A tragic anniversary

This month marks the 800th anniversary of the sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Although the Crusade was originally directed at Egypt, the Doge of Venice, Enrico Dandolo, succeeded in diverting it to the fabled first City of what was then still known as the Roman Empire. That Christians would prey on other Christians is, of course, nothing less than a scandal. Much of the booty wound up in the Venetian Republic, including the famous bronze horses that had once graced the hippodrome.


Ecumenical Patriarchate

Hagia Sophia, Constantinople

Greeks have long memories and are still bitter over this offence from the west. In fact, 1204 looms much larger in their minds than 1054, the year in which the churches of Rome and Constantinople formally broke ties. Here is one contemporary account from the Greek side by Nicetas Choniates: "The Sack of Constantinople." In 2001 Pope John Paul II visited Athens and issued an historic apology on behalf of his Catholic ancestors for the Fourth Crusade. It is worth noting, however, that even Innocent III, who was Pope at the time, was horrified by the crusade and subsequently excommunicated the crusaders. Furthermore, since the crusaders also attacked the Catholic city of Zara, along the Dalmatian coast, this tragic episode ought not to be portrayed as exclusively a Catholic-Orthodox dispute.

Two decades ago I was privileged to attend an exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago titled, "The Treasury of San Marco, Venice." Included was a wealth of Byzantine artefacts from La Serenissima. My enthusiasm at viewing this fantastic collection was tempered by the realization that this was stolen wealth. Nearly a decade earlier I had stood in Venice itself, once a vassal of the Empire but which had broken with it, remaining an independent republic until Napoléon extinguished it in 1797.


Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche

San Marco's bronze horses

My genealogical research has revealed that Alexios IV Angelos, the ill-fated Byzantine Emperor who lost his throne just prior to the sack of the City, was variously my 24th, 25th and 27th great grand uncle.