Editing Latin Empire

{{Short description|Crusader state that replaced the Byzantine Empire from 1204–1261}}
{{more citations needed|date=August 2021}}
{{Infobox former country
| conventional_long_name = Latin Empire
| native_name            = {{native name|la|Imperium Constantinopolitanum}}
| common_name            = Latin Empire
| era                    = High Middle Ages
| government_type        = [[Feudalism|Feudal]] Christian monarchy
| year_start             = 1204
| event_start            = [[Sack of Constantinople]]
| year_end               = 1261{{refn|group=note|The Byzantines retook Constantinople under Emperor [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] in 1261. Latin possessions remained in Greece until the [[Ottoman Empire]] captured the island of [[Tinos]] from the Venetians in 1715, and the various surviving Latin states continued to recognize a lineage of [[Latin Emperor]]s until the death of [[James of Baux]] in 1383.}}
| date_event1            = 1235
| event1                 = Joint Nicean-Bulgarian campaign against Empire
| p1                     = Byzantine Empire under the Angelos dynasty{{!}}Byzantine Empire (Angelos dynasty)
| s1                     = Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty{{!}}Byzantine Empire (Palaiologos dynasty)
| s2                     = Principality of Achaea
| s3                     = Duchy of Athens
| s4                     = Duchy of the Archipelago
| image_coat             = Arms of Courtenay-Constantinople.svg
| symbol_type            = [[Attributed arms]]{{refn|group=note|Arms used by [[Philip I, Latin Emperor|Philip of Courtenay]], who held the title of Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1273 to 1283, even though Constantinople had been reinstated to the Byzantines in 1261. This design was sometimes presented as the "arms of the emperors of Constantinople" in early modern heraldry.<ref>Hubert de Vries, [http://www.hubert-herald.nl/ByzantiumArms.htm Byzantium: Arms and Emblems (hubert-herald.nl)] (2011).</ref>}}
| image_map              = LatinEmpire2.png
| image_map_caption      = The Latin Empire with its vassals (in purple) in 1204
| capital                = [[Constantinople]]
| common_languages       = [[Latin]], [[Old French]] (official)<br>[[Medieval Greek|Greek]] (popular)
| religion               = [[Latin Catholic]] (official)<br>[[Greek Orthodox Church|Greek Orthodox]] (popular)
| leader1                = [[Baldwin I, Latin Emperor|Baldwin I]]
| leader2                = [[Henry of Flanders|Henry]]
| leader3                = [[Peter II of Courtenay|Peter]]
| leader4                = [[Yolanda, Latin Empress|Yolanda]]
| leader5                = [[Robert I, Latin Emperor|Robert I]]
| leader6                = [[John of Brienne|John]]
| leader7                = [[Baldwin II, Latin Emperor|Baldwin II]]
| year_leader1           = 1204–1205
| year_leader2           = 1205–1216
| year_leader3           = 1216–1217
| year_leader4           = 1217–1219
| year_leader5           = 1221–1228
| year_leader6           = 1229–1237
| year_leader7           = 1228–1261
| title_leader           = [[Latin Emperor|Emperor]]
| stat_year1             = 1204 est.<ref name="IK Gutenberg">{{cite book |last1=Matanov|first1=Hristo|title=В търсене на средновековното време. Неравният път на българите (VII–XV в.) (in Bulgarian)|date=2014 |publisher=IK Gutenberg|isbn=9786191760183}}</ref>
| stat_area1             = 179000
| stat_year2             = 1209 est.<ref name="IK Gutenberg" />
| stat_area2             = 206000
| stat_year3             = 1228 est.<ref name="IK Gutenberg" />
| stat_area3             = 47000
| stat_year4             = 1260 est.<ref name="IK Gutenberg" />
| stat_area4             = 14000
}}

