On This Day - What happened 13 April 1204 AD

Alexios IV and Isaac II were unable to keep their promises and were deposed by Alexios V. The crusaders again took the city on 13 April 1204, and Constantinople was subjected to pillage and massacre by the rank and file for three days. Many priceless icons, relics, and other objects later turned up in Western Europe, a large number in Venice.

When the crusade entered Constantinople, Alexios III fled and was replaced by his nephew. The Greek resistance prompted Alexios IV to seek continued support from the crusade until he could fulfill his commitments. This ended with his murder in a violent anti-Latin revolt. The crusaders were without ships, supplies, or food, leaving them with little option other than to take by force what Alexios had promised. The Sack of Constantinople involved three days of pillaging churches and killing much of the Greek Orthodox Christian populace. At the conclusion of the sack of Constantinople, most Crusaders viewed the continuation of their mission as an impossibility. In the end, the crusade accomplished nothing toward its goal of liberating Jerusalem.