The Fourth Crusade: Christianity Against Itself

The crusades were a series of military campaigns to reclaim the Holy Land from the Islamic states that held it. The First Crusade had succeeded in capturing much of the Holy Land including Jerusalem, the most sacred city for Christianity and the primary goal of the crusade. Jerusalem and many of the other conquered lands were soon reconquered by the nearby Islamic states, and more crusades were called to attempt to take them back. The Second Crusade was a failure, and while the Third Crusade took back much of the Holy Land, Jerusalem still remained under Muslim control.

Map of the first four Crusades

In 1198, Pope Innocent III was elected to the papacy and immediately began calls for a new crusade. Many nations did not listen to him as they had their own problems to deal with, but one French count named Thibaut managed to organize an army at a tournament in 1199. He died shortly after and an Italian count named Boniface took command. He went to Venice for support, and the Venetians agreed to build ships for transport. When the ships were finished, many less crusaders were present than were expected and the army was not able to pay the Venetians the fee they demanded. The Venetians proposed a solution: in exchange for not having to pay the rest of their fee, the Crusaders would conquer Zara, a Hungarian city that Venice had lost and wanted back. There was only one problem: Hungary was a Catholic nation. Many crusaders were outraged at this and left, but enough stayed to continue.

The Crusaders attack Zara

Pope Innocent III heard about the upcoming attack on Zara and threatened to excommunicate every man who participated. His letter wasn't read to the majority of the army, and Zara was quickly taken. In response, Innocent excommunicated the entire army. He later decided that only the Venetians would be excommunicated, believing them to have tricked the rest of the army. The Crusaders prepared to sail for Egypt. Before they left, they were met by the Byzantine prince Alexios IV who promised to pay off their entire debt and give them an army in exchange for getting rid of the usurper Alexios III. They sailed to and conquered Constantinople after a siege and demanded payment. Alexios IV was unable to pay them in time and tried desperately to raise enough money. Shortly after, Alexios IV was murdered by a noble named Mourtzouphlos. The Crusaders were angry and demanded he pay what Alexios IV owed them, but he refused. The Crusaders then attacked Constantinople again and sacked the city for three days, looting and destroyed priceless artifacts.

The Crusaders attack Constantinople

The Byzantine Empire was dealt a blow it could never recover from, and a short 250 years later it was conquered by the Islamic Ottoman Empire. Pope Innocent III was furious but took no action. The ruthless attack on a Christian state by fellow Christians completed the Great Schism, splitting Catholic Christianity from Eastern Orthodox Christianity. The Fourth Crusade never reached the Holy Land, and after 1260 Jerusalem never returned to Christian hands.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Crusade

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerusalem#Middle_Ages_and_caliphates

http://www.historynet.com/fourth-crusade.htm

http://quatr.us/medieval/history/latemiddle/fourthcrusade.htm