Editing Baldwin I, Latin Emperor (section)

==Latin emperor==
The imperial crown was at first offered to [[Enrico Dandolo]], [[Doge of Venice]], who refused it. The choice then lay between Baldwin and the nominal leader of the crusade, [[Boniface of Montferrat]]. While Boniface was considered the most probable choice, due to his connections with the Byzantine court, Baldwin was young, gallant, pious, and virtuous, one of the few who interpreted and observed his crusading vows strictly, and the most popular leader in the host. With Venetian support, he was elected on 9 May 1204 and crowned on 16 May in the [[Hagia Sophia]] at a ceremony which closely followed Byzantine practices.{{sfn|Setton|1976|p=13}} During his coronation, Baldwin wore a very rich jewel that had been bought by Byzantine Emperor [[Manuel I Komnenos]] for 62,000 silver marks. Baldwin's wife Marie, unaware of these events, had sailed to [[Akko|Acre]]. There she learned of her husband's election as emperor, but died in August 1204 before she could join him.

[[File:Baldwin09Flanders.jpg|thumb|Seal of Baldwin as emperor|left]]The Latin Empire was organized on [[feudal]] principles; the emperor was feudal superior of the princes who received portions of the conquered territory: in October 1204 he enfeoffed 600 knights who occupied lands formerly held by Greek nobles.<ref>{{citation|last=Lock|first=Peter|title = The Franks in the Aegean: 1204–1500 | year = 1995 | publisher = Routledge| isbn = 9780582051393}}</ref> His own special portion consisted of the city of Constantinople, the adjacent regions both on the [[Europe]]an and the [[Asia]]tic side, along with some outlying districts, and several islands including [[Lemnos]], [[Lesbos Island|Lesbos]], [[Chios]] and [[Tenos]]. The territories still had to be conquered; first of all, it was necessary to break the resistance of the Greeks in [[Thrace]] and secure [[Thessalonica]]. In this enterprise in the summer of 1204, Baldwin came into collision with Boniface of Montferrat, the rival candidate for the empire, who received a large territory in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] with the title of [[king of Thessalonica]].

Boniface hoped to make himself quite independent of the empire and do no homage to his kingdom, and he opposed Baldwin's proposal to march to [[Thessalonica]]. The antagonism between Flemings and [[Lombards]] aggravated the quarrel. Baldwin insisted on going to Thessalonica; Boniface laid siege to [[Adrianople]], where Baldwin had established a governor; civil war seemed inevitable. An agreement was effected by the efforts of Dandolo and Count [[Louis I of Blois]]. Boniface received Thessalonica as a [[fief]] from the emperor and was appointed commander of the forces which were to march to the conquest of [[Greece]].

During the following winter (1204–1205) the Franks prosecuted conquests in [[Bithynia]], in which [[Henry of Flanders|Henry]], Baldwin's brother, took part. But in February the Greeks revolted in [[Thrace]], relying on the assistance of [[Kaloyan of Bulgaria|Kaloyan]], tsar of [[Bulgaria]], whose overtures of alliance had been rejected by the emperor. The garrison of Adrianople was expelled. Baldwin along with Dandolo, the count of Blois, and [[Geoffrey of Villehardouin|Marshal Villehardouin]], the [[historian]], marched to besiege that city. The Frankish knights were defeated (14 April 1205); the count of Blois was slain, and the emperor was captured by the Bulgarians (see [[Battle of Adrianople (1205)|Battle of Adrianople]]).