Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) was promoted by Pope Innocent III with the aim of liberating Jerusalem from Islamic rule; however, the bulk of the crusading armies were diverted into taking part in the siege and sacking of Constantinople. Few crusaders reached the Holy Land, and those that did, achieved little. However, the outrageous conduct of the Crusaders in Constantinople deepend the divisions between western and eastern Christianity and, it is argued, made the Schism between the two branches inevitable.

See also[edit]

• The Crusades