The '''Latin Empire''', also referred to as the '''Latin Empire of Constantinople''', was a feudal [[Crusader state]] founded by the leaders of the [[Fourth Crusade]] on lands captured from the [[Byzantine Empire]]. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzantine Empire as the Western-recognized [[Roman Empire]] in the east, with a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] emperor enthroned in place of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox]] Roman emperors. The main objective to form a Latin Empire was planned over the course of the Fourth Crusade, promoted by crusade leaders such as [[Boniface I, Marquis of Montferrat|Boniface of Montferrat]],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kaldellis |first=Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D-LLEAAAQBAJ |title=The New Roman Empire: A History of Byzantium |date=2024 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-754932-2 |pages=718–719 |language=en}}</ref> as well as the [[Republic of Venice]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pirenne |first=Henri |title=Histotia Economica y Social de la Edad Media |publisher=Salvador Echavarria |year=1947 |edition=4th |location=Mexico |page=39 |language=Spanish}}</ref>

The Fourth Crusade had originally been called to retake the [[Abbasid Caliphate|Muslim]]-controlled city of [[Jerusalem]], but a sequence of economic and political events culminated in the Crusader army [[Sack of Constantinople|sacking]] the city of [[Constantinople]], the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Originally, the plan had been to restore the deposed Byzantine Emperor [[Isaac II Angelos]], who had been usurped by [[Alexios III Angelos]], to the throne. The crusaders had been promised financial and military aid by Isaac's son [[Alexios IV Angelos|Alexios IV]], with which they had planned to continue to Jerusalem. When the crusaders reached Constantinople, the situation quickly turned volatile, and while Isaac and Alexios briefly ruled, the crusaders did not receive the payment they had hoped for. In April 1204, they captured and plundered the city's enormous wealth.

The crusaders selected their own emperor from among their own ranks, [[Baldwin I, Latin Emperor|Baldwin of Flanders]], and divided the territory of the Byzantine Empire into various new vassal crusader states. The Latin Empire's authority was immediately challenged by Byzantine [[rump state]]s led by the [[Laskaris]] family (connected to the [[Angelos]] dynasty of 1185–1204) in [[Empire of Nicaea|Nicaea]] and the [[Komnenos]] family (which had [[Byzantine Empire under the Komnenos dynasty|ruled]] as Byzantine Emperors 1081–1185) in [[Empire of Trebizond|Trebizond]]. From 1224 to 1242, the [[Angelos|Komnenos Doukas]] family, also connected to the Angeloi, challenged Latin authority from [[Empire of Thessalonica|Thessalonica]]. The Latin Empire failed to attain political or economic dominance over the other Latin powers that had been established in former Byzantine territories in the wake of the Fourth Crusade, especially [[Republic of Venice|Venice]], and after a short initial period of military successes, it went into a steady decline due to constant war with [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]] to the north and the various Byzantine claimants. Eventually, the [[Nicene Empire]] recovered Constantinople and restored the Byzantine Empire under [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] in 1261. The last Latin emperor, [[Baldwin II of Constantinople|Baldwin II]], went into exile, but the imperial title survived, with [[Latin Emperor#Latin emperors of Constantinople, 1204–1261|several pretenders]] to it, until the 14th century.

== Etymology ==
[[File:Filipus.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Seal of [[Philip I, Latin Emperor|Philip of Courtenay]], Latin Emperor in exile 1273–1283. His title in the seal is {{lang|la|Dei gratia imperator Romaniae et semper augustus}} ("By the Grace of God, Emperor of Romania, ever august").]]
The term "Latin Empire" was not contemporary, and was first used by historians in the 16th century to distinguish the Crusader state from the classical [[Roman Empire]] and the [[Byzantine Empire]], all of which called themselves "Roman". The term "Latin" was chosen because the crusaders ([[Franks]], Venetians, and other Westerners) were Roman Catholic and used Latin as their liturgical and scholarly language in contrast to the Eastern Orthodox locals who used [[Greek language|Greek]] in both liturgy and common speech. The Byzantines referred to the Latin Empire as the {{transliteration|grc|[[Frankokratia]]}} 'rule of the Franks', or the {{transliteration|grc|Latinokratia}} 'rule of the Latins'.<ref>{{citation|last=Jacobi|first=David|title=The New Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. V: c. 1198–c. 1300|pages=525–542|year=1999|editor-last=Abulafia|editor-first=David|chapter=The Latin empire of Constantinople and the Frankish states in Greece|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-36289-X}}</ref>

