Latin Empire of the Crusaders. Latin Empire. Holy Roman Empire of the German nation of the X-XIII centuries and the Habsburg Empire

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Coat of arms
The Latin Empire and its vassal states. Capital Constantinople Languages) French - official
Greek Form of government monarchy Continuity ← Byzantine Empire
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(French Empire latin de Constantinople, Greek Λατινική Αυτοκρατορία της Κωνσταντινούπολης; Ρωμανία, lat. Imperium Romaniae; 120 4-1261) - a medieval empire formed after the Fourth Crusade and the temporary liquidation of the Byzantine Empire. The name of the empire in Latin was Romania.

1 Creation of an empire
2 Collapse of Byzantium
3 Wars of the Empire
4 Political history
5 Capture of Constantinople by the Byzantines
6 Heirs of the Empire
7 Rulers of the Latin Empire
8 Literature
9 Links

Building an Empire

Capture of Constantinople (1204)

According to an agreement concluded back in March 1204 between the Doge of the Venetian Republic Enrico Dandolo, Count Baldwin of Flanders, Marquis Boniface of Montferrat and other leaders of the crusaders, it was established that a feudal state would be formed from the possessions of the Byzantine Empire, headed by an elected emperor; he will receive part of Constantinople and a quarter of all the lands of the empire, and the remaining three quarters will be divided in half between the Venetians and the Crusaders; the Hagia Sophia and the choice of the patriarch will be left to the clergy of that of the specified groups from which the emperor will not be elected.

In pursuance of the terms of this treaty, on May 9, 1204, a special board (which included equal parts Venetians and Crusaders) elected Count Baldwin as emperor, over whom he was anointed and crowned in the Hagia Sophia according to the ceremonial of the Eastern Empire; The Venetian Thomas Morosini was elected patriarch, exclusively by the Venetian clergy, despite objections to such an order from Pope Innocent III.

The division of lands (not immediately established) led, in the end, to the following distribution of possessions. Baldwin, in addition to part of Constantinople, received part of Thrace and the islands of Samothrace, Lesbos, Chios, Samos and Kos.

Latin Empire and surrounding territories.

The region of Thessalonica, together with Macedonia and Thessaly, with the name of the kingdom, was given to one of the most prominent participants in the campaign and a contender for the imperial throne, Boniface of Montferrat. The Venetians received part of Constantinople, Crete, Euboea, the Ionian Islands, most of the Cyclades archipelago and some of the Sporades Islands, part of Thrace from Adrianople to the shore of the Propontis, part of the coast of the Ionian and Adriatic Seas from Aetolia to Durazzo. The remaining leaders of the crusaders, as vassals partly of the emperor, partly of the Thessalonian king, who himself was considered a vassal of the emperor, were given various cities and regions in the European part of the empire and in Asia Minor. Many of these lands still had to be conquered, and the crusaders only gradually established themselves in some of them, introducing feudal orders everywhere, partly distributing lands as fief to Western knights, partly retaining them as fief for their former owners, confiscating the lands of Orthodox monasteries. The Byzantine population, however, retained, in most cases, its laws and customs, the previous organization of local government and freedom of religion.

Collapse of Byzantium

In the faces of the vanquished and the victors, two completely different cultures collided, two different systems of state and church organization, and the number of newcomers was relatively small (it can be judged to some extent by the fact that the Venetians undertook to transport 33,500 crusaders on their ships) . There were frequent disagreements among the conquerors themselves, and yet they constantly had to wage a stubborn struggle with the independent possessions that arose from the ruins of the Byzantine Empire. So, after the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders, in Thrace there were the possessions of the former Byzantine emperors Alexei Murzuphlus and Alexei III Angelos. Separatism flourished on the ruins of the Roman state: Michael the Angel Comnenus established himself in Epirus, and Leo Sgur ruled the cities of Argos, Corinth and Thebes.

Two relatively large states arose in Asia Minor - the Trebizond Empire, where the descendants of Emperor Andronikos Komnenos established themselves, and the Nicene Empire, where the son-in-law of Emperor Alexios III, Theodore I Lascaris, established himself. In the north, the Latin Empire had a formidable neighbor in the person of the Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan. Both Alexei retreated before the onslaught of Baldwin, but he had to face Boniface, supported by the Greeks.

Empire Wars

Main article: Bulgarian-Latin Wars

Only the combined efforts of Dandolo, Louis of Blois and the famous Villehardouin managed to reconcile the opponents, after which Boniface, together with his stepson Manuel, defeated Leo Sgur and took possession of Thessaly, Boeotia and Attica.

Counts Henry of Flanders (Baldwin's brother) and Louis of Blois made a successful campaign in Asia Minor.

Meanwhile, at the beginning of 1205, an uprising broke out in Didymotykh, where the crusaders' garrison was killed; then the Latins were expelled from Adrianople. Kaloyan also moved against them. Baldwin, without waiting for Boniface and his brother Henry, moved to Adrianople and on April 14, 1205 suffered a terrible defeat there from Kaloyan’s army, composed of Bulgarians, Wallachians, Polovtsians and Greeks; Louis of Blois, Stephen de Perche and many others fell in the battle. Baldwin himself was captured; Conflicting stories have been preserved about his further fate; most likely he died in prison.

The head of the state was now - first as regent, and from 1206 as emperor - Baldwin's brother, Count Henry of Flanders, who tried by all means to reconcile the conflicting interests that collided in his state.

