Latin Rulers of Constantinople 1204AD Ancient Coin Virgin enthroned i30678

Item: i30678

Authentic Ancient

Coin of:

Byzantine – Latin Rulers of Constantinople 1204-1261 A.D. –

Billon Aspron Trachy 26mm (2.17 grams) Constantinople mint: 1204-1261 A.D.

Reference: Sear 2046, H.,pl.29, 7-9 (C0. DO IV. pl.LII.32
The Virgin enthroned.
Emperor enthroned.

You are bidding on the exact item pictured,

Authenticity.

The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople (original

Latin

name: Imperium Romaniae, “Empire of

“)

is the name given by historians to the

feudal

Crusader state

founded by the leaders of the

Fourth Crusade

on lands captured from the

Byzantine Empire
.

It was established after the capture of

Constantinople

in 1204 and lasted until 1261. The Latin Empire was intended

to supplant the Byzantine Empire as titular successor to the

Roman

Empire
in the east, with a Western

Catholic

emperor enthroned in place of the

Orthodox

Byzantine emperors

.

Baldwin IX

,

Count of

Flanders
, was crowned the first Latin emperor as Baldwin I on 16 May 1204.

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

Venice
, and

after a short initial period of military successes it went into a steady

decline. Weakened by constant warfare with the Bulgarians and the Greek

successor states, it eventually fell to the

Empire of Nicaea

under Emperor

Michael VIII Palaiologos

in 1261. The last Latin emperor,

Baldwin II

, went into exile, but the imperial title survived, with several

claimants to it, until the 14th century.

//

 History

 Creation

of the Latin Empire

By arrangement among the crusaders, Byzantine territory was divided: in the

Partitio terrarum imperii Romanie, signed on 1 October 1204, three

eighths – including Crete

and other islands – went to the

Republic of

Venice
. The Latin Empire claimed the remainder, and did exert control over

areas of Greece
,

divided into

vassal

fiefs
:

the

Kingdom of Thessalonica

, the

Principality of Achaea

, the

Duchy of Athens
,

the

Duchy of the Archipelago

and the short-lived

duchies of Nicaea

,

Philippopolis, and

Philadelphia
.

The

Doge of Venice

did not rank as a vassal to the Empire, but his position in control of 3/8 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

successor states

led by Byzantine Greek aristocrats, such as the

Despotate of

Epirus
, the

Empire of Nicaea
,

and the

Empire of

Trebizond
, which were bent on reconquest from the Latins.

The crowning of Baldwin and the creation of the Latin Empire had the curious

effect of creating three so-called Roman Empires in Europe at the same time, the

others being the

Holy Roman Empire

and the remnants of the

Byzantine Empire

(the direct successor of the ancient Roman Empire), none of which actually

controlled the city of

Rome
, which was under the

temporal authority

of the

Pope.

 The

Empire in Asia Minor

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 Lascaris

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 further defeat on Nicaean forces at the Ryndakos 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, at which point the resurgent power of

Nicaea felt sufficiently strong enough to challenge the Latin Empire, by that

time weakened by constant warfare in its European provinces. At the

battle of Poemanenum

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,

save Nicomedia

and the territories directly across Constantinople. Nicaea turned

also to the

Aegean, capturing the

islands awarded to the Empire. In 1235, finally, the last Latin possessions fell

to Nicaea.

 The

Empire 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

Bulgarian

tsar

Kaloyan

. When Baldwin campaigned against the Byzantine lords of

Thrace
, they

called upon Kaloyan for help. At the

Battle of Adrianople

on 14 April 1205, the Latin heavy cavalry was lured

into an ambush by Kaloyan’s troops, and Emperor Baldwin was captured. He was

imprisoned in the Bulgarian capital

Tarnovo

until his death later in 1205. Luckily for the new Latin Emperor,

Henry of

Flanders
, Kaloyan was murdered a couple of years later (1207) during a siege

of

Thessalonica

, and the Bulgarian threat conclusively defeated with a victory

the following year, which allowed Henry to reclaim most of the lost territories

in Thrace until 1210, when peace was concluded with the marriage of Henry to

Maria of Bulgaria

, tsar

Kaloyan

‘s daughter.

At the same time, another Greek 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

, Thessaly

and

Central Greece

against the rebellious

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

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 1221, when her son

Robert of

Courtenay
was crowned Emperor. Distracted by the renewed war with Nicaea,

and waiting in vain for assistance from Pope

Honorius III

and the King 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 the time by the threat

posed to Theodore by the Bulgarian tsar

Ivan II Asen

, and a truce was concluded in 1228.

 Decline

and Fall

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 joint