The first great city the crusaders came to in 1089 was not Jerusalem but Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire. Almost as much as Jerusalem itself, Constantinople was the key to the foundation, survival and ultimate eclipse of the crusading kingdom. The Byzantines had developed an ideo...

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Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Harris, Jonathan (Author)
Format:	Book
Language:	English
Published:	London [u.a.] Hambledon and London 2003
Edition:	1. publ.
Series:	Crusader worlds
Subjects:	Geschichte 1089-1204 Croisades Kruistochten Außenpolitik Crusades Kreuzzüge Empire byzantin - Histoire - 1081-1453 Empire byzantin - Relations extérieures - Europe Europe - Relations extérieures - Empire byzantin Europa Byzantine Empire > Foreign relations > 1081-1453 Konstantinopel
Summary:	The first great city the crusaders came to in 1089 was not Jerusalem but Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire. Almost as much as Jerusalem itself, Constantinople was the key to the foundation, survival and ultimate eclipse of the crusading kingdom. The Byzantines had developed an ideology over seven hundred years which placed Constantinople rather than Rome or Jerusalem at the center of the world. The attitudes of its rulers reflected this priority, and led to tensions with the crusaders over military and diplomatic strategy. At the same time, the riches and sophistication of the great city made a lasting impression on the crusaders, even though they found Byzantine society alien and remote. In the end, the lure of the city's wealth was irresistibly fatal to the claims of Christian unity. In 1204 the Fourth Crusade, under Enrico Dandolo, captured and sacked Constantinople, signaling the effective end of almost a thousand years of Byzantine dominance in the east.
Physical Description:	XVII, 258 S. Kt.
ISBN:	1852852984