The leader of the Fourth Crusade, the first king of Thessalonica, Boniface I of Montferrat, was killed in a battle with the Bulgarians (September 4, 1207) in the southern Rhodopes. His head was cut off and sent to Tsar Kaloyan in Tarnovo. He was succeeded in Thessalonica by his 2-year-old son from his marriage to Mary of Hungary, Dimitri, and Montferrat was inherited by the eldest, Guglielmo.

Political history

Henry of Flanders managed to win over the Greeks of Adrianople and Didymotychos, who now suffered severely from Kaloyan and agreed to submit to Henry, with the condition of transferring their cities to the fief of Theodore Vrana, married to Agnes, the widow of Emperor Andronikos Komnenos. Then Henry, having repelled the attack of the Bulgarians, became close to Boniface, married his daughter and was going to undertake a campaign with him against Kaloyan; but in 1207 Boniface, unexpectedly stumbling upon a detachment of Bulgarians, was killed by them.

The death of Kaloyan and the collapse of his kingdom freed Henry from danger from the Bulgarians and allowed him to take care of the affairs of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, whose regent, the Lombardian Count Oberto Biandrate, contested the crown from Boniface's son from Irene, Demetrius, and wanted to transfer it to Boniface's eldest son, William of Montferrat. Henry forced Oberto to recognize Demetrius's rights with armed force.

To give final organization to the political and church system of the new feudal empire, Henry on May 2, 1210, in the Ravennika valley, near the city of Zeitun (Lamia), opened the “Mayfield” or “parliament”, where Frankish princes, large barons and clergy of the Greek provinces appeared , from 1204, partly with the help of Boniface, partly independently created their own possessions. Morea, as the Peloponnese became known after the Frankish conquest, Guillaume de Champlitte and Villehardouin greatly expanded their possessions from 1205 and, with a victory at Condura (Messenia) over the militias of the Greek nobility, founded the Frankish principality of Achaia.

The death of Champlitte (1209) gave Villehardouin the opportunity to take possession of princely rights, although without the title of prince; he, like Otto de la Roche, at that time megaskir of Attica and Boeotia, managed to attract the Greeks to his side. Together with them, in Ravennika, the supreme power of Henry and Marco Sanudo, the nephew of Dandolo, was recognized, who in 1206 set out from Constantinople to conquer the islands of the Aegean Sea, established himself in Naxos and was recognized by the emperor as the Duke of Naxos.

In 1213, the good intentions of the emperor were almost destroyed by the forced introduction of union, which was undertaken by Cardinal Pelagius; but Henry stood up for the Greeks, which greatly increased his popularity. There remained the struggle with Lascaris and opponents in the West and North: Michael, then Theodore Angel of Epirus, Strez of Prosek, and the Bulgarians. Streus was defeated in Pelogonia, Lascaris proposed peace, according to which Henry retained the Bithynian peninsula and the region from the Hellespont to Kamina and Kalan; Henry reconciled with the Bulgarians by marrying their princess Maria.

In 1216, Henry died suddenly; he was not yet 40 years old; even the Greeks praised him as “the second Ares.” His death was the greatest misfortune for the Frankish kingdom. His successor was the husband of his sister Iolanta, Peter Courtenay, Count of Auxerre, grandson of Louis the Tolstoy of France, who received the imperial crown from the hands of Pope Honorius III (1217), but soon died in captivity by Theodore of Epirus. Iolanta became regent; There were unrest in the state over tithes and immunities, the willfulness of the barons, disagreements between the Venetians and the crusaders, the choice of the patriarch and rights in the territory. Iolanta maintained peaceful relations with the Nicaean Empire and married her daughter Maria to Laskaris.

In 1220, Peter's eldest son, Margrave Philip of Namur, was elected emperor, but he refused and his brother Robert, uneducated and rude, passionate and cowardly, took over the title. Relations with the Nicene court after the death of Theodore Lascaris became hostile, especially when John Ducas Vatatzes, a bitter enemy of the Latins, became the head of the Nicene empire. The Kingdom of Thessalonica, where there were constant strife between Demetrius and William, was captured by Theodore Angel in 1222. The Latin Empire continued to exist only thanks to the infighting between the two Greek emperors. Carried away by the daughter of knight Baldwin Neufville, whom he secretly married, Robert completely forgot the affairs of government; The barons, outraged by this, captured his wife and mother-in-law and drowned the latter, cutting off the first's nose and eyelids. Robert fled from Constantinople, returned with the help of the pope, but only reached Achaia, where he died in 1228, despised by everyone.

The new Emperor Baldwin II, Robert's brother, was only 11 years old; he was betrothed to the daughter of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen, related to the house of Courtenay, who promised to take away the lands he had conquered from Theodore Angel. The union with Bulgaria, however, was not wanted by the clergy, who decided to win John of Brienne, the former king of Jerusalem, to the side of the empire; Maria, his daughter, was to become Baldwin's bride, and he himself was to accept the title of emperor and the duties of regent.

In 1231, all vassals took an oath to John. Brilliant feats were expected of him, but in the early years he led a thrifty, careful economy. The campaign of 1233, which returned Pegi to Romania, benefited only the Rhodians and Venetians, whose trade was freed from restrictions from the Niceans; but in 1235 Vatatzes destroyed the Venetian Kallipolis.

After the death of John of Brienne (1237), power passed into the hands of Baldwin II, who, having no money, played a pitiful role and was forced to travel around European courts and beg for their help; The Savior's crown of thorns was pawned in Venice; there was nothing to redeem it with, and it was purchased by Saint Louis IX.

