==Historical Descriptions Final capture of Constantinople== On [[12 April]] [[1204]] the weather conditions finally favoured the Crusaders. A strong northern wind aided the Venetian ships to come close to the wall. After a short battle, approximately seventy crusaders managed to enter the city. Some Crusaders were eventually able to knock holes in the walls, small enough for a few knights at a time to crawl through; the Venetians were also successful at scaling the walls from the sea, though there was extremely bloody fighting with the [[Varangians#The Varangian Guard|Varangians]]. The crusaders captured the [[Blachernae]] section of the city in the northwest and used it as a base to attack the rest of the city, but while attempting to defend themselves with a wall of fire, they ended up burning down even more of the city. This second fire left 15,000 people homeless.<ref name="exp">J. Phillips, ''The Fourth Crusade and the Sack"==of Constantinople'', 209</ref> The Crusaders took the city on [[April 12]]. The crusaders inflicted a horrible and savage sacking on Constantinople for three days, during which many ancient and medieval Roman and Greek works were either stolen or destroyed. The magnificent [[Library of Constantinople]] was destroyed. Despite their oaths and the threat of excommunication, the Crusaders ruthlessly and systematically violated the city's holy sanctuaries, destroying, defiling, or stealing all they could lay hands on; nothing was spared. It was said that the total amount looted from Constantinople was about 900,000 silver marks. The Venetians received 150,000 silver marks that was their due, while the Crusaders received 50,000 silver marks. A further 100,000 silver marks were divided evenly up between the Crusaders and Venetians. The remaining 500,000 silver marks were secretly kept back by many Crusader knights.

:"<blockquote>The Latin soldiery subjected the greatest city in Europe to an indescribable sack. For three days they murdered, raped, looted and destroyed on a scale which even the ancient Vandals and Goths would have found unbelievable. Constantinople had become a veritable museum of ancient and Byzantine art, an emporium of such incredible wealth that the Latins were astounded at the riches they found. Though the Venetians had an appreciation for the art which they discovered (they were themselves semi-Byzantines) and saved much of it, the French and others destroyed indiscriminately, halting to refresh themselves with wine, violation of nuns, and murder of Orthodox clerics. The Crusaders vented their hatred for the Greeks most spectacularly in the desecration of the greatest Church in Christendom. They smashed the silver [[iconostasis]], the icons and the holy books of [[Hagia Sophia]], and seated upon the patriarchal throne a whore who sang coarse songs as they drank wine from the Church's holy vessels. The estrangement of East and West, which had proceeded over the centuries, culminated in the horrible massacre that accompanied the conquest of Constantinople. The Greeks were convinced that even the Turks, had they taken the city, would not have been as cruel as the Latin Christians. The defeat of Byzantium, already in a state of decline, accelerated political degeneration so that the Byzantines eventually became an easy prey to the Turks. The Crusading movement thus resulted, ultimately, in the victory of Islam, a result which was of course the exact opposite of its original intention." </blockquote> (Vryonis, ''Byzantium and Europe'', p.152).<ref>[http://www.ewtn.com/library/CHISTORY/HUGHHIST.TXT "History of the Church Vol II"], Innocent III & the Latin East, p372, Philip Hughes, Sheed & Ward, 1948.</ref> According to Choniates, a [[prostitute]] was even set up on the Patriarchal throne.<ref>[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/choniates1.html "The Sack of Constantinople"], Nicetas Choniates, 1204.</ref> When Innocent III heard of the conduct of his pilgrims, he was filled with shame and strongly rebuked them. According to a prearranged treaty, the empire was apportioned between Venice and the crusade's leaders, and the [[Latin Empire]] of Constantinople was established. Boniface was not elected as the new emperor, although the citizens seemed to consider him as such; the Venetians thought he had too many connections with the former empire because of his brother, [[Renier of Montferrat]], who had been married to [[Maria Comnena (Porphyrogenita)|Maria Comnena]], empress in the 1170s and 80s. Instead they placed [[Baldwin I of Constantinople|Baldwin of Flanders]] on the throne. Boniface went on to found the [[Kingdom of Thessalonica]], a vassal state of the new Latin Empire. The Venetians also founded the [[Duchy of the Archipelago]] in the Aegean Sea. Meanwhile, Byzantine refugees founded their own [[successor state]]s, the most notable of these being the [[Empire of Nicaea]] under [[Theodore I Lascaris|Theodore Lascaris]] (a relative of Alexius III), the [[Empire of Trebizond]], and the [[Despotate of Epirus]].