12 April 1204 A.D. 4th Crusade Sacked Constantinople
12 April 1204 A.D. 4 th Crusade Sacked Constantinople Severance, Diane and Dan Graves. “4 th Crusade Sacked Constantinople.” Jun 2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/1201-1500/4th-crusade-sacked-constantinople-11629813.html . Accessed 10 Apr 2015. The Byzantine Emperor Isaac Angelus was in prison in Constantinople (modern Istanbul). His brother Alexius had seized the throne and blinded him. Isaac's son and heir (also named Alexius) fled to Germany, where he took refuge with in-laws. Meanwhile, world events were shaping up to replace him on his throne. Bernard of Clairveaux had earlier encouraged a crusade against Greek Constantinople after the disaster of the second crusade in 1147. He was convinced that the treachery of the Greeks was the cause of the disastrous crusade, and he wanted them punished. A certain Count Tibald of Champagne advocated a crusade to capture Egypt. This would be the fourth crusade and Pope Innocent III endors...