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Constantinople (Latin Empire Period)

Type Object Region Byzantine Time 1204–1261

After the Fourth Crusade captured the Byzantine capital in 1204, Constantinople became the capital of the Latin Empire (1204–1261), suffering populat…

Timeline

  1. 1204Constantinople · MarmaraThe Fourth Crusade captured Constantinople, the Byzantine Empire collapsed, Baldwin I was crowned emperor of the Latin Empire, the city passed under Frankish noble rule, and Hagia Sophia passed to the Roman Church.
  2. 1204–1220Constantinople · MarmaraAfter the sack, large numbers of Greek elites and artisans fled to Nicaea, Trebizond, and elsewhere; Latin rulers could not restore Byzantine-era prosperity, and Constantinople's population and commercial activity shrank markedly.
  3. 1221–1228Constantinople · MarmaraDuring Robert I's reign the Latin Empire had Constantinople as its capital, continually at war with the Empire of Nicaea, the Despotate of Epirus, and Bulgaria, while the city's defense depended on Venetian and Genoese naval power.
  4. 1228–1230Constantinople · MarmaraAfter the child Baldwin II succeeded, regent John of Brienne (former King of Jerusalem) governed; the Latin Empire sought Western aid and pledged the crown to Venice for military and financial support, while Constantinople's status as political center grew ever weaker.

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