Latin Empire

feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire

The Latin Empire was a feudal crusader state. It was created during the Fourth Crusade on the land captured from the Byzantine Empire. Originally, the crusaders were told to retake the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem. Instead of doing that, the crusaders looted and captured Constantinople.

Latin Empire
Imperium Constantinopolitanum
Imperium Romaniae
Imperium Romanorum
1204–1261[note 1]
The Latin Empire with its vassals (in yellow) in 1204
The Latin Empire with its vassals (in yellow) in 1204
CapitalConstantinople
Common languagesLatin, Old French (official)
Greek (popular)
Religion
Latin Catholic (official)
Greek Orthodox (popular)
GovernmentFeudal Christian Monarchy
Emperor 
• 1204–1205
Baldwin I
• 1206–1216
Henry
• 1216–1217
Peter
• 1219–1228
Robert I
• 1229–1237
John
• 1228–1261
Baldwin II
Historical eraHigh Middle Ages
1204
• Joint Nicean-Bulgarian campaign against Empire
1235
• Disestablished
1261[note 1]
Area
1204 est.[2]179,000 km2 (69,000 sq mi)
1209 est.[2]206,000 km2 (80,000 sq mi)
1228 est.[2]47,000 km2 (18,000 sq mi)
1260 est.[2]14,000 km2 (5,400 sq mi)
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Byzantine Empire (Angelos dynasty)
Byzantine Empire (Palaiologos dynasty)
Principality of Achaea
Duchy of Athens
Duchy of the Archipelago
Today part ofTurkey
Greece
Bulgaria

History

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Fourth crusade

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In 1202, Pope Innocent III called for the crusaders to retake the Holy Land from the Abbasid. Due to financial problems, the crusaders were not able to reach their original goals. Crusaders and the Venetians attacked and looted the Catholic city of Zara, Croatia. Soon after this, they were excommunicated by the pope.

Crusaders and the Venetians later decided to go to Constantinople. In 1203, the Crusaders besieged Constantinople. A year later they looted and captured the city.

Latin Empire

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In 1204, Baldwin IX of Flanders was crowned the Latin Emperor of Constantinople in Hagia Sophia. Baldwin did not reign for long. He was captured in the Battle of Adrianople while fighting the Bulgarians.

  1. The Byzantines retook Constantinople under Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261. Latin possessions remained in Greece until the Ottoman Empire took the Duchy of the Archipelago in 1579. The other Latin principalities followed a lineage of Latin Emperors until the death of James of Baux in 1383.
  2. Arms used by Philip of Courtenay. He held the title of Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1273–1283. This design was sometimes said to be the "arms of the emperors of Constantinople" in early modern heraldry.[1]

References

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  1. Hubert de Vries, Byzantium: Arms and Emblems (hubert-herald.nl) (2011).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Matanov, Hristo (2014). В търсене на средновековното време. Неравният път на българите (VII - XV в.)(in Bulgarian). IK Gutenberg. ISBN 9786191760183.