Latin Empire
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Latin Empire Imperium Constantinopolitanum ( Latin) | |||||||||||||||
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1204–1261[note 1] | |||||||||||||||
Latin Catholic (official) Greek Orthodox (popular) | |||||||||||||||
Government | Feudal Christian monarchy | ||||||||||||||
Emperor | |||||||||||||||
• 1204–1205 | Baldwin I | ||||||||||||||
• 1205–1216 | Henry | ||||||||||||||
• 1216–1217 | Peter | ||||||||||||||
• 1217–1219 | Yolanda | ||||||||||||||
• 1221–1228 | Robert I | ||||||||||||||
• 1229–1237 | John | ||||||||||||||
• 1228–1261 | Baldwin II | ||||||||||||||
Historical era | High 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) | ||||||||||||||
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The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal
The Fourth Crusade had originally been called to retake the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, but a sequence of economic and political events culminated in the Crusader army sacking the city of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Originally, the plan had been to restore the deposed Byzantine Emperor Isaac II Angelos, who had been usurped by Alexios III Angelos, to the throne. The crusaders had been promised financial and military aid by Isaac's son Alexios IV, with which they had planned to continue to Jerusalem. When the crusaders reached Constantinople the situation quickly turned volatile and while Isaac and Alexios briefly ruled, the crusaders did not receive the payment they had hoped for. In April 1204, they captured and plundered the city's enormous wealth.
The crusaders selected their own emperor from among their own ranks,
The incontestable Venetian domination in the region was not limited to the practical respect, but was also demonstrated by the new title adopted by the doges, that is of 'Dominus quartae partis et dimidie totius Imperii Romaniae', attached to the one of 'Dux Venetiarum, Dalmatiae Croatiaeque'.[4] Beginning with the letters of Innocent III, dated 20 June 1203 and 29 January 1205, the Papacy often used this term too.[5] The term Romania ("Land of the Romans") had been used as a vernacular name for centuries, first by the inhabitants of the entire Late Roman Empire, then by the population of the Byzantine Empire.
Etymology
The term "Latin Empire" was not contemporary, and was first used in the 16th century name used by or for the regime set up by the crusaders of the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople. Instead, both terms were invented much later by historians seeking to differentiate between the classical period of the Roman Empire, the medieval period of the Byzantine Empire, and the late medieval Latin Empire, all of which called themselves "Roman". The term "Latin" has been used by these later historians because the crusaders (Franks, Venetians, and other westerners) were Roman Catholic and used Latin as their liturgical and scholarly language. It is used in contrast to the Eastern Orthodox locals who used Greek in both liturgy and common speech. The Byzantines referred to the Latin Empire as the Frankokratia 'rule of the Franks', or the Latinokratia 'rule of the Latins'.[6]
Founding treaties issued by the crusaders specifically refer to the empire as the imperium Constantinopolitanum ("Empire of Constantinople"). Although this is a marked departure from the standard Byzantine nomenclature and ideology, designating the empire as the Basileía Rhōmaíōn 'Empire of the Romans', imperium Constantinopolitanum was the standard name used for the eastern empire in western sources, such as in papal correspondence, and suggests that the Latin leaders viewed themselves as "taking over" the empire rather than "replacing" it. It would have been difficult for the crusaders to justify referring to the empire as "Roman" considering that Western Europe generally held the Germanic Holy Roman Empire to represent the legitimate Roman Empire.[7]
The full title actually used by the first Latin Emperor, Baldwin I, was Balduinus dei gratia fidelissimus in Christo imperator a Deo coronatus Romanorum moderator et semper augustus, a near perfect replication of the one used by Alexios IV Angelos, placed on the throne by the crusaders previously, in a letter (only known in its Latin version) to Pope Innocent III: fidelis in Christo imperator a Deo coronatus Romanorum moderator et semper augustus. Letters by Baldwin to Pope Innocent III give his title as imperator Constantinopolitanus, possibly altered by Papal scribes as the Pope recognized the Holy Roman Emperor as the imperator Romanorum. In his seals, Baldwin abbreviated Romanorum as Rom., conveniently leaving it open for interpretation whether he referred to Romaniae 'land of the Romans' or Romanorum 'the Romans'. It is probably more likely that he meant Romanorum. Baldwin's successor Henry called the empire imperium Romanum at least in one letter.[7] A Venetian statesman Marino Sanuto the Elder used yet another appellative, Sebastō Latíno Basilía ton Rhōmaíōn (Σεβαστό Λατίνο βασιλιά των Ρωμαίων, lit. "August Latin Empire of the Romans").[8] The term "Romania" had been a vernacular name used for centuries by the population of the Late Roman polity for their country.[9][10]
Three different versions of imperial titulature are attested under Henry; Henricus Dei Gratia Imperator Romaniae 'Emperor of Romania', Henricus Dei Gratia Imperator Romanorum 'Emperor of the Romans' and Henricus Dei Gratia Imperator Constantinopolitani 'Emperor of Constantinople', possibly intended for different recipients. Usage of the title Emperor of Constantinople may not just have been to appease the Pope and Western Europe, but might also have been used to legitimize the rule of the Latin Emperors in regards to the Byzantines that they ruled. Possession of the city itself was a key legitimizing factor that set the Latin Emperors apart from Byzantine claimants in Nicaea, Trebizond and Thessalonica.[7]
History
Origins
After the
- areas of fiefs:
- the short-lived Duchy of Philippopolis in north Thrace
Further duchies were projected in
The Doge of Venice did not rank as a vassal to the Latin Empire. Still, his position in control of three-eighths of its territory and of parts of Constantinople itself ensured Venice's influence in the Empire's affairs. However, much of the former Byzantine territory remained in the hands of rival successor states led by Byzantine Greek aristocrats, such as the Despotate of Epirus, the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond, each bent on reconquest from the Latins.