Capture of Constantinople by the Byzantines

Main article: Capture of Constantinople (1261)

In 1260, Constantinople held on only with the help of the Venetians, insignificant due to the fact that Venice was at that time at enmity with Genoa; in the same year, the Nicaean house triumphed over the Epirus and its Frankish allies and entered into an alliance with the Genoese.

On July 25, 1261, during the absence of the Venetian detachment, Constantinople fell into the hands of the Greeks; On August 15, Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos solemnly entered the ancient capital. Baldwin, with the Latin patriarch Giustiniani, fled to France, where, in the hope of finding allies, he began to give away the provinces of the lost empire. Charles of Anjou, king of Naples, received from him Achaia, Epirus and other regions as fiefs. 1273 Baldwin II died; the title of emperor remained in the Courtenay family and their descendants until the end of the 14th century.

Heirs of the Empire

Main article: Francocracy

The intricate history of the fragments of the Latin Empire defies summary. In the Achaean principality, after the Villehardouins, representatives of the House of Anjou, then Acciuoli, became princes; from 1383 to 1396, anarchy reigned here, then power passed to the despot of the Sea, Theodore I, Paleologus (1383-1407).

The Dukes of Athens, from 1312 from the house of Anjou, then from the house of Acciaioli, existed until 1460, when Athens was taken by the Turks.

In Epirus, the Franks, who had established themselves in Durazzo, had to yield to the Albanians and Serbs.

Cephalenia and Zante held palatines from 1357 to 1429.

The Roman despots (since 1418), the Dukes of Leucas, were conquered by the Turks in 1479. In the second half of the 16th century, the last remnants of the Latin “New France” disappeared.

Rulers of the Latin Empire

List of emperors of the Latin Empire

Literature

Latin Empire // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg, 1890-1907.

Links

Latin Empire. East-West: The Great Confrontation (inaccessible link - history). - Historical and geographical journey through the Latin Empire following Geoffroy de Villehardouin. Retrieved October 29, 2009. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010.
Bowman, Steven. The Jews of Byzantium 1204-1453. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: University of Alabama Press, 1985.

When writing this article, material was used from the Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron (1890-1907).

Crusader states
Levant	Kingdom of Jerusalem · Principality of Antioch · County of Edessa · County of Tripoli · Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia · Kingdom of Cyprus
Francocracy	· Kingdom of Thessalonica · Principality of Achaean · Duchy of Athens · Duchy of Naxos · Seigneury of Negroponta · Republic of Venice (Stato da Màr) · Order of Malta (Hospitaliers)
Baltic	Teutonic Order (State of the Teutonic Order) · Order of the Swordsmen (Terra Mariana) · Dobrin Order (Dobrzyn Land)
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Latin Empire Information About

Coat of arms of the Latin Empire

In 1204, the Crusaders captured Constantinople and founded the Latin Empire, which lasted until 1261. During the reign of the Latin Emperor Baldwin II, numerous Christian shrines located in Constantinople were sold to the King of France, among which was the Crown of Thorns of the Savior.

In August 1238, King Louis, nicknamed the Saint for his faith and great piety, solemnly welcomed this shrine 40 km from Paris. took off all the royal regalia and shoes and carried it on his shoulders with his brother. In 1241, a piece of the Holy Cross was brought to Paris. In record time, from 1243 to 1248, for these relics in the center of Paris on the Isle of Cité, the Sainte-Chapelle - the Holy Chapel, one of the masterpieces of Gothic architecture - was erected for the construction of which twice as much money was spent as was paid for Ternovy itself crown. Along with the crown and a fragment of the venerable cross, one of the nails driven into the body of Christ was also kept here. The thorns, and there were about 70 of them, were sent as gifts to cathedrals and temples in various Christian countries. During the revolution, Sainte-Chapelle was closed and the shrines were moved to the National Library. Thanks to the concordat of 1801 between and the Pope, the shrines were returned to the Archbishop of Paris. In 1806, the Crown of Thorns and other shrines, sealed in special glass capsules, were placed in the treasury of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, where they are still kept. On the first Friday of every month at 15:00, as well as on Good Friday of the Catholic Lent, the Crown of Thorns, together with a particle of the Cross of the Lord and the Nail from it, are brought out for veneration by believers.

States and possessions in Latin Romagna

Latin Empire
Romania, Imperium Romaniae (lat.), Empire latin de Constantinople (fr.)
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A state founded in 1204 by participants in the 4th Crusade on Byzantine territory they conquered. The capital is Constantinople. In addition to the direct possessions of the emperor, the Latin Empire included the Kingdom of Thessaloniki, the Principality of Achaia, the Duchy of Athens, etc. In 1261, the Nicaean emperor occupied Constantinople. The Latin Empire fell.

The Greeks called the state the Latin Empire; the Crusaders themselves called it Romania. The Venetians played a decisive role in the creation of the empire, financing the 4th Crusade. They were strongly interested in expanding their colonial possessions in the East. With the leaders of the campaign, the Venetian Doge Enrique Dandolo concluded an agreement on the election of the emperor by twelve electors (six each from Venice and the crusaders). The emperor had to rule only one-fourth of the empire's territory, the remaining lands were divided between Venice and the crusaders. As a result, the Venetian Republic received all the most important ports on the Adriatic and Aegean seas, the island of Crete, part of the islands of the Greek Archipelago and a significant part of Constantinople itself.