Founding treaties issued by the crusaders specifically refer to the empire as the {{lang|la|imperium Constantinopolitanum}} ("Constantinopolitan Empire"). Although this is a marked departure from the standard Byzantine nomenclature and ideology, designating the empire as the {{lang|grc|Basileía Rhōmaíōn}} 'Empire of the Romans', {{lang|la|imperium Constantinopolitanum}} was the standard name used for the eastern empire in western sources, such as in papal correspondence, and suggests that the Latin leaders viewed themselves as "taking over" the empire rather than "replacing" it. It would have been difficult for the crusaders to justify referring to the empire as "Roman" considering that Western Europe generally held the Germanic [[Holy Roman Empire]] to represent the legitimate Roman Empire.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlnPm2riK1UC&q=imperator+constantinopolitanus&pg=PA68|title=The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium: The Empire of Constantinople (1204–1228)|last=Tricht|first=Filip Van|date=2011|publisher=Brill|isbn=9789004203235|pages=61–82|language=en}}</ref> These two conclusions—that for outsiders the Roman identity of this empire remained controversial and that its conquest was considered a takeover, not a replacement—are further supported by an entry in ''[[Deeds of the Bishops of Halberstadt]]'', a contemporaneous chronicle made in Germany. When referring to the elevation of the first Latin Emperor, [[Baldwin I, Latin Emperor|Baldwin I]], the chronicle called him ''imperator Grecorum'' ("emperor of the Greeks"), the same title used on an earlier page for [[Alexios I Komnenos]]. Similarly, the Emperor Isaac Angelos is listed in the chronicle as ''rex Grecorum'' ("king of the Greeks").<ref>{{Cite book |title=Gesta episcoporum Halberstadensium |pages=102; 118}}</ref>
[[File:Imperial seal of Balwin I.png|thumb|Seal of [[Baldwin I, Latin Emperor|Baldwin I]], the first Latin Emperor. The abbreviation ''Rom.'' leaves it open to interpretation if he refers to {{lang|la|Romaniae}} 'Romania' or {{lang|la|Romanorum}} 'the Romans']]
The full title Baldwin actually used was {{lang|la|dei gratia fidelissimus in Christo imperator a Deo coronatus Romanorum moderator et semper augustus}}, a near perfect replication of the one used by [[Alexios IV Angelos]], placed on the throne by the crusaders previously, in a letter (only known in its Latin version) to [[Pope Innocent III]]: {{lang|la|fidelis in Christo imperator a Deo coronatus Romanorum moderator et semper augustus}}. Letters by Baldwin to Pope Innocent III give his title as {{lang|la|imperator Constantinopolitanus}}, possibly altered by Papal scribes as the Pope recognized the Holy Roman Emperor as the {{lang|la|imperator Romanorum}}. In his seals, Baldwin abbreviated {{lang|la|Romanorum}} as ''Rom.'', conveniently leaving it open for interpretation whether he referred to {{lang|la|Romaniae}} 'land of the Romans' or {{lang|la|Romanorum}} 'the Romans'. It is probably more likely that he meant {{lang|la|Romanorum}}. Baldwin's successor [[Henry of Flanders|Henry]] called the empire {{lang|la|imperium Romanum}} at least in one letter.<ref name=":0" /> A Venetian statesman [[Marino Sanuto the Elder]] used yet another appellative, {{lang|la|Sebastō Latíno Basilía ton Rhōmaíōn}} (Σεβαστό Λατίνο βασιλιά των Ρωμαίων, lit. "August Latin Empire of the Romans").<ref>{{Cite book |last=Zarkadas |first=Evangelos |url=https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4598&context=etd |title=The Effects of Regional Separatism on Late Roman Identity in Fourteenth-Century Byzantium |publisher=University of Maine |year=2022 |location=Maine |pages=62}}</ref> The term "Romania" had been a vernacular name used for centuries by the population of the Late Roman polity for their country.<ref>On the long history of "Romania" as a territorial name for the Roman and (later) Byzantine empires, see R.L. Wolff, "Romania: The Latin Empire of Constantinople". In: ''Speculum'', 23 (1948), pp. 1–34.</ref><ref>Fossier, Robert; Sondheimer, Janet (1997). The Cambridge Illustrated History of the Middle Ages. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-26644-4}}. p. 104</ref>

