Editing Latin Empire (section)

=== Decline and fall ===
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After Robert of Courtenay died in 1228, a new regency under [[John of Brienne]] was set up. After the disastrous Epirote defeat by the Bulgarians at the [[Battle of Klokotnitsa]], the Epirote threat to the Latin Empire was removed, only to be replaced by Nicaea, which started acquiring territories in Greece. Emperor [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]] of Nicaea concluded an alliance with Bulgaria, which in 1235 resulted in a joint campaign against the Latin Empire, and an unsuccessful [[Siege of Constantinople (1235)|siege of Constantinople]] the same year. In 1237, [[Baldwin II of Constantinople|Baldwin II]] attained majority and took over the reins of a much-diminished state. The empire's precarious situation forced him to travel often to Western Europe seeking aid, but largely without success. In order to raise funds, he was forced to resort to desperate means, from removing the lead roofs of the [[Great Palace of Constantinople|Great Palace]] and selling them, to handing over his only son, Philip, to Venetian merchants as a guarantee for a loan.

By 1247, the Nicaeans had effectively surrounded the main holdings of the Emperor in the new European land system. Following the victory at the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259 Michael VIII Palaiologos of the Nicaean empire  had only one obstacle left. The Theodosian walls and the Latin Forces. He had already cut off the Latins from aid from the Latin estates of Greece or the Nicaeans rivals and also a successor state to the Byzantines the Despotate of Epirus.

The first attempt to take Constantinople occurred in 1260 when a Latin knight taken prisoner in Pelagonia, whose house was in the city walls, promised to open a gate for the emperor's troops. He failed to do so, and Palaiologos launched an unsuccessful assault on Galata Instead. In preparation for another attempt, an alliance with Genoa was concluded in March 1261, and in July 1261

As the one-year truce concluded after the failed Nicaean attack was nearing its end, the general [[Alexios Strategopoulos]] was sent with a small advance force of 800 soldiers (most of them [[Cumans]]) to keep a watch on the [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarians]] and spy out the defences of the Latins.

When the Nicaean force reached the village of [[Silivri|Selymbria]], some 30 miles (48&nbsp;km) west of Constantinople, they learned from some independent local farmers (''thelematarioi'') that the entire Latin garrison, as well as the [[Republic of Venice|Venetian]] fleet, were absent conducting a raid against the Nicaean island of [[Daphnousia]]. Strategopoulos initially hesitated to take advantage of the situation, since his small force might be destroyed if the Latin army returned too soon, and because he would exceed the emperor's orders, but eventually decided he could not squander such a golden opportunity to retake the city.

On the night of 24/25 July 1261, Strategopoulos and his men approached the [[Walls of Constantinople|city walls]] and hid at a [[Church of St. Mary of the Spring (Istanbul)|monastery]] near the Gate of the Spring. Strategopoulos sent a detachment of his men, led by some of the {{transliteration|grc|thelematarioi}}, to make their way to the city through a secret passage. They attacked the walls from the inside, surprised the guards and opened the gate, giving the Nicaean force entry into the city. The Latins were taken completely unaware, and after a short struggle, the Nicaeans gained control of the land walls. As news of this spread across the city, the Latin inhabitants, from Emperor [[Baldwin II of Constantinople|Baldwin II]] downwards, hurriedly rushed to the harbours of the [[Golden Horn]], hoping to escape by ship. At the same time, Strategopoulos' men set fire to the Venetian buildings and warehouses along the coast to prevent them from landing there. Thanks to the timely arrival of the returning Venetian fleet, many of the Latins managed to evacuate to the still Latin-held parts of Greece, but the city was lost.

Nicaean general [[Alexios Strategopoulos]] found an unguarded entrance to the city, and entered it with only 800 troops, restoring the Byzantine Empire for his master, [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]].

The remaining Latin states ruled territories of present-day [[Greece]], some of them until the 18th century, and are known as [[Latinokratia]].