Forth Crusade

The Sack of Constantinople occurred in the Fourth Crusade, which was started by Pope Innocent III, in 1204. Constantinople was then ruled by the Latin rulers until 1261.


Constantinople was sacked on April 12, 1204 by the Crusaders. This happened during the Fourth Crusade when Alexius IV was killed by the Greeks. The Crusaders then attacked Constantinople.


The Crusaders' actions were horrific. They destroyed churches, palaces and burned houses within the city. They wreaked havoc upon the convents and many pieces of art and literature were destroyed in the fires.


After Constantinople was captured it fell apart in the expanse of ten years. So even though the Crusaders succeeded in destroying and looting Constantinople of all it's treasure, they were basically the demise of the city of Constantinople.


The Sack of Constantinople occurred in the Fourth Crusade, which didn't reach the holy land, and instead stopped at Constantinople (Mills 196). The Crusaders pillaged the city of Constantinople (Lewis 377), and destroyed it.


Lewis David Levering. God's Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215. W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.: 500 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY, 2008.

Mills Dorothy M.A. The Middle Ages. G.P. Putnam's Sons: New York, 1935.