Boniface of Montferrat also aspired to the post of emperor. He was elected, more “convenient” for Venice. His vassals were: King Boniface of Montferrat of Thessalonica, Duke of Athens and Prince of Achaia. The Venetian possessions were ruled by a podesta with the Byzantine rank of despot, the Patriarch of Constantinople was elected from among the Venetians. The emperor established the court and administration according to the European model. The code of laws of the Latin Empire, the Assizes of Romagnia, was modeled after the Assizes of Jerusalem.

The position of the formed empire was extremely precarious. The Crusaders had to wage war with the former Byzantine emperors and, in the Peloponnese, an uprising broke out under the leadership of Leo Sgur. From the ruins of Byzantium, two small empires were formed in Asia Minor - Trebizond and Nicaea, and the Epirus state was formed in western Greece. They were all militant. Discord between the emperor and Boniface of Montferrat continued. The king of Bulgaria intervened in the feud, captured the emperor and killed him in prison. Relations with the Greek Church were most tense, mainly due to the desire of the crusaders to seize church lands. The Byzantine nobility were not recognized as “noble” by the crusaders, which created constant tension. Needing funds to pay off the Venetians and add shine to the court, the Latin emperors increased pressure on farmers, systematically plundered Constantinople, even melted copper statues into coins, devastated churches, confiscated sacred relics, which angered the Greeks.

The heir was his brother (ruled 1206-16), who managed to put an end to internal strife (this was also facilitated by the death of Boniface of Montferrat) and temporarily push back external enemies. Henry was succeeded by his son-in-law (reigned 1216-17), who was captured by the rulers of Epirus and died there. The sister of Baldwin I (1217-20) lost a significant part of her territories. Under her eldest son (reigned 1220-28), the emperor's own possessions were limited to the environs of Constantinople. The empire's vassals also ruled completely independently, sometimes entering into alliances with opponents of the emperors.

Under the last emperor (reigned 1228-73), the end of the empire became obvious. From the 1230s Baudouin wandered through European courts and asked for support, but all requests were to no avail: the emperor, who was fighting with the pope, openly supported John III Dooku. The vassals of the empire nominated an Epirus candidate as a counterweight to the Nicaean claimant, but the Genoese, who competed with Venice, came out in support of the Nicaeans. Venice, convinced of the futility of efforts to support the Latin Empire, refused further expenses and withdrew its troops. In 1261 the Nicaean emperor occupied Constantinople. Baudouin married his son to his daughter

The crusaders, having divided the property of Byzantium among themselves, did not think that the ruin of the vanquished would lead to the ruin of the victors, and that they would not slow down to become impoverished just like the Greeks whom they robbed. Regretting nothing and not foreseeing anything, counting only on their sword, they now set about electing a ruler over the people who had lost everything and the devastated city.

The coronation of the new emperor, who became Baldwin, Count of Flanders and Gennegaut, took place with all the solemnity of Greek rites. During the divine service, Baldwin sat on a golden throne; he took the oath from the hands of the papal legate, who performed the service in place of the patriarch. The head of the clergy, standing in front of the altar, said in Greek: “He is worthy to reign,” and all those present repeated in chorus: “He is worthy of it, he is worthy of it!”

The highest positions at the imperial court were distributed among the barons and the most noble rulers: the Doge of Venice was appointed despot, or prince of Rome, with the privilege of wearing purple boots, Villegarduigne received the title of Marshal of the Romanian, Comte de Saint-Paul - Grand Constable, Conon of Bethune was named protovestiary, Macarius of Saint-Menegudsky - the great or chief captain, Mil of Brabant - the chief butler, Manasseh of Lille - the chief marshal, etc.

Division of former Byzantine possessions

At a council consisting of 12 Venetian patricians and 12 French knights, it was decided to divide all the conquered lands between both peoples.

Bithynia, Romagnia or Thrace, Thessalonica, all of ancient Greece, from Thermopylae to Cape Sounion, the largest of the archipelago islands: Chios, Lesbos, Rhodes and Cyprus - went to the French. The Venetians received many of the islands called the Sporades and Cyclades, the islands along the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea, the Propontis and the Hellespont with their harbors and stations. The islands of Cyanaea and the mouth of the Pontus Euxine, the cities of Kipsed, Didymotika, Adrianople, coastal areas of Thessaly, etc.

This was the initial division of the provinces and possessions of the empire, which went to the crusaders after they captured Constantinople. The lands located on the other side of the Bosphorus were turned into a kingdom and, together with the island of Candia, were given to the Marquis of Montferrat. Boniface exchanged them for the province of Thessalonica, or ancient Macedonia, and sold the island of Candia to the Venetian Republic for 30 pounds of gold coin.

The Asian provinces went to the Count of Blois, who took the title of Duke of Nicaea and Bithynia. If we are based on the testimony of Nikita, then the crusaders divided among themselves cities that did not exist, provinces that had not belonged to the empire for a long time; Greek historians report that Media, Parthia and the kingdoms that were under the rule of the Turks and Saracens were divided by lot.

For several days, Constantinople was a market where bargaining was going on about the sea and the islands, about the East and the peoples living there. The Latin clergy also did not miss the opportunity to take advantage of their share in dividing up the remains of Greece; the leaders of the Crusade decided among themselves that if the Emperor of Constantinople was elected from the French, then the patriarch should be elected from the Venetians. According to this agreement, made even before the victory, to the see of St. Sofia was erected by the Venetian priest Tommaso Morosini, who was then approved by the pope.

In all the churches taken from the vanquished, priests chosen from both nations were installed, and the income from all the churches of Constantinople was divided between them. At the same time, Latin bishops and priests were sent to other conquered cities, who took possession of all church positions and property of the Greek clergy.

