- Pope Innocent III called for a crusade in August 1198, just months after his election, to liberate the Holy Land that Saladin had reconquered. The plan is to seize Egyptian ports to exchange them for Jerusalem.
- The kings of France and England were then at war while the Holy Roman Emperor still contested the authority of the Vatican:despite a quick response from some lords, the great kings therefore did not participate and the IV and crusade manages to gather only 10,000 knights out of the expected 30,000.
- The Crusade marches towards Venice, but fails to raise the necessary sum to cross the Mediterranean:the Doge of Venice asks the Crusaders to conquer the city of Zara (now Croatia) in exchange for a debt forgiveness which would allow them to reach Egypt.
- The city was subjugated in 1202. Only downside:it was Christian, and the pope, indignant, excommunicated many crusaders, mainly Venetians.
April 12, 1204
Characters
Innocent III
Saladin
Baldwin VI of Hainaut
Procedure
It was at this time that the Germanic Emperor asked for help from the Crusaders to put his brother-in-law, Alexis Ange, back on the throne of Constantinople, the rich capital of the Byzantine Empire, in exchange for financial and military support, including the crusade needs:Constantinople is occupied for the first time in 1203 and the crusade definitely moves away from its primary objective. Many Crusaders have already left the ranks in order to escape excommunication.
After a period of occupation, the Doge of Venice tries to put his own blood in power, provoking revolts of the population tired of the greed of the crusaders:they respond with a second siege on April 9, 1204.
The Byzantine army opposes more resistance than expected and the weather conditions are unfavorable to the Crusaders; at the same time, the clergy tries to hide from the troops that the pope has condemned the siege. Fast and violent, it ends in three days of extremely cruel sacking during which priceless wealth is stolen or destroyed. The crusade was hijacked and greed prevailed.
Consequences
- The capture of the city resulted in the creation of the Latin Empire of Constantinople, which lasted until 1261. The crusade crowned Count Baudouin emperor, while many cities were ceded to Venice.
- The Byzantine Empire was dismantled by this conquest and Constantinople gradually lost its prestige.
- The Church and the Pope also emerged weakened from this conquest, having failed to control their own crusade. The schism between Christians of East and West is definitely consumed from this time when Catholics perpetrated massacres for wealth.