The capital made a profound impression on them, as Geoffrey of Villehardouin writes: “They never thought there could be in all the world so rich a city; and they marked the high walls and strong towers that enclosed it round about, and the rich palaces, and mighty churches—of which there were so many that no one would have believed it who had not seen it with his eyes—and the height and the length of that city which above all others was sovereign ... no man there was of such hardihood but his flesh trembled.” In July, the Crusaders besieged and attacked the magnificent city. Alexius V had already stirred up opposition to westerners in general, and railed against Alexius IV for the debts he incurred to the Crusaders and their pact to bring the Orthodox empire under the control of Catholic Rome. In his eyewitness account, French knight and chronicler Robert of Clari describes the impact on the Byzantine troops: “They have so great faith in this icon that they fully believe that no one who carries it in battle can be defeated, and we believe that it was because [Mourtzouphlus (Alexius V)] had no right to carry it, that he was defeated.”
Author: @NatGeo
Published at: 2026-03-02 00:00:00
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