The era of knightly campaigns in the Middle East left a significant mark in the history of Western Europe. In this article, we will highlight the background, major events, as well as some participants in the Fourth Crusade.
Why was this particular campaign selected for the 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.
The situation in Europe
As a result of the first three crusades, the population of Western Europe was significantly reduced. Many of those who returned from the Middle East quickly lowered the looted 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 play on two fronts, helping both knights and Muslims. Such words contributed to the growth of hatred in the lower layers of society.
On the other hand, weakened by the defeats of previous campaigns, the Holy See began to lose credibility among European monarchs. Therefore, participants in the Fourth Crusade were necessary Innocent III for the rise of Rome.
As a result, flax possessions on the territory of the former Byzantium became the only award received by the participants of the Fourth Crusade. The table of states of the period of francocracy is set at the lessons of history. After reading the article to the end, you can easily compose it.
Reasons for the Fourth Crusade
As history has shown, 4 crusades changed the direction of foreign policy of Western Europe. If earlier the only goal was the conquest of the "tomb of the Lord", now everything is changing dramatically.
The actual goals of the 4 Crusade completely did not coincide with the official version. But we will 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 on 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 a quarrel between the commanders of the crusaders and the lack of a common plan of action, but the betrayal of the Byzantine emperor.
We will talk about the reason for this conclusion a bit further. Now it’s important to note the Pope’s aspirations, which influenced the official goal of the military campaign.
The fourth crusade of 1202 - 1204 was supposed to screw the Holy See to the leading position in Europe. After the Second and Third campaigns were defeated, the authority of Rome fell sharply. He significantly increased among the German rulers, who instead of the next "conquest of the sepulcher of the Lord", arranged forcible baptism of the Wends.
In addition, the indignation of ordinary crusaders grew. Many of them were veterans or children of the participants in the first campaigns, but did not receive proper compensation. And from the knights of spiritual orders from the Middle East, information was received about the licentiousness and rich life of the soldiers who settled there.
Thus, the Fourth Crusade was the unanimous decision of the warlike part of Europeans. True, everyone had their own motives. We will talk about them further.
Official and real goals
As mentioned above, the goals of the 4 Crusade differed among different segments of the population. Let's see what the difference was.
The Pope began to convene again the "army of Christ" to defend the faith. But now Egypt was declared the goal, not Jerusalem. The Holy See considered that if the Fatimids fell, it would be easier to conquer Palestine.
On the one hand, Innocent III sought to obtain maximum power in the Mediterranean region, weakening the Arab rulers. On the other hand, the victory in the crusade under the personal command of the Pope was 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 from his ambitions in the war with England. Then his vassals pulled themselves up. But he soon dies, and the place of the commander-in-chief is taken by the Monferrat Margrave, Boniface.
He played a crucial 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 the financial situation, to obtain new lands. Venice skillfully took advantage of the situation. In fact, the 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 purpose of the Fourth Crusade, but the consequences were simply stunning. We will 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 has been talking about the betrayal of the Byzantine emperor and longed to avenge half a million of the dead crusaders. Now it has been possible.
Training
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 at these calls. They believed that if gentlemen pay, then they have a chance to earn.
The nobles approached this question more pragmatically. An agreement was signed with the Republic of Venice on the lease of a flotilla for the transfer of troops to Alexandria. So it was planned to begin the conquest of Egypt.
Doge of Venice requested 85 thousand silver marks. The deadline for collecting the amount was up to 1202 years. When a significant part of the crusader army approached the city by this time, the money had not yet been collected. A soldier was placed on the island of Lido, away from Venice, to prevent illness and unrest. They were provided 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. The Fourth Crusade began to scatter. The campaign was threatened by failure, so Boniface of Monferratsky had to negotiate barter with the Venetians.
From this moment, the Fourth Crusade completely changes its direction. The crusader army is actually mercenaries of Venice. The first task was to capture 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 was contrary to all the foundations of society regarding the protection of co-religionists. In fact, the crusader army committed a crime against the Catholic faith and the Holy See. But no one could stop the hungry soldiers, especially since Constantinople was planned as the next target.
The taking of Zara
After the goals of the Fourth Crusade were changed, they acquired an exclusively secular direction. There was no question of any “defense of the faith," since Zara, the Christian stronghold on the territory of modern Croatia, became the first city taken.
This fortress was the only equivalent rival of Venice to the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, the motives for such doge behavior are obvious.
When the Crusader command learned from Boniface of the condition for deferred payment for the crossing to Alexandria, many refused to participate. Some even separated and went on their own to the Holy Land or returned home.
However, the bulk of them had nothing to lose, since most of the soldiers came from the poorest sections of society. Any robbery was their only way of earning. 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 many thousands, in which there were many professional soldiers and battle-hardened veterans.
When the city fell, it was plundered and outraged. The streets were littered with the corpses of residents. For such atrocities, the Pope excommunicated all the crusaders from the church. But these words drowned in the ring of looted gold. The army was pleased.