But the important victories of the crusaders and the humble submission of the leaders did not completely disarm Innocent’s anger. However, the head of the believers did not dare to delve into discussions about the affairs of God; he tended to think that the Greeks were justly punished for their errors, and that Providence rewarded the crusaders as an instrument of its justice. The Pope only reminded the Crusaders of their promises to help the Holy Land, which they so often repeated.

Innocent approved the election of Baldwin, who at the same time accepted the title of knight of the Holy See, and without hesitation recognized the empire, which victory had subjugated to his spiritual power; he wrote to the French bishops that the Lord was pleased to console the church by converting heretics into its fold. At the same time, on behalf of Emperor Baldwin, the pope invited the French of all classes to go to Greece, conquered by the weapon of the Cross.

The indulgences of the Crusade were extended to those who would join the victors of Byzantium to defend and promote the prosperity of the new Eastern Empire.

Nowhere did the conquest of Byzantium produce such joy as in the Holy Land. The defenders and inhabitants of the Christian cities overseas, who had suffered only the disasters of war, wished to share the happiness and glory of the French and Venetians.

The papal legate Peter of Capua, sent to Syria by Innocent, left Palestine and came to Greece, where with his presence he revived the zeal of the Latin clergy for the conversion of the Greeks. and also arrived in Greece, which became the real promised land, the king of Jerusalem remained almost alone in Ptolemais.

The twenty-thousandth army of the crusaders was enough to crush the walls of Byzantium, but no matter how formidable this army was, it was still not enough to occupy and protect all the cities and provinces that fell into their hands after a one-day victory.

The Byzantines are defeated, but not destroyed

The peoples of Greece were defeated, but not subjugated. In the disorder in which the defeated empire was, all the Greeks who only had weapons wanted to establish their own principality or kingdom. Everywhere new states or empires were rising from the ruins and already threatening the one that had recently been founded by the crusaders.

The grandson of Andronicus founded the Principality of Trebizond in one of the Greek provinces, in Asia Minor. Leo Segur, ruler of Napolidi-Romania, reigned, or rather, spread terror in Argolis and the Isthmus of Corinth. Michael the Angel Comnenus, acting through treason, restored the kingdom of Epirus and kept the savage and warlike people under his rule.

Theodore Laskaris, who, like Aeneas, fled from his fatherland, devoted to the flames, gathered troops in Bithynia and proclaimed himself Emperor of Nicaea, from where over time his family was destined to return in triumph to Constantinople.

If both emperors, overthrown from the throne, had had any skill and courage, if they had united in their misfortune, they could have preserved something of the remnants of their own property and strengthened themselves again.

But... For Providence, to punish them, it was enough only to bring them together. Alexey III, showering Murzufla with caresses, drew him into his house and ordered his eyes to be gouged out. Murzuphlus, abandoned by all his supporters, fell into the hands of the crusaders, who sent him to Constantinople and threw him from the top of Theodosius' column.

Alexei III, in turn, abandoned by all those close to him, wandered for a long time in Asia and Europe, and history completely lost sight of him and cannot even tell what his end was.

Source - Compilation based on the book by Joseph Michaud, “History of the Crusades”, and other materials in the public domain
Posted by - Melfice K.

a state founded in 1204 by participants in the 4th Crusade on Byzantine territory they conquered. The capital is Constantinople. In addition to the direct possessions of the emperor, L.I. included the Kingdom of Thessalonica, the Achaean Principality, the Duchy of Athens, etc. In 1261, the Nicaean emperor occupied Constantinople, and L.I. fell.

Excellent definition

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Latin Empire

feud, a state with its capital in Constantinople, founded by participants in the 4th Crusade in Europe they captured. possessions of Byzantium. empires. Existed from 1204 to 1261. The main role in the creation of L.I. played by the Venetians, interested in expanding their colonial possessions and developing trade relations with the East. L.i. included many areas of the Balkan Peninsula, north-west Asia Minor, islands of the Aegean and Ionian seas. The discord of the feudal lords who divided the conquered lands among themselves, the uprisings of the population suffering from the exactions introduced by the crusaders, and external wars led L.I. to the fall. In 1261 it was destroyed by the Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.

Emperors L.I.: Baldwin I (1204-1205); Henry I (1206-1216); Pierre de Courtenay (1217); Iolanta (1217-1219); Robert de Courtenay (1219-1228); Baldwin II (1228-1261); John de Brienne (regent 1231-1237).

Lit.: Goryanov B.T. Late Byeantine feudalism. M., 1962; Zaborov ML. Crusaders in the East. M., 1980; History of Byzantium. T. 3. M., 1967; Karpov SP. Latin Romania // VI. 1984. No. 12.

