The Fourth Crusade: Event and Context

by Michael Angold

The Fourth Crusade (1202-4) was one of the key events in medieval history The fall of Constantinople to the Venetians and the soldiers of the fourth crusade in April 1204 was its climax. It ensured that Byzantium’s days as a great power were over. It equally ensured that westerners would dominate the Levant – the lands of the old Byzantine Empire –until the end of the middle ages. This book asks just how important was the Fourth as a turning point in the Middle East.. The broad setting is the encounter of Byzantium with the West within the framework of the crusades. Differences of outlook and interest meant that this encounter was soon overburdened with mutual distrust. 1204 was some kind of a solution and created situations scarcely conceivable even two years before when the fourth crusade set sail from Venice.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Michael Angold is Professor Emeritus of Byzantine history at the University of Edinburgh.

He is Editor of Cambridge History of Christianity V - Eastern Christianity (2006); and author of A Byzantine Government in Exile (1974), The Byzantine Empire 1025-1204 (1985), Church and Society in Byzantium under the Comneni 1082-1261 (1995), and The Fourth Crusade (2003).

Reviews

[Joe Scipione · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book discussing the context and consequences of the Fourth Crusade. If you want a detailed account of the events if the Crusade you need to look elsewhere. If you already know the basic timeline if events and are looking for further analysis this is a great source.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

The before, under and after - written very well.