he Fourth Crusade was, undoubtedly, one of the most catastrophic and brutal disaster to have ever taken place in
medieval history. A series of misguided warfares and violence had lead to the death of countless number of
Christians, which had greatly disgusted and horrified the rest of the ancient world.
LEGACY
T
IMPACT OF THE FORTH CRUSADE
The diversion to Constantinople was supposed to support the Crusaders on their quest to conquering Jerusalem; however, almost none of the Crusaders actually made it to Jerusalem, despite the fact that they had plenty of resources at their disposal after gaining control of Constantinople. This shows the subtle transformation of the core principals of the Crusades; it was no longer considered to be a holy war fought on the basis of religious beliefs, but rather it had became an excuse to exploit others for personal wealth and lust. The Crusades after the Fourth were no longer controlled by the papacy (partly due to the negative influence exerted by the Fourth Crusade) -- instead, they were led by individual emperors, each with their own personal agendas. As a result, in almost 90 years of continuous Crusade activities after the sacking of Constantinople, only one was successful in gaining control of Jerusalem for only 15 years.
The Fourth Crusade had been successful in reuniting the schism between the Catholic and Orthodoxy churches -- for a few short years, before the division was greatly amplified. The sacking of Constantinople, with its destruction of Orthodoxy churches and sanctuaries, as well as the defacement and plunger of artifacts and relics, had greatly dishonoured the Roman Catholic papacy. To many people, the unforgettable actions of the Crusaders represented the attitude of the Catholic papacy towards the Greek Orthodox. This resulted in a permanent separation between the Eastern and Western churches, severely escalating the tension between the two groups of Christians, and thus intensified the effects of the Great Schism. Some references even suggested that the Pope had later allowed knights to crusade against the Greeks instead of the Muslims, although this could not be verified by any primary sources.
The sacking had marked the beginning of a long decline of the Byzantine Empire as well. Although the Greeks eventually managed to regain control of Constantinople after a series of wars against the newly founded Latin Empire, the decades of fighting and bloodshed had took its toll on the once magnificent superpower. It was entirely impossible to restore the Byzantine military or economic system, as the once mighty empire had been reduced to a mere shadow of its former self, having been fragmented and reduced to a simple Balkan state. The Byzantine power was so shattered that it failed to stop the Turkish sweep into Europe like it once had. In 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople, marking the destruction of the bulwark that had kept out the saracens for so many decades. The irony here is cruel and tragic: the ancient city, which kept out Moslem armies for over five centuries, was destroyed by the Christians who had answered to Constantinople's call for help against the Turks just a century ago (as the Byzantine empire had originally called for the First Crusade against the Turks on its border).
The sacking of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade was a truly dreadful military feat that had altered the course of history forever. The Crusaders did not bring peace to the Christian world as it had originally intended to; instead, it had brought turmoil and mayhem instead. Their actions had brought with them severe ramifications, such as the fragmentation of Christianity, which still affects the world till this day.