Excellent definition

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LATIN EMPIRE

feud. state with its capital in Constantinople, created by the crusaders as a result of the conquest of part of Byzantium in 1204 and existing until 1261. Name. "L. i.", included in history. lit-ru, - Byzantine. origin (from the Latins). Officially, the sovereigns of L. and. were titled emperors of Romania (French name for Byzantium). L. and. included many districts of the Balkan Peninsula, north-west. M. Asia, Aegean and Ionian islands. seas. These lands were divided between princes, knights and Venice. Emperor L. and. (he was elected Count of Flanders Baldwin IX) received 1/4 of the territory. empire (including the majority of Constantinople). The largest feudal possessions in L. and. there were the Kingdom of Thessalonica, the Achaean Kingdom and the Duchy of Athens in vassal dependence on the Kingdom of Thessalonica). In its own political way. building L. and. was a fief. Western European monarchy type. The power of the emperor was limited by the council of the most prominent lords and the crown. podestb with his 6 advisers. The socio-legal orders of Lithuania, basically inherited from the Byzantine ones, were determined by the assizes of Romania. Lat. dominion worsened the situation of the Greeks. people as a whole, only part of the local nobility retained their privileges, going over to the side of the crusaders. Direct robbery and devastation of the country, widespread enslavement of peasants, increased duties for wigs, the burden of merchants and usurers. The exploitation of the Venetians, who seized leading positions in the cities, aroused the indignation of the Greeks. Attempts by the papacy to forcibly introduce Catholicism into Latvia and. turned out to be unsuccessful; only higher church positions were filled by Catholics, and ordinary Orthodox clergy remained an influential force locally. People's resistance masses served as foreign conquerors ch. the reason for the fragility of L. and. In addition, she was torn between feuds. strife and was weakened by constant conflicts with neighboring states. 14 Apr In 1205, Bulgarian troops inflicted defeat on the crusaders near Adrianople, putting an end to Western aggression. chivalry in the Balkans. Gradually L. and. was shrinking. In 1224, the despot of Epirus, Theodore Angelos, conquered Thessalonica. According to the agreement of 1225 with the Nicaean Empire, L. and. retained only the Nicomedia region in Asia. In 1235-36, Constantinople was besieged by the troops of the Nicaean Empire and Bulgaria, but it managed to hold out - partly with the help of the Venetian fleet, and Ch. arr. thanks to the rupture of the Bulgarian-Nicene alliance (Ivan Asen II conspired with the Latins). In the end, not having sufficient funds, Lithuania, territorially reduced to Constantinople and its surrounding area, was liquidated in 1261: the Nicaean emperor Michael Paleologus took possession of the city, the Latins were expelled (in certain regions of Central and Southern Greece, Western European feudal lords continued to hold out until 15th century ). Emperors L. and.: Baldwin I (1204-05), Henry (1206-16), Pierre de Courtenay (1217), Iolanta (1217-19), Robert de Courtenay (1221-1228), John of Brienne (1231-37 ), Baldwin II (1238-61 (actual)). Lit.: Zaborov M. A., Crusades, M., 1956; Gerland E., Geschichte des Lateinischen Kaiserreiches von Konstantinopel, Hamb., 1905; Longnon J., L´empire latin de Constantinople et la principaut? de Morée, P., 1949; D?lger F., Die Kreuzfahrerstaaten auf dem Balkan und Byzanz, "S?dostforschungen", 1956, Bd 15. M. A. Zaborov. Moscow. -***-***-***- Latin Empire at the beginning of the 13th century.

Excellent definition

Incomplete definition ↓

Latin Empire

medieval empire formed after the Fourth Crusade. The name of the empire in Latin was Romania.

Building an Empire

The Fourth Crusade ended with the conquest of Constantinople by the Crusaders. They took it on April 13, 1204 and subjected it to merciless destruction. When the leaders of the campaign managed to somewhat restore order, they began to divide and organize the conquered country. According to an agreement concluded back in March 1204 between the Doge of the Venetian Republic Enrico Dandolo, Count Baldwin of Flanders, Marquis Boniface of Montferrat and other leaders of the crusaders, it was established that a feudal state would be formed from the possessions of the Byzantine Empire, headed by an elected emperor; he will receive part of Constantinople and a quarter of all the lands of the empire, and the remaining three quarters will be divided in half between the Venetians and the Crusaders; the Hagia Sophia and the choice of the patriarch will be left to the clergy of that of the specified groups from which the emperor will not be elected. In pursuance of the terms of this treaty, on May 9, 1204, a special board (which included equal parts Venetians and Crusaders) elected Count Baldwin as emperor, over whom he was anointed and crowned in the Hagia Sophia according to the ceremonial of the Eastern Empire; Venetian Thomas Morosini was elected patriarch exclusively by the Venetian clergy (despite objections to this order from Pope Innocent III).

Collapse of Byzantium

In the person of the vanquished and the victors, two completely different cultures collided, two different systems of state and church organization, and the number of newcomers was relatively small (it can be judged to some extent by the fact that the Venetians undertook to transport 33,500 crusaders on Venetian ships) . There were frequent disagreements among the conquerors themselves, and yet they constantly had to wage a stubborn struggle with the independent possessions that arose from the ruins of the Byzantine empire. Thus, during the era of the capture of Constantinople by the crusaders, the former emperors Alexei Murzuphlus and Alexei Angelus still held out independently in Thrace itself; in Epirus, Michael the Angel Comnenus established himself as an independent despot; Leo Sgur took possession of Argos, Corinth, and Thebes. Two relatively large states arose in Asia Minor - the Trebizond Empire, where the descendants of Emperor Andronikos Komnenos established themselves, and the Nicene Empire, where the son-in-law of Emperor Alexios III, Theodore II Lascaris, established himself. In the north, the Latin Empire had a formidable neighbor in the person of the Bulgarian Tsar Kaloyan. Both Alexei retreated before the onslaught of Baldwin, but he had to face Boniface, supported by the Greeks.

