Rattibha

On this day in AD 1204, an exasperated crusader army sat outside Constantinople, baying for blood and gold, ready to sack the city.
This is a thread on the disaster that followed.

In decades prior, Western nations has grown increasingly frustrated with the perceived duplicity of the Roman Empire and lost respect for its dwindling power amid the misrule of the usurper emperors after the death of the capable & consolatory Manuel II (pictured)

This bred intolerance of cultural & religious differences between East & West and they began to take out their frustration by demanding the Empire atone for its part in failing to aide the crusaders in retaining & retaking Jerusalem after its conquest by Saladin (pictured)

Tensions remained high after the massacre & exile of the Latins during the reign of the murderous usurper Andronikos. His embattled Angeloi successors found themselves under threat by Henry VI and the Pope (pictured), both demanding financial assistance to new crusade efforts.

Since the Fourth Crusade had fallen short of the payment due to the Venetian fleet to take them to Egypt, it was agreed with the Doge Enrico Dandalo (pictured) that they would recapture the city of Zara to secure a deferment of the voyage payment.

The Fourth Crusade, not without consternation among the troops at the thought of sacking a Christian city, took Zara in November 1202.

Such was the greed on display after the taking of Zara that the Crusaders and Venetians erupted in to mass brawl which resulted in around 100 deaths.
The entire crusade & the Venetians were excommunicated by the Pope but this communique was kept hidden by crusade leaders:

It was at this point where Prince Alexios, having escaped the usurpation of his father, offered the impossible: 10,000 troops, 20 ships, 200,000 marks & a permanent force of 500 knights to remain in the Holy Land in exchange for help to reinstall his father, Isaac II

The stalled crusade leaders, unable to pay off the Venetian fleet agreed, but not without defections from the more devout among them who had no interested in foreign power struggles such as Simon De Montfort & the Abbot of Vaux-de-Cernay.

The crusader fleet arrived at Constantinople on in July of 1203. Prince Alexios attempted to rally the citizens while parading outside the walls but they didn’t care. They supported his uncle, Alexios III.
The siege began

When the emperor finally took offensive action he very nearly defeated the crusaders but turned back at the last moment.
The crusaders ultimately entered the city and installed Prince Alexios and his father, Isaac, as co-emperors.

Prince Alexios, now Alexios IV, inevitably found it impossible to fulfil his promises. Years of internal problems left the empire unable to raise enough money to pay off the crusaders.
He turned to mulcting the city for as much wealth as he could find.

The Romans were furious at his avaricious taxation and, upon the death of Isaac, rioted and deposed Alexios IV and installed Alexios Doukas as emperor.
The new emperor executed Alexios IV and the crusaders declare war.

Tired of waiting nearly a year to be let down by what they saw as yet more duplicity and double-crossing by schismatic Greeks once again hampering their crusade, the crusaders prepared an assault on the sea walls of Constantinople.

Geoffrey of Villehardouin (pictured) remarked:
‘Have you ever heard of any people guilty of such atrocious treachery? An idle cowardly people rabble, an unfaithful burden to its kings’

The new emperor, Alexios Doukas raised money by confiscating the wealth of unpopular courtiers and paid the army some arrears and used the rest to raise levies and see to the defence of the city.

In March 1204, the crusaders & Venetians were attacking the city by sea as the night Theososian Walls were too formidable to be expected to fall by a land assault alone and the city was far weaker along the sea.

They managed to seize several fortifications along the Golden Horn on the 9th before being stalled by bad weather for several days after being beaten back from fully taking the walls.

At this point many wanted to abandon the siege and return to Egypt but Enrico Dandalo insisted that they press on again.

By the 12th of April, when bad weather finally dissipated, the crusaders were able to fully assault the city. Doge Enrico Dandalo decided to build towers on the ships so that the attackers could attack the walls from above rather than below

Vicious fighting took place on the walls and the Varangians beat back several waves of attackers.

Meanwhile the city’s immense Theodosian walls were being assaulted by land

Despite a flurry of crossbow bolts, burning pitch and Greek fire, Aleaumes de Clari & his men desperately managed to knock a small hole in the walls large enough for a few crusaders to burst through

When Aleaumes alone against the protests of his brother Robert charged through the hole at the waiting Romans they fled at the sight of him and seventy crusaders then followed him through the ragged hole in the wall.
By chance the emperor was close by and spurred his men onward

Peter of Amiens cried out ‘now lords, now to acquit yourselves well! We shall have battle for the emperor is coming!’ and the ensuing charge forced back Alexios
With knowledge that the crusaders were pouring into the city, the Roman levies started to melt away
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