Three different versions of imperial titulature are attested under Henry; {{lang|la|Henricus Dei Gratia Imperator Romaniae}} 'Emperor of Romania', {{lang|la|Henricus Dei Gratia Imperator Romanorum}} 'Emperor of the Romans' and {{lang|la|Henricus Dei Gratia Imperator Constantinopolitani}} 'Constantinopolitan Emperor', possibly intended for different recipients. Usage of the title Emperor of Constantinople may not just have been to appease the Pope and Western Europe, but might also have been used to legitimize the rule of the Latin Emperors in regards to the Byzantines that they ruled. Possession of the city itself was a key legitimizing factor that set the Latin Emperors apart from Byzantine claimants in [[Empire of Nicaea|Nicaea]], [[Empire of Trebizond|Trebizond]] and [[Empire of Thessalonica|Thessalonica]].<ref name=":0" />

== History ==
=== Origins ===
{{See also|Frankokratia}}
[[File:Enrico Dandolo gravestone.jpg|thumb|A 19th century tomb marker of the probable location of the tomb of [[Enrico Dandolo]], the leader of the Fourth Crusade and Doge of Venice, inside the [[Hagia Sophia]]]]
After the [[Siege of Constantinople (1204)|Sack of Constantinople]], the crusaders agreed to divide up Byzantine territory. In the {{lang|la|[[Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae]]}}, signed on 1 October 1204, three eighths of the empire—including [[Crete]] and other islands—went to the [[Republic of Venice]]. The Latin Empire claimed the remainder and exerted control over:
* areas of [[Greece]], divided into [[vassal]] [[fee (feudal tenure)|fiefs]]: 
** the [[Kingdom of Thessalonica]]
** the [[Principality of Achaea]]
** the [[Duchy of Athens]]
** the [[Duchy of the Archipelago]]
* the short-lived [[Duchy of Philippopolis]] in north Thrace
Further duchies were projected in [[Asia Minor]], at [[Nicaea]] (for [[Louis I, Count of Blois|Louis of Blois]]), [[Nicomedia]] ([[Thierry de Loos]]), [[Alasehir|Philadelphia]] ([[Stephen du Perche (died 1205)|Stephen du Perche]]), and [[Neokastra]]. These duchies remained theoretical, due to the establishment of the [[Empire of Nicaea]] in the area.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2015|pp=308–310}} Nicaea itself was never occupied and Louis of Blois was [[battle of Adrianople (1205)|killed]] in 1205.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2015|p=308}} Thierry de Loos was captured by the Nicaeans in 1207 and, although released, left the Latin Empire two years later. After a brief Nicaean reconquest, Nicomedia returned to Latin control, but the {{lang|la|ducatus Nichomedie}} remained part of the Imperial domain.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2015|pp=308–309}} Philadelphia never came under actual Latin control, although the Latin emperor Henry of Flanders laid claim to the region after defeating the local strongman, [[Theodore Mangaphas]], in 1205.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2015|p=309}} The duchy of Neokastra (''ducatus Novi Castri'') on the other hand was never accorded to a single holder, but was divided among the [[Knights Hospitaller]] (one quarter) and other feudatories. The term "duchy" in this case reflects the earlier Byzantine term ''[[theme (Byzantine district)|theme]]'', usually governed by a ''[[dux|doux]]'', to designate a province.{{sfn|Hendrickx|2015|pp=305–306, 309}}

The [[Doge of Venice]] did not rank as a vassal to the Latin Empire. Still, his position in control of three-eighths of its territory and of parts of Constantinople itself ensured Venice's influence in the Empire's affairs. However, much of the former Byzantine territory remained in the hands of rival [[succession of states|successor states]] led by Byzantine Greek aristocrats, such as the [[Despotate of Epirus]], the [[Empire of Nicaea]], and the [[Empire of Trebizond]], each bent on reconquest from the Latins.

