wall more than 800 years ago. As early as August 1203, the crusader ally, Tsar Alexei, held a coronation ceremony. He became the angel Alexei IV.
In 1203, the Crusaders arrived in Constantinople. Epitome of books, 14th century
Power is good, but promises must be kept. The new emperor found the treasury empty and almost impossible to fill in the short term, while the Crusaders demanded immediate payment. Crusader troops remained outside the city walls, waiting for payments and resources to continue their operations in Palestine.
However, the emperor still failed to meet his financial obligations. The Crusaders, venetians, and Greeks lost faith in each other, caused by a conflict between the Crusaders and the inhabitants of the city. In November, the Crusaders' patience ran out. After another heated discussion, an ultimatum was issued to the emperor demanding immediate payment and threatening to rob the city. Alexios IV refused.
Soon, the Byzantines of Constantinople themselves rebelled against the new emperor. Alexios IV was captured, and in February 1204 he died (possibly murdered). As early as April 1204, the Crusaders organized a second attack on the city. This time, the city was partially destroyed and completely looted.
Epitome in David Auber's Chronicle of the Emperors, "The Siege of Constantinople by the Crusaders, 1204"
The result of the Fourth Crusade was the fall of Byzantium, a powerful power in the Middle Ages. The British historian Bradford wrote that the Crusades were "not a guiding subject". However, it seems to me that while there is a lot of vile stuff in it, it teaches us a lot. It's about unfair competition, deception and the desire for power that cause damage to one's own country.