We’re in beautiful Venice, but we’ve taken a detour through history, and now we find ourselves in Constantinople in the 13th century. We had no choice. The buildings surrounding Saint Mark’s Square ooze history. We had to know how this place came to be, so here we are on a detour to Constantinople.
Crusaders on the 4th Crusade had planned to start their mission by attacking Alexandria, Egypt. But, as noted last time, Venetian leaders convinced the leaders of the 4th Crusade to invade and sack the city of Zara on their way to Alexandria.
And that they did. But instead of sailing on to attack Alexandria, they decided to spend the winter in Zara. They’d attack Alexandria in the spring.
Meanwhile, in Venice…
The Crusader leadership received a message from the Venetian Doge. He had another deal for them. The last deal, sacking Zara, worked out well, so they traveled back to Venice to hear what the Doge had to say.
The Doge suggested that instead of attacking Alexandria, why not attack Constantinople and reinstate Alexius to the throne? They’d be richly rewarded for reinstating the rightful heir, Alexius.
Not only that, but Alexius would order the Orthodox Christian Church to become subservient the Catholic church. The Pope would be ecstatic. He would reward them as well, and they’d be heroes forever more.
Constantinople
At the time, Constantinople was the largest, most advanced city in the world. It was located in the heart of what had been the Greek empire, so there were Greek influences along with those from the East and from Rome.
Constantinople’s main church building was a lavish structure called the Hagia Sophia. The Imperial Library of Constantinople, where the knowledge of the ancient Greeks had been preserved, was the one great library in the world at the time. (The library at Alexandria had been destroyed about 1,000 years earlier).
Massive walls and towers surrounded the city, which was situated on a peninsula. The walls had been good enough to protect the city from invaders for more than 1,000 years. Taking Constantinople would be no walk in park.
Have I Got a Deal for You
The conversation between the Doge and the Crusader leaders might have gone something like this…
Doge — “If you put Alexius back on the throne in Constantinople, you’re going to have ducats coming out of your ears.”
Lead Crusader Guy — “No thanks. We’re going to Egypt. We’re on a holy mission.”
Doge — “Do you know what the temperature is in Alexandria this time of year? And I hope you like sand, because there’s a lot of it there. Gets in everything. Ew. Constantinople, on the other hand…”
Lead Crusader Guy — “Hmmm. I suppose you have a small point there. But what about those walls? They’re supposed to be impenetrable.”
Doge — “Walls schmalls! You guys will knock ’em down like a house of cards. “
Lead Crusader Guy — “Well what about the Infidels? We were going to go over to Egypt and roust the Infidels, not our Christian brothers.”
Doge — “Infidels Schminfidels! You’re not going to roust anyone. You’re just going to put Alexius back where he belongs, and get filthy rich in the process.”
Lead Crusader Guy — “Filthy rich… uh… OK.”
Doge — “Well, OK then!”
And off they went.
To be continued…