On 9 May 1204, Baldwin I was elected the emperor with Venetian support, and crowned on 16 May in the Hagia Sophia in a ceremony that closely followed Eastern Roman practices.[16] Not long after the coronation, Baldwin ventured out into the Thracian countryside, posturing not as a conqueror but as a legitimate ruler, expecting to be universally acclaimed by the populace as the Emperor of the Romans.[17] The establishment of the Latin Empire had the curious effect of creating five simultaneously existing polities claiming to be the Roman Empire: the Latin empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the three remnants of the Byzantine Empire, the Despotate of Epirus, the empire of Nicaea, and the empire of Trebizond.
In Asia Minor
The initial campaigns of the crusaders in Asia Minor resulted in the capture of most of Bithynia by 1205, with the defeat of the forces of Theodore I Laskaris at Poemanenum and Prusa. Latin successes continued, and in 1207 a truce was signed with Theodore, newly proclaimed Emperor of Nicaea. The Latins inflicted a further defeat on Nicaean forces at the Rhyndakos river in October 1211, and three years later the Treaty of Nymphaeum (1214) recognized their control of most of Bithynia and Mysia.
The peace was maintained until 1222, when the resurgent power of Nicaea felt sufficiently strong to challenge the Latin Empire, by that time weakened by constant warfare in its European provinces. At the
In Europe
Unlike in Asia, where the Latin Empire faced only an initially weak Nicaea, in Europe it was immediately confronted with a powerful enemy: the Bulgarian tsar Kaloyan. When Baldwin campaigned against the Byzantine lords of Thrace, they called upon Kaloyan for help. At the Battle of Adrianople on 14 April 1205, the Latin heavy cavalry and knights were crushed by Kaloyan's troops and Cuman allies, and Emperor Baldwin was captured. He was imprisoned in the Bulgarian capital Tarnovo until his death later in 1205. Kaloyan was murdered a couple of years later (1207) during a siege of Thessalonica, and the Bulgarian threat conclusively defeated with a victory the following year, which allowed Baldwin's successor, Henry of Flanders, to reclaim most of the lost territories in Thrace until 1210, when peace was concluded with the marriage of Henry to Maria of Bulgaria, tsar Kaloyan's daughter.
At the same time, another Greek successor state, the Despotate of Epirus, under Michael I Komnenos Doukas, posed a threat to the empire's vassals in Thessalonica and Athens. Henry demanded his submission, which Michael provided, giving off his daughter to Henry's brother Eustace in the summer of 1209. This alliance allowed Henry to launch a campaign in Macedonia, Thessaly and Central Greece against the rebellious Lombard lords of Thessalonica. However, Michael's attack on the Kingdom of Thessalonica in 1210 forced him to return north to relieve the city and to force Michael back into submission.
In 1214 however, Michael died, and was succeeded by
Decline and fall
After Robert of Courtenay died in 1228, a new regency under
By 1247, the Nicaeans had effectively surrounded the main holdings of the Emperor in the new European land system. Following the victory at the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259 Michael VIII Palaiologos of the Nicaean empire had only one obstacle left. The Theodosian walls and the Latin Forces. He had already cut of the Latins from aid from the Latin estates of Greece or the Nicaeans rivals and also a successor state to the Byzantines the Despotate of Epirus.
The first attempt to take Constantinople occurred in 1260 when a Latin knight taken prisoner in Pelagonia, whose house was in the city walls, promised to open a gate for the emperor's troops. He failed to do so, and Palaiologos launched an unsuccessful assault on Galata Instead. In preparation for another attempt, an alliance with Genoa was concluded in March 1261, and in July 1261
As the one-year truce concluded after the failed Nicaean attack was nearing its end, the general Alexios Strategopoulos was sent with a small advance force of 800 soldiers (most of them Cumans) to keep a watch on the Bulgarians and spy out the defences of the Latins.
