Crusaders Sack Constantinople

In the spring of 1204, an expedition originally intended for the Levant turned upon the capital of the Byzantine Empire. The Fourth Crusade had strayed far from its spiritual goals, bogged down by mounting debts to the Republic of Venice and entangled in imperial dynastic disputes. Alexios IV Angelos had previously enlisted the Crusaders to help restore his deposed father to the throne, promising massive financial rewards, military support, and the submission of the Greek church to papal authority. After a successful initial intervention placed him in power, Alexios IV found himself incapable of raising the promised funds. Public unrest erupted, leading to his overthrow and subsequent execution in February 1204 by Alexios V Doukas, who flatly refused to satisfy the Crusaders' financial demands.

Faced with empty coffers and unpaid transport fees, the Crusader leadership and Venetian authorities agreed in March 1204 to conquer Constantinople outright and partition Byzantine lands among themselves. From their base at Galata, across the Golden Horn, they launched a combined assault on the city's northwestern fortifications. An initial push on April 9 was beaten back, and Villehardouin admitted that the attackers lost more men than the defenders that day. Three days later, on April 12, the Venetian ships were brought against the seawall, allowing storming parties to gain a foothold on the ramparts while other knights breached the walls. Alexios V abandoned the city during the night, leaving the imperial capital defenseless.