Empire Wars

Only the combined efforts of Dandolo, Louis of Blois and the famous Villegarduin managed to reconcile the opponents, after which Boniface, together with his stepson Manuel, defeated Leo Sgur and took possession of Thessaly, Boeotia and Attica. Counts Henry of Flanders (Baldwin's brother) and Louis of Blois made a successful campaign in Asia Minor. Meanwhile, at the beginning of 1205, an uprising broke out in Didymotykh, where the crusaders' garrison was killed; then the Latins were expelled from Adrianople. Kaloyan also moved against them. Baldwin, without waiting for Boniface and his brother Henry, moved to Adrianople and on April 14, 1205 suffered a terrible defeat there from Kaloyan’s army, composed of Bulgarians, Wallachians, Polovtsians and Greeks; Louis of Blois, Stephen de Perche and many others fell in the battle. Baldwin himself was captured; Conflicting stories have been preserved about his further fate; most likely he died in prison. The head of the state was now - first as regent, and from 1206 as emperor - Baldwin's brother, Count Henry of Flanders, who tried by all means to reconcile the conflicting interests that collided in his state.

He managed to win over to his side the Greeks of Adrianople and Didymotychos, who were now severely suffering from Kaloyan and agreed to submit to Henry, with the condition of transferring their cities to the fief of Theodore Vrana, married to Agnes, the widow of Emperor Andronikos Komnenos. Then Henry, having repelled the attack of the Bulgarians, became close to Boniface, married his daughter and was going to undertake a campaign with him against Kaloyan; but in 1207 Boniface, unexpectedly stumbling upon a detachment of Bulgarians, was killed by them. The death of Kaloyan and the collapse of his kingdom freed Henry from danger from the Bulgarians and allowed him to take care of the affairs of the kingdom of Thessalonica, whose regent, the Lombardian Count Oberto Biandrate, disputed the crown with Boniface's son from Irene, Demetrius, and wanted to transfer it to Boniface's eldest son, William of Montferrat. Henry forced Oberto to recognize Demetrius's rights with armed force. To give final organization to the political and church system of the new feudal empire, Henry on May 2, 1210, in the Ravennika valley, near the city of Zeitun (Lamia), opened the “Mayfield” or “parliament”, where Frankish princes, large barons and clergy of the Greek provinces appeared , from 1204, partly with the help of Boniface, partly independently created their own possessions. In the Morea, as the Peloponnese began to be called after the Frankish conquest, Guillaume de Champlitte and Villehardouin greatly expanded their possessions from 1205 and, with a victory at Condura (Messenia) over the militias of the Greek nobility, founded the Frankish principality of Achaea.

In the same 1210, a compromise was approved in Rome, according to which the patriarch, as a delegate of the pope, was affirmed in all his rights, churches and monasteries were exempted from duties, Greek and Latin clergy were obliged to pay the Byzantine land tax for the land received as fief; uninitiated children of Orthodox priests were obliged to serve the barons. Henry tried, as far as possible, to settle church relations and reconcile the interests of the Orthodox population and clergy with the interests of the Latin clergy and Latin barons: the former sought to take possession of church and monastic property and tithe the Orthodox population in their favor, and the latter tried to achieve the secularization of church property and the liberation of the inhabitants subject to them empire from all church exactions. The Athos monasteries, subjected to plunder by the Thessalonian barons, were made “direct vassals” of the emperor. In 1213, the good intentions of the emperor were almost destroyed by the forced introduction of union, which was undertaken by Cardinal Pelagius; but Henry stood up for the Greeks, which greatly increased his popularity. What remained was the struggle with Lascaris and opponents in the West and North: Michael, then Theodore the Angel of Epirus, Stresa of Prosek, and the Bulgarians. Stresa was defeated in Pelogonia, Lascaris proposed peace, according to which Henry retained the Bithynian peninsula and the region from the Hellespont to Kamina and Kalan; Henry reconciled with the Bulgarians by marrying their princess Maria.

In 1216, Henry died suddenly; he was not yet 40 years old; even the Greeks glorified him as “the second Ares.” His death was the greatest misfortune for the Frankish kingdom. His successor was the husband of his sister Iolanta, Peter Courtenay, Count of Auxerre, grandson of Louis the Tolstoy of France, who received the imperial crown from the hands of Pope Honorius III (1217), but soon died in captivity by Theodore of Epirus. Iolanta became regent; There were unrest in the state over tithes and immunities, the willfulness of the barons, disagreements between the Venetians and the crusaders, the choice of the patriarch and rights in the territory. Iolanta maintained peaceful relations with the Nicaean Empire and married her daughter Maria to Laskaris. In 1220, Peter's eldest son, Margrave Philip of Namur, was elected emperor, but he refused and his brother Robert, uneducated and rude, passionate and cowardly, took over the title. Relations with the Nicene court after the death of Theodore Lascaris became hostile, especially when John Ducas Vatatzes, a bitter enemy of the Latins, became the head of the Nicene empire. The Kingdom of Thessalonica, where there were constant strife between Demetrius and William, was captured by Theodore Angel in 1222. The Greek empire continued to exist only thanks to the infighting between both Greek emperors. Carried away by the daughter of knight Baldwin Neufville, whom he secretly married, Robert completely forgot the affairs of government; The barons, outraged by this, captured his wife and mother-in-law and drowned the latter, cutting off the first's nose and eyelids. Robert fled from Constantinople, returned with the help of the pope, but only reached Achaia, where he died in 1228, despised by everyone. The new Emperor Baldwin II, Robert's brother, was only 11 years old; he was betrothed to the daughter of the Bulgarian Tsar Ivan Asen, related to the house of Courtenay, who promised to take away the lands he had conquered from Theodore Angel. The union with Bulgaria, however, was not wanted by the clergy, who decided to win John of Brienne, the former king of Jerusalem, to the side of the empire; Maria, his daughter, was to become Baldwin's bride, and he himself was to accept the title of emperor and the duties of regent. In 1231, all vassals took an oath to John. Brilliant feats were expected of him, but in the early years he led a thrifty, careful economy. The campaign of 1233, which returned Pegi to Romania, benefited only the Rhodians and Venetians, whose trade was freed from restrictions from the Niceans; but in 1235 Vatatzes destroyed the Venetian Kallipolis. After the death of John of Brienne (1237), power passed into the hands of Baldwin II, who, having no money, played a pitiful role and was forced to travel around European courts and beg for their help; The Savior's crown of thorns was pawned in Venice; there was nothing to redeem it with, and it was purchased by Saint Louis IX.

