The Fourth Crusade Sacks Constantinople
Fellow Christians, not Muslim armies, breach the walls and loot the greatest city in the world
Quick facts
- Crusade
- Fourth Crusade
- Breach of walls
- April 12, 1204 CE
- Duration of sack
- three days
- Result
- Latin Empire established; Constantinople divided among Venice and allies
What happened
The Fourth Crusade, called by Pope Innocent III in 1198 CE to retake Jerusalem, was diverted early when the crusaders, unable to pay Venice for their transport ships, seized the Christian city of Zara on Venice's behalf. An exiled Byzantine prince, Alexios, then offered the crusaders a large payment to install him on the Byzantine throne, and they sailed to Constantinople and installed him as emperor in July 1203 CE. When Alexios was murdered in February 1204 CE and replaced by a new emperor who ordered the crusaders to leave, they instead laid siege to the city. On April 12, 1204 CE, the crusaders breached the sea walls, and for three days their leaders carried out a planned, systematic sack, agreed in advance, that stripped Constantinople's churches, monasteries, and libraries while killing and robbing its inhabitants.
Why it matters
Constantinople had withstood every siege for nine centuries, and its sacking by a fellow Christian army rather than a traditional enemy shattered any remaining trust between the Latin west and Byzantine east. The city and empire never fully recovered their former wealth or cultural standing even after Byzantine rule was later restored.
How we know
The World History Encyclopedia's dedicated article on the 1204 sack documents the crusade's diversion, the installation and murder of the puppet emperor Alexios, and the three-day sack, noting that it was the western Christian army, not a traditional enemy, that carried it out.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. 1204: The Sack of Constantinople · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
- World History Encyclopedia. Fourth Crusade · Reputable sourceworldhistory.org · The domain "worldhistory.org" is on our Reputable source registry. · Link is live and its text matches the event's key terms (Jul 2026)
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Related timelines
- The Crusades → · The Fourth Crusade that sacked Constantinople in 1204