As winter came, the crossing to Alexandria was postponed until spring. For six months, the soldiers were housed in the dawn.
The fourth crusade, in short, began with the curse of the army by the Pope and resulted in the systematic military operations of some Christians with others.
The fall of Byzantium
After the capture of Zara, the objectives of the Fourth Crusade moved from south to east. Now the hatred of “Byzantine traitors”, fueled by army priests, was realized. At the insistence of the Venetian Doge, the flotilla did not go to Alexandria, which was no longer interesting to the crusaders, but to Constantinople.
According to official documents, the army wrapped in the capital of Byzantium to help the emperor Alexei Angel. His father, Isaac, was overthrown by the usurper and imprisoned. In fact, the interests of all European rulers intertwined in this event.
The four crusades have always aimed to expand the influence of the Catholic Church in the east. If Palestine did not work, then the second chance for Rome was the accession of the Greek Orthodox Church. Denouncing everything in words, Innocent III contributed in every way to the campaign against Constantinople.
French and German nobles, as well as the Venetian Republic, also had views of the wealth of the Byzantine Empire. Ordinary soldiers, who were fueled by calls for revenge on the traitors, became a tool 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, was frightened and tried to escape. Instead, the people liberated and re-proclaimed Emperor Isaac. But the knights did not want to lose the money offered, they found and crowned Alexei. So in Constantinople appeared two emperors at the same time.
Due to the difficult situation and high requisitions, a rebellion began. To suppress it, the crusaders entered the city. But peacekeeping this operation is difficult to call. Constantinople was plundered and burned.
The consequences of the fall of Constantinople
It is interesting that the participants of the 4th Crusade planned and divided the Byzantine Empire back in Dawn. In fact, the appeal of Alexei Angel was a gift of fate to divert the eyes of the public and the rulers of other countries.
The captured state was planned to be divided into four parts. One received 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 section 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 forbade the concentration of secular and spiritual power in the same hands.
When dividing 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, it was precisely by the capture of Constantinople that the Fourth Crusade was completed. The results of this military campaign will be announced later.
The results of the crusade
Talk about the consequences of this military campaign should begin with the changes that occurred on the political map of medieval Europe. It was defeated and for half a century one of the strongest Christian empires ceased to exist.
Participants of 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 talk about later.
It is important to note one feature so far. The goals underwent a cardinal change during the Fourth Crusade. The result shows a deep crisis in similar European military campaigns. Now, there was no question of any defense of faith, help to Christians in the east. Since the crusaders in two years managed to destroy the Christian empire.
The main result of this military campaign led by Venetian merchants was the split of Christianity into Western and Eastern. And with an irreconcilable attitude towards each other.
All subsequent events of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries indicate exclusively the attempts of the Holy See to use traditional campaigns to the east in order to strengthen their own power.
Francocracy
As we said earlier, all participants in the Fourth Crusade were excommunicated. Nobody wanted to give an answer for crimes, therefore exclusively secular states are 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 Epirus despotate and three empires - Latin, Nicene, and Trebizond. These possessions turned out to be more viable and protected 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 neighborhood with the "infidel" states. The principalities of the Crusaders in the Levant were simply crushed by the Seljuk wave.
The empire management system was built on the principles of the Western European principalities. Small feudal lords on the ground could provide greater protection to the land than the large regular army that was 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 direct heirs of Byzantium. This state was founded by Fedor Laskaris, a high-ranking Greek who fled from Constantinople. He was able to form a country on the shards of the empire, and also protect it in alliance with the Bulgarians from the Seljuks and Latins.
The Trebizond Empire became the longest formation in this territory. It lasted about two hundred and fifty years. Founded and rules her dynasty Komninov. This is the kind of emperors of Byzantium that 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, Komnins buy property. Later, the Trebizond Empire was created on this territory.
The empire kingdom has become a very interesting phenomenon in history. It was founded by Mikhail Komnin Duka. This Greek was originally supported by Boniface in Constantinople. When he was sent to gain a foothold in Epirus, he becomes the sovereign ruler there and proclaims himself the successor of Byzantium. It is noteworthy that contemporaries called it the “Greek Noah”, which 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 to the Byzantines in 1261.
These are the consequences of the Fourth Crusade. The result of such a military adventure surpassed all expectations, forever splitting Europe east and west.
Monferrat - Leader of the Fourth Crusade
Earlier, we listed some of the participants in the 4th Crusade. Many of them received flax possessions in the Latin Empire. However, now we will talk about the leader of the military campaign of 1202-1204.
As indicated above, the first to respond to the call of the Pope was the French count Thibault. But he soon dies, and the crusaders are led by Boniface, the Italian prince.
By origin he was the Montferrat Margrave. He participated in the wars of emperors against the Lombard League and Sicily. Since that time, he receives 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 was not the crusaders who were responsible for all the atrocities, but Enrico Dandolo.
However, after the capture of Constantinople, he demanded that he be made emperor. 4 . . . .
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