On 9 May 1204, [[Baldwin I, Latin Emperor|Baldwin I]] was elected the emperor with Venetian support, and crowned on 16 May in the Hagia Sophia in a ceremony that closely followed Eastern Roman practices.{{sfn|Setton|1976|pp=13}} Not long after the coronation, Baldwin ventured out into the Thracian countryside, posturing not as a conqueror but as a legitimate ruler, expecting to be universally acclaimed by the populace as the Emperor of the Romans.{{sfn|Choniates|1984|pp=328}} The establishment of the Latin Empire had the curious effect of creating five simultaneously existing polities claiming to be the Roman Empire: the Latin empire, the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and the three remnants of the [[Byzantine Empire]], the Despotate of Epirus, the empire of Nicaea, and the empire of Trebizond.

=== In Asia Minor ===
[[File:PriseDeConstantinople1204PalmaLeJeune.JPG|thumb|Capture of Constantinople during the [[Fourth Crusade]] in 1204.]]
The initial campaigns of the crusaders in Asia Minor resulted in the capture of most of [[Bithynia]] by 1205, with the defeat of the forces of [[Theodore I Laskaris]] at Poemanenum and Prusa. Latin successes continued, and in 1207 a truce was signed with Theodore, newly proclaimed Emperor of Nicaea. The Latins inflicted a [[Battle of the Rhyndacus (1211)|further defeat]] on Nicaean forces at the Rhyndakos river in October 1211, and three years later the [[Treaty of Nymphaeum (1214)]] recognized their control of most of Bithynia and [[Mysia]].

The peace was maintained until 1222, when the resurgent power of Nicaea felt sufficiently strong to challenge the Latin Empire, by that time weakened by constant warfare in its European provinces. At the [[battle of Poimanenon]] in 1224, the Latin army was defeated, and by the next year Emperor [[Robert of Courtenay]] was forced to cede all his Asian possessions to Nicaea, except for [[Nicomedia]] and the territories directly across from Constantinople. Nicaea turned also to the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]], capturing the islands awarded to the empire. In 1235, finally, the last Latin possessions fell to Nicaea.

=== In Europe ===
Unlike in Asia, where the Latin Empire faced only an initially weak Nicaea, in Europe it was immediately confronted with a powerful enemy: the [[Second Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian]] tsar [[Kaloyan of Bulgaria|Kaloyan]]. When Baldwin campaigned against the Byzantine lords of [[Thrace]], they called upon Kaloyan for help. At the [[Battle of Adrianople (1205)|Battle of Adrianople]] on 14 April 1205, the Latin heavy cavalry and knights were crushed by Kaloyan's troops and [[Cumans|Cuman]] allies, and Emperor Baldwin was captured. He was imprisoned in the Bulgarian capital [[Veliko Tarnovo|Tarnovo]] until his death later in 1205. Kaloyan was murdered a couple of years later (1207) during a siege of [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]], and the Bulgarian threat conclusively defeated with a [[Battle of Philippopolis (1208)|victory]] the following year, which allowed Baldwin's successor, [[Henry of Flanders]], to reclaim most of the lost territories in Thrace until 1210, when peace was concluded with the marriage of Henry to [[Maria of Bulgaria, Latin Empress|Maria of Bulgaria]], tsar Kaloyan's daughter.

[[File:Epir1205-1230.png|thumb|[[Despotate of Epirus]], one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire]]
At the same time, another Byzantine successor state, the [[Despotate of Epirus]], under [[Michael I Komnenos Doukas]], posed a threat to the empire's vassals in Thessalonica and Athens. Henry demanded his submission, which Michael provided, giving off his daughter to Henry's brother Eustace in the summer of 1209. This alliance allowed Henry to launch a campaign in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], [[Thessaly]] and [[Central Greece (geographic region)|Central Greece]] against the rebellious [[Lombardy|Lombard]] lords of Thessalonica. However, Michael's attack on the Kingdom of Thessalonica in 1210 forced him to return north to relieve the city and to force Michael back into submission.

