9 – Baldwin II (1237 – 1261)
To say that Baldwin II was the ruler of an ‘empire’ would be exceedingly generous. By the time he became emperor in 1237, he was in charge of little more than Constantinople. His reign was a fairly pitiful affair as he spent most of his time traveling to Western Europe to beg for financial aid and to pawn as much merchandise as he could to contribute to the state’s pathetic coffers.
Baldwin successfully pawned the Crown of Thorns to a Venetian merchant for over 13,000 gold pieces, and by 1240, he had earned enough money to return to Constantinople with a considerable army. Alas, he was only able to pay his augmented army until 1243 and lacked the military skill to do anything with the men in any case. He returned to Western Europe once again to beg for money.
The situation became so desperate for Baldwin that he even tried to ally with the Seljuk Turks; then he had to strip the lead from Constantinople’s churches to make money. Baldwin even handed over his only son, Philip, to Venetian merchants as ‘collateral’ for loans. He spent the remainder of his reign on these begging tours in Europe.
Meanwhile, John III of Nicaea married the daughter of the Hohenstaufen Emperor Frederick II while John’s successor, Manfred, created an alliance with Michael II Doukas of Epiros. The city of Constantinople should have been easy pickings at this stage, but rivals of the Latins continued to fight amongst themselves.
The issue was finally resolved in 1259 when the new emperor of Nicaea, Michael Palaiologos, decisively defeated Epiros in battle. In 1261, Michael agreed to a treaty with the Republic of Genoa; they would supply him with ships to defeat the Venetians and conquer Constantinople. As it happened, a Nicaea general named Alexios Strategopoulos found a secret passageway on July 24, 1261, and captured the city.
Baldwin managed to escape but was in such a hurry that he left his crown and scepter behind. When Michael VIII entered the city and became emperor, the population was just 35,000. While he expanded the empire in the Peloponnese, his successor, Andronikos II, was unable to sustain the positive momentum. In reality, the Latin Empire was a failure and only lasted 57 years because its enemies were too busy fighting one another. Once Henry died in 1216, the Latin Empire blundered on and petered out, much like the Byzantine Empire ultimately did in 1453.
Where Did We Get This Stuff? Here Are Our Sources
‘Latin Empire of Constantinople’. Encyclopedia.com.
‘Baldwin I’. Encyclopedia Britannica.
‘The Fourth Crusade: Event and Context.’ Michael J Angold, 2015.
‘The Story of the Europe.’ H. E. Marshall, 2009.
‘History of the Byzantine Empire, 324 – 1453.’ Alexander A. Vasiliev.
‘The Byzantine Empire.’ Nancy Brown, and Robert Browning, 1992.
‘The Oxford History of Byzantium.’ Cyril Mango, 2002.
‘Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities.’ Bettany Hughes, 2017.
‘Byzantium: The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire. Judith Herrin, 2008.