When the Nicaean force reached the village of
On the night of 24/25 July 1261, Strategopoulos and his men approached the
Nicaean general Alexios Strategopoulos found an unguarded entrance to the city, and entered it with only 800 troops, restoring the Byzantine Empire for his master, Michael VIII Palaiologos.
The remaining Latin states ruled territories of present-day
Titular claimants
For about a century thereafter, the heirs of Baldwin II continued to use the title of Emperor of Constantinople, and were seen as the overlords of the various remaining Latin states in the Aegean. They exercised effective authority in Greece only when actually ruling as princes of Achaea, as in 1333–83.
Organization and society
Administration
The empire was formed and administered on Western European feudal principles, incorporating some elements of the
Economy
The Latins did not trust the professional Greek
Society
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The elite of the empire were the Frankish and Venetian lords, headed by the emperor, the barons and the lower-ranking vassals and liege lords, including many former Byzantine aristocrats. The bulk of the people were
Church
As with all Latin states, the Orthodox hierarchy was replaced by
See also
Notes
- ^ The Byzantines retook Constantinople under Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261. Latin possessions remained in Greece until the Ottoman Empire annexed the Duchy of the Archipelago in 1579, and the various surviving Latin principalities continued to recognize a lineage of Latin Emperors until the death of James of Baux in 1383.
- ^ Arms used by Philip of Courtenay, who held the title of Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1273 to 1283, even though Constantinople had been reinstated to the Byzantines in 1261. This design was sometimes presented as the "arms of the emperors of Constantinople" in early modern heraldry.[1]
References
- ^ Hubert de Vries, Byzantium: Arms and Emblems (hubert-herald.nl) (2011).
- ^ ISBN 9786191760183.
- ^ Pirenne, Henri (1947). HISTORIA ECONOMICA Y SOCIAL DE LA EDAD MEDIA (in Spanish) (4th ed.). Mexico: Salvador Echavarria. p. 39.
- ^ Marin, Serban (1 January 2004). "Dominus quartae partis et dimidiae totius Imperii Romaniae. The Fourth Crusade and the Dogal Title in the Venetian Chronicles' Representation". Quaderni della Casa Romena 3 (2004), p. 119-150.
- ^ Loud, G.A. "Contemporary Documents concerning the Fourth Crusade and the Latin Empire of Constantinople" (PDF). Leeds Medieval Studies. Leeds University. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
- ISBN 0-521-36289-X
- ^ ISBN 9789004203235.
- ^ Zarkadas, Evangelos (2022). The Effects of Regional Separatism on Late Roman Identity in Fourteenth-Century Byzantium. Maine: University of Maine. p. 62.
- ^ On the long history of "Romania" as a territorial name for the Roman and (later) Byzantine empires, see R.L. Wolff, "Romania: The Latin Empire of Constantinople". In: Speculum, 23 (1948), pp. 1-34.
- ISBN 978-0-521-26644-4. p. 104
- ^ Hendrickx 2015, pp. 308–310.
- ^ Hendrickx 2015, p. 308.
- ^ Hendrickx 2015, pp. 308–309.
- ^ Hendrickx 2015, p. 309.
- ^ Hendrickx 2015, pp. 305–306, 309.
- ^ Setton 1976, pp. 13.
- ^ Choniates 1984, pp. 328.
- ^ Hazlitt, William Carew. The Venetian Republic: Its Rise, Its Growth, and Its Fall 421-1797. Vol. 1, A. And C. Black, 1900.
Bibliography
- ISBN 9781409410980.
- ISBN 0-8143-1764-2.
- ISBN 0-472-08260-4.
- JSTOR 1291057.
- OCLC 1011763434.
- Hendrickx, Benjamin (2015). "Les duchés de l'Empire latin de Constantinople après 1204: origine, structures et statuts" [The Duchies of the Latin Empire of Constantinople after 1204. Origin, Structures and Statutes]. Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire (in French). 93 (2): 303–328. .
- Jacoby, David (1999). "The Latin Empire of Constantinople and the Frankish States in Greece". In ISBN 978-1-13905573-4.
- OCLC 563022439.
- ISBN 978-0-521-43991-6.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- Perry, Guy (2013). John of Brienne: King of Jerusalem, Emperor of Constantinople, c. 1175–1237. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107043107.
- ISBN 0-87169-114-0.
- Wolff, Robert Lee (1969) [1962]. "The Latin Empire of Constantinople, 1204–1261". In ISBN 0-299-04844-6.