not Muslims
(I remember how stunned I was to learn that one crusade really was against non-RomanCatholic Christians, NOT Muslims!!!)
http://www.roman-empire.net/constant/1203-1204.htmlBackground of the Fourth Crusade
In the years from 1201 to 1202 the Fourth Crusade, sanctioned by pope Innocent III, was readying itself to set out to conquer Egypt, which was by then the center of Islamic power.
After initial problems, finally Boniface, the Marquis of Monferrat was decided as the leader of the campaign.
But right from the beginning the Crusade was beset by fundamental problems. The main problem was that of transport. To carry a crusading army of tens of thousands to Egypt a substantial fleet was required.
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As a their contribution to the 'holy' efforts of the Crusade the Venetians further agreed to provide fifty armed war galleys as an escort to the fleet. But as a condition of this they shoudl receive half of any conquest that should be made by the Crusaders.
The conditions were steep, and yet no where else in Europe could the Crusaders hope to find a seafaring power capable of shipping them to Egypt.
The Crusade falls into Debt
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The Plan to attack Constantinople is hatched
Meanwhile the situation of the crusaders had not much improved. That half of the loot which they had made with the sack of Zara still was not enough to repay the outstanding debt of 34'000 marks to the Venetians. In fact, most of their spoils was spent on buying food for themselves throughout their winter stay in the conquered city.
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Doge Dandolo also had his reasons for wanting to see the Crusade's planned attack on Egypt diverted. For in the spring of 1202, behind the back of the crusaders, Venice negotiated a trade agreement with al-Adil, the Sultan of Egypt. This deal granted the Venetians enormous privileges of trade with the Egyptians and therefore with the trade route of the Red Sea to India.
Also, the ancient city of Constantinople was the main obstacle to prevent Venice from rising to dominate the trade of the Mediterranean Sea. ...
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And so it was that the embittered Doge Dandolo and the desperate Boniface now hatched a plan by which they could redirect the Crusade to Constantinople.
The pawn in their schemes was the young Alexius Angelus (Alexius IV) who promised to pay them 200'000 marks if they would install him on the throne of Constantinople. Also Alexius promised to provide an army of 10'000 men to the Crusade, once he was on the throne of the Byzantine empire.
The desperate crusaders needed not be made such an offer twice. At once they agreed to the plan.
As a excuse for such an attack on what was the greatest Christian city of its day, the crusaders sited that they would act to restore the eastern Christian empire to Rome, crushing the Orthodox church which the pope deemed a heresy.
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The crusaders awoke the next day, 13 April 1204, expecting the fighting to continue, only to find that they were in control of the city. There was no opposition. The city surrendered.
The Sack of Constantinople
Thus began the sack of Constantinople, the richest city of all Europe. Nobody controlled the troops. Thousands of defenseless civilians were killed. Women, even nuns, were raped by the crusading army and churches, monasteries and convents were looted. The very altars of churches were smashed and torn to pieces for their gold and marble by warriors who had sworn to fight in service of the Christian faith.
Even the magnificent Santa Sophia was ransacked by the crusaders. Works of tremendous value were destroyed merely for their material value. One such work was the bronze statue of Hercules, created by the famous Lysippus, court sculptor of no lesser than Alexander the Great. The statue was melted down for its bronze. It is but one of a mass of bronze artworks which was melted down by those blinded by greed.
The loss of art treasures the world suffered in the sack of Constantinople is immeasurable.
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This left the republic of Venice in triumph. Their greatest rival in the Mediterranean was smashed, led by a ruler who would be of no danger to their aspirations of dominating maritime trade. They had successfully diverted the Crusade from attacking Egypt with whom they had signed a lucrative trade agreement. And now many artworks and religious relics would be taken back home to adorned their own great city. Their old, blind Doge, already in his eighties, had served them well.
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