The Fall of Constantinople

The Byzantine people must have suffered from numerous attacks resulting in their vulnerability and ultimately the immense loss of territory such as Anatolia (Doc 9.) This map illustrates the new empires that arose on once Byzantine land. The map shows the division of land between the invaders such as the Kingdoms of Bulgaria, the Kingdoms of Servia and Wallachian States, towards the end of the Crusades. The flow chart of the decline of Byzantium reveals the empire fell to many causes, one being external conflicts. The threat from Seljuk Turks grew, as were those of other civilizations wanting land or recognizing Byzantines weakness. The Seljuk Turks cut off trading routes between Constantinople and Asian provinces in order to establish a weak Capital to take over. The flow chart illustrates the empires internal environment crumbling due to constant external attack. Eventually other empires recognized Byzantines weakness and the fourth crusade sacks Constantinople weakening forces, allowing the Turks to finally take Constantinople in 1453 (doc 10.) The flowchart was created to show how each decision and action led to the

The Byzantine Empire began to fall because of economic decline when the Fourth Crusade began in the early 13th century. To pay for the Crusades, the empire was forced to increase taxes on the citizens that had stayed behind, which they could not pay, so the citizens would lose their land. When they lost their land, they also lost their way to

Following the decline of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE, a new empire rose up in the ashes. This new empire, the Byzantine Empire, was a culmination of Western Roman cultures and tradition, yet, it also contains many distinctive features. Originating from the same empire, the two empires display similar cultural roots.

The Latin forces were away fighting near the Black Sea. When the Latins realized that Michael had taken control of Constantinople, they fled the area. This ended the period of Latin rule and restored the Byzantine Empire. he effect of the Latins on the Byzantine Empire, however, was devastating; it never fully recovered. Indeed, the plundering of Constantinople was so extensive that the resulting damage was only partially repaired even 50 years later. During the mid-500s, the bubonic plague attacks the Byzantine empire, weakening the empire’s military and economy.Justinian I dies in 565 CE. He leaves the Byzantine army scattered across the empire and the empire in serious financial trouble.The Slavs raid the Byzantine empire during the late 500s. In the late 500s and early 600s, the Lombards conquer Byzantine territory in northern Italy. The Avars attack Constantinople in 626 CE and are defeated. The Arabs attack Constantinople in 674 CE and 717 CE and are defeated both times.In 811 CE, the Bulgars crush the Byzantine army and kill the Byzantine empire.In 813 CE, the Bulgars lay siege on Constantinople but are defeated. During the 1100s, after the first Crusade, many Latins settle in the Byzantine Empire. Resentment between the Byzantines and Latins grows. During the 1100s, Venice gains control over many Byzantine trading routes. Resentment between the Byzantines and Latins grows. During the Fourth Crusade, crusaders (mostly Latins) and

The Fall of Constantinople happened during the Fourth Crusade initiating by Pope Innocent. Despite this new movement, “power struggles within and between Europe and Byzantium drove the Crusaders to divert their mission in order to topple the reigning Byzantine emperor, Alexius III, in favor of his nephew, who became Alexius IV in mid-1203” (HISTORY par 6). Due to Alexius IV’s efforts to succumb the church of Byzantine to Rome, he was strangled to death in 1204. This was the reason why the Crusaders forced warfare, which “The Fourth Crusade ended with the devastating Fall of Constantinople, marked by a bloody conquest, looting and near-destruction of the magnificent Byzantine capital later that year” (HISTORY par 6). During the Final Crusades,

1st - Sack of Constantinople by the Venetian Crusaders during the 4th Crusade. When the Byzantine's finally re-took the city some 60 years later, they were never able to recover financially.

On July 17, 1203 the primary attack of Constantinople began. The Venetian fleet attacked from the ocean side of the city, the Venetian powers of the Crusade attacked the city, which caused substantial amount of damage. The walls of Constantinople had been penetrated and the citizens of the city had surrendered in one day, including the Emperor who fled. The Emperor who escaped with his daughter took, 10,000 gold pieces, other jewels, and  couple of people from his court leaving his subjects to survive helplessly against the Crusaders. As the invasion reached its last stages, the Crusaders realized that Constantinople stayed leaderless, and as word spread, the city lost all good surrendered to spare the city from being totally destruction. The

The city of Constantinople was the center of the Christian Church, the trade capital of the Roman Empire, and was ruled by Constantine II until it fell to the Muslims. This city was looked upon by Europe as the strongest city there is because of the major walls surrounding it and the private harbor. The war by the Muslims to gain Constantinople was very influential and there are many major historical aspects from before, during and after war.

It is 1097 and the four armies have reached Constantinople. They promised to restore any conquered lands to the Byzantine emperor. A force of nearly 30,000 now traveling eastward to battle the Muslim Turks.

The fall of the Byzantine Empire is directly correlated to the plague, which really fucked them up causing a downward spiral into fractured provinces and a shattered economy. This allowed the Slavs to compete culturally, and centralize power of the eastern world toward Kiev and the European powers.

The “Byzantine Empire”, also known as “Eastern Roman Empire”, was the surviving part of the Roman Empire. By the year A.D. 500, the western part of the Roman Empire had collapsed, but the Eastern Roman Empire continued on for nearly a millennium. Towards the end of the rule of the Roman Republic, power shifted from the western part of the empire, to its east. Emperor Constantine built Constantinople as the new capital for the Empire.

This is because after the other Christian civilizations in Europe refused to help protect Constantinople from the Islamic Ottomans’, they soon began to fear invasions from the even more powerful Turks. This fear is shown when immediately after the Ottomans’ took over Pope Nicholas V attempted to lead a Crusade to take back the city but no European monarch was willing to supply men. This lead to The Ottomans’ taking advantage and attacking Venice twice. Another way the invasion of Constantinople has changed history is that once conquered it was seen as a sign from God because of all of the other Islamic civilizations that attempted to conquer Constantinople and failed. This lead to the decision that Constantinople would be renamed Istanbul and become the capital of the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey). Also, when the city fell there was a crescent moon in the sky which is the reason why many Islamic nations contain the crescent moon on their flags. These are some ways that the fall of Constantinople has affected our world

In his account of the Crusaders' siege of Constantinople, the Byzantine historian Nicetas Choniates, provides some compelling reports concerning the behaviors of the Christian knights and peasants who formed the Crusader army that sought to wrest control of the city from its defenders. In his account, Choniates makes the point that the Crusaders little resembled the good-hearted Christians they purported to be, but were more like a barbarian horde in the brutality of their actions when reaching the city, which was a major center of the Christian faith at the time. Moreover, the Crusaders had even sacked another Christian city, Zara, on their way to Constantinople. It was clear, then, that these Crusaders were less interested in wresting the Holy Land from the Moslems than they were in taking advantage of this opportunity to unjustly enrich themselves at the expense of anyone who happened to get in their way. Unfortunately, Choniates also emphasizes in his account that these actions were not those of just a few overzealous Crusaders, but were rather characteristic of the actions of all of them. For instance, Choniates reports that, "Nor, indeed, were these crimes committed and others left undone, on the ground that these were of lesser guilt, the others of greater. But with one consent all the most heinous sins and crimes were committed by all with equal zeal."

Transformed the previously Christian Byzantine city of Constantinople into Istanbul, the Islamic center of the Ottoman Empire

This period took place from 1918- 1920. The region did not have good stability, so that caused trouble during war. The Allies came into Constantinople with the idea to destroying and taking control of Anatolia. This was not good because Anatolia was like the Ottoman Empire’s rock. So when that was taken, the empire fell.