cent III (1198–1216). It was to start for Palestine from Venice in 1202 under Count Baldwin of Flanders and Marquess Boniface of Monteferrato (near Genoa). The treachery was begun by the most Serene Republic. The old blind Doge, Henry Dandolo, hated the Eastern Empire, which was the rival of Venice throughout the Mediterranean, and did not at all mind the Moslem. So he had already made a secret treaty with the Turk not to let these Crusaders come and trouble them. He then skilfully managed to use the whole Crusade for his own private and nefarious purposes. First he pointed out that they had a fine army there, and nothing to do on the way to Palestine; if he supplied ships and money and generally made them comfortable, would they take the town of Zara in Dalmatia, now rebelling, and restore it to the most Serene Republic? Then, having begun their career by doing so, they see how much easier it is to fight Christians than Turks, and they ask themselves why they should go all that way to the melancholy plains of Syria when the most sumptuous city in the world lies naked and open to be plundered. So they sail to Constantinople, first restore the Emperor Isaac II (1185–1195; 1203–1204), who had been deposed and blinded, and make his son, Alexios IV (1203–1204), Emperor with him. Then they quarrel with these persons and sack the city (April 12, 1204). Isaac, who was very old, died of fear, and they murdered Alexios. This sack of Constantinople is one of the most horrible events of Byzantine history. The Crusaders massacre right and left, doing also untold destruction to the whole city.[1] It is to the eternal honour of Pope Innocent III that as soon as he heard what they were doing, how they were using forces and money raised for a holy war to murder fellow-Christians, he sent after them to say that he had excommunicated them all. However, in spite of that they then set up a Latin Empire that lasted fifty-seven years (1204–1261). They made Baldwin the first Emperor, took away the Hagia Sophia and all the churches from the Byzantines, and set up a Venetian, Thomas Morosini,
- ↑ They burned down a quarter of it. The massacre went on for days. What they did not destroy they stole: the four great bronze horses outside St. Mark's were brought from Constantinople on this occasion.