In 1214 however, Michael died, and was succeeded by [[Theodore Komnenos Doukas]], who was determined to capture Thessalonica. On 11 June 1216, while supervising repairs to the walls of Thessalonica, Henry died, and was succeeded by [[Peter II of Courtenay|Peter of Courtenay]], who himself was captured and executed by Theodore the following year. A regency was set up in Constantinople, headed by Peter's widow, [[Yolanda of Flanders]], until her death in 1219. Her son [[Robert of Courtenay]] being absent in France, the regency passed first to [[Conon de Béthune]], and after his death shortly after, to Cardinal [[Giovanni Colonna (died 1245)|Giovanni Colonna]], until 1221, when Robert of Courtenay arrived in Constantinople. Distracted by the renewed war with Nicaea, and waiting in vain for assistance from [[Pope Honorius III]] and the King of France [[Philip II of France|Philip II]], the Latin Empire was unable to prevent the final fall of Thessalonica to Epirus in 1224. Epirote armies then conquered Thrace in 1225–26, appearing before Constantinople itself. The Latin Empire was saved for a time by the threat posed to Theodore by the Bulgarian tsar [[Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria|Ivan II Asen]], and a truce was concluded in 1228.

=== Decline and fall ===
{{unreferenced section|date=August 2023}}
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]].

=== Titular claimants ===
For about a century thereafter, the heirs of [[Baldwin II, Latin Emperor|Baldwin II]] continued to use the title of Emperor of Constantinople, and were seen as the overlords of the various remaining Latin states in the [[Aegean Sea|Aegean]]. They exercised effective authority in Greece only when actually ruling as [[principality of Achaea|princes of Achaea]], from 1333 to 1383.

[[James of Baux]] was the last of these Latin emperors to govern any imperial territory through Achaea. His reign lasted from 1374 until his death on 7 July 1383.

== Organization and society ==
=== Administration ===
The empire was formed and administered on Western European feudal principles, incorporating some elements of the [[Byzantine bureaucracy]]. The emperor was assisted by a council, composed of the various barons, the Venetian [[Podestà of Constantinople]] and his six-member council. This council had a major voice in the governance of the realm, especially in periods of regency, when the Regent (''moderator imperii'') was dependent on their consent to rule. The podestà, likewise, was an extremely influential member, being practically independent of the emperor. He exercised authority over the Venetian quarters of Constantinople and [[Beyoğlu|Pera]] and the Venetian dominions within the empire, assisted by a separate set of officials. His role was more that of an ambassador and [[vicegerent]] of Venice than a vassal to the empire. The podestà was granted the title of Governor of One-Fourth and One-Half of the Empire of Romania, and was entitled to wearing the imperial crimson buskins like the emperor.<ref>Hazlitt, William Carew. The Venetian Republic: Its Rise, Its Growth, and Its Fall 421–1797. Vol. 1, A. And C. Black, 1900.</ref>

=== Economy ===
The Latins did not trust the professional Greek [[bureaucracy]], and in the immediate aftermath of the conquest completely dismantled the Greek economic administration of the areas they controlled. The result was disastrous, disrupting all forms of production and trade. Almost from its inception the Latin Empire was sending requests back to the papacy for aid. For a few years, the major commodities it exported from the surrounding region of Thrace were [[wheat]] and [[furs]]; it also profited from Constantinople's strategic location on major trade routes. While the empire showed some moderate vitality while [[Henry of Flanders]] was alive, after his death in 1216 there was a major deficit in leadership. By the 1230s, Constantinople – even with its drastically reduced population – was facing a major shortage of basic [[foodstuff]]s. In several senses, the only significant export on which the economy of the Latin Empire had any real basis was the sale of [[relic]]s back to Western Europe which had been looted from Greek churches.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}} For example, Emperor Baldwin II sold the relic of the [[Crown of Thorns]] while in France trying to raise new funds.{{citation needed|date=November 2018}}

=== Society ===
{{Expand section|date=May 2008}}
The elite of the empire were the Frankish and Venetian lords, headed by the emperor, the barons and the lower-ranking vassals and liege lords, including many former Byzantine aristocrats. The bulk of the people were [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] [[Greek people|Greeks]], still divided according to the Byzantine system in income classes based on land ownership.

