1204

Events in 1204 1

• 1204 The Fourth Crusade sacks Constantinople The Fourth Crusade (1202-04), diverted by Venetian commercial interests, sacks Constantinople on 13 April 1204 -- the first time the city falls to an enemy in 874 years. The three-day sack is one of the great cultural catastrophes of the Middle Ages: libraries burned, relics stolen, the Hagia Sophia desecrated. The Latin Empire of Constantinople (1204-1261) replaces the Byzantine state. Three successor Byzantine states survive in exile: Nicaea, Trebizond and Epirus.