Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade lasted from 1201-1204. Though the crusades were for the most part an entirely Western phenomenon, this one affected church history because the invading force of Crusaders took Constantinople on April 13, 1204. After defeating the Byzantine Emperor Alexius V (who had usurped the throne from his predecessor Alexius IV, put in power by the Crusaders), they conquered the city and famously looted and desecrated numerous churches, icons, and relics.¹ They then set up the Latin Empire, based in Constantinople; it lasted over 57 years until the Byzantine Michael VIII Palaeologus recaptured Constantinople in 1261. This Crusade is widely regarding as having to finalized the Great Schism, as much bitterness towards the West remained even after the restoration of Byzantium.

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Further reading

• Wikipedia:Fourth Crusade
• The Sack of Constantinople - by Nicholas A. Cooke
• 1 Nicetas Choniates: The Sack of Constantinople (1204) - from the Medieval Sourcebook