=== Church ===
{{Main|Latin Patriarch of Constantinople}}
As with all Latin states, the Orthodox hierarchy was replaced by [[Roman Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[prelate]]s, but not suppressed.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}} An expansive Catholic hierarchy was established, under the dual supervision of the Latin [[archbishop]] of Constantinople and the [[Papal legate]], until the two offices were merged in 1231. Western Catholic religious orders, such as the [[Cistercians]], the [[Dominican Order|Dominicans]] and the [[Franciscans]] were established in the empire. The Orthodox clergy retained its rites and customs, including its right to marriage, but was demoted to a subordinate position, subject to the local Latin bishops.{{Citation needed|date=November 2010}}

==See also==
* [[Timeline of the Latin Empire]]
* [[Succession of the Roman Empire]]

== Notes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{Cite book|last=Angold|first=Michael|author-link=Michael Angold|chapter=The Latin Empire of Constantinople, 1204–1261: Marriage Strategies|title=Identities and Allegiances in the Eastern Mediterranean after 1204|year=2011|location=Farnham|publisher=Ashgate Publishing Limited|pages=47–68|isbn=9781409410980|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_mazcfdpVIC}}
* {{O City of Byzantium}}
* {{The Late Medieval Balkans}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Geanakoplos|first=Deno John|author-link=Deno John Geanakoplos|title=Greco-Latin Relations on the Eve of the Byzantine Restoration: The Battle of Pelagonia–1259|journal=Dumbarton Oaks Papers|year=1953|volume=7|pages=99–141|doi=10.2307/1291057|jstor=1291057|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/1291057}}
* {{Emperor Michael Palaeologus and the West}}
* {{cite journal | last=Hendrickx |first=Benjamin | title=Les duchés de l'Empire latin de Constantinople après 1204: origine, structures et statuts | trans-title = The Duchies of the Latin Empire of Constantinople after 1204. Origin, Structures and Statutes | journal=Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire | language = fr | volume= 93 | issue =2 | year=2015 | pages= 303–328 | url = https://www.persee.fr/doc/rbph_0035-0818_2015_num_93_2_8837 | doi = 10.3406/rbph.2015.8837}}
* {{New Cambridge Medieval History | volume=5 | chapter = The Latin Empire of Constantinople and the Frankish States in Greece | last = Jacoby | first = David | pages = 525–542}}
* {{The Latins in the Levant}}
* {{The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453|edition=Second}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ostrogorsky|first=George|author-link=George Ostrogorsky|year=1956|title=History of the Byzantine State|location=Oxford|publisher=Basil Blackwell|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bt0_AAAAYAAJ}}
* {{Cite book|last=Perry|first=Guy|title=John of Brienne: King of Jerusalem, Emperor of Constantinople, c. 1175–1237|year=2013|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9781107043107|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfTXAAAAQBAJ}}
* {{The Papacy and the Levant|volume=1}}
* {{Setton-A History of the Crusades | volume = 2 | chapter = The Latin Empire of Constantinople, 1204–1261 | pages = 186–233 | last = Wolff | first = Robert Lee | chapter-url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/History/History-idx?type=turn&entity=History.CrusTwo.p0213&id=History.CrusTwo }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Latin Empire}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100107105119/http://www2.fhw.gr/chronos/projects/fragokratia/en/webpages/frago.html ''The Latin Occupation in the Greek Lands – The Latin Empire'', from the Foundation of the Hellenic World]

{{Crusader States}}
{{Fragments of the Byzantine Empire}}
{{Frankish and Latin Greece}}
{{Byzantine Empire topics}}
{{Medieval states in Anatolia}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Latin Empire| ]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1204]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1261]]
[[Category:1261 disestablishments in Asia]]
[[Category:1204 establishments in Europe]]
[[Category:Former countries in the Balkans]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Europe]]
[[Category:Former monarchies of Asia]]
[[Category:States in medieval Anatolia]]
[[Category:Former empires]]