Capture of Constantinople by the Byzantines

The Venetians frequently visited Constantinople with their merchant fleets, but troops from the West did not appear to support Romagna; Vatatzes and his successors approached the capital closer and closer and transferred their troops to Europe: a decisive step was not taken only out of fear of the Mongols. Baldwin was forced to pawn his own son to the Venetian merchants in order to get money; only in 1259 was it bought by the French king. In 1260, Constantinople held on only with the help of the Venetians, insignificant due to the fact that Venice was at that time at enmity with Genoa; in the same year, the Nicaean house triumphed over the Epirus and its Frankish allies and entered into an alliance with the Genoese. On July 25, 1261, during the absence of the Venetian detachment, Constantinople fell into the hands of the Greeks; August 15 imp. Michael VIII Palaiologos solemnly entered the ancient capital. Baldwin, with the Latin patriarch Giustiniani, fled to France, where, in the hope of finding allies, he began to give away the provinces of the lost empire. Charles of Anjou, king of Naples, received from him Achaia, Epirus and other regions as fiefs. In 1273 Baldwin II died; the title of emperor remained in the Courtenay family and their descendants until the end of the 14th century.

Excellent definition

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If you want peace, prepare for war.

Source - Vegetius, "Brief instructions on military affairs", 3, Prologue: Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum. "Whoever desires peace should prepare for war."

A similar idea was previously expressed by Cicero (Philippics, VII, 6, 19: Si pace frui volumus bellum gerendum est. “If we want to enjoy peace, we have to fight”) and Cornelius Nepos (Epaminondas, V, 4: Paritur pax bello "The world is created by war").

While all European states have turned into military camps, whose mercenaries are eager to attack each other in order to cut each other's throats in honor of peace, before each new outbreak of war there is only one completely insignificant question that needs to be clarified: which side to take. As soon as the diplomatic parliamentarians, by means of the tried and tested rule of "Si vis pacem, pard bellum," have satisfactorily resolved this secondary question, one of those wars for the glory of civilization begins, which in their unbridled barbarity belong to the epoch of the heyday of robber chivalry, and in their refined treachery are all the exclusive affiliation of the newest period with the imperialist bourgeoisie. (K. Marx, Invasion!.)

Louis Philippe left behind the French army not in a combat-ready state -. The Republic did not improve the condition of the army. But an empire appeared, which meant peace, and “si vis pacem, para bellum,” and the army immediately became the center of its attention. (F. Engels, The Rise and Decline of the Army.)

That same day in the evening I left without seeing anyone else from the Emancipation of Labor group." We decided not to talk about what had happened to anyone except those closest to us - we decided to observe the apparances [ appearance of decency (from French apparence). - author ], - do not let your opponents triumph. In appearance - as if nothing had happened, the whole machine should continue to move as it was going - only some string broke inside, and instead of wonderful personal relationships there came business, dry, with constant calculation: according to the formula si vis pacem, para bellum . (V.I. Lenin, How Iskra almost went out.)

Who did more than Louis Napoleon for their [order and quiet] establishment and fencing? “The Empire is the world,” he said; and “if you want peace, then prepare for war” (si vis pacem, para bellum), and due to this twofold consideration, he has been tirelessly fighting and making peace since his very election - and all in the interests of continuing his rule, in which alone France has found peace and bliss. (N. A. Dobrolyubov, Letter from a well-meaning Frenchman.)

Si vis pacet, para bellum, says an extremely worn-out Latin proverb in our time: if you want peace, prepare for war. But it is perhaps more correct to apply this proverb in the opposite sense to the methods of modern Western European politics: si vis bellum, para pacem, that is, if you are starting a war, start with agitation in favor of peace, work for peace as loudly as possible, by the way, inappropriately preach peace. (I. S. Aksakov, Pan-European Politics. Articles from the newspaper "Moscow".)

Si vis pacem, para bellum - if you want peace, prepare for war. This is the formula for imperialist wars, borrowed from one of the Roman sages. Now we know what deep class limitations this formulation expresses. We contrast it with our call: “if you want peace, prepare it, prepare it, sparing all your strength, every day of your life, every hour of your days.” (Arnold Zweig, Defending the world, sparing no effort.)

□ Of all the dogmas of the bigoted politics of our time, none has caused so much trouble as the dogma that says: “If you want peace, prepare for war.” (K. Marx, Invasion.)

□ For centuries, humanity, striving to ensure its security, was guided by the formula: “If you want peace, prepare for war.” In our nuclear era, this formula is especially dangerous. A person only dies once. But in recent years, such a mass of weapons has been accumulated that it makes it possible to destroy all life on earth several times over. Clearly understanding this, we said and say again: “If you want peace, pursue a policy of peace, fight for this policy!” (L.I. Brezhnev, Socialist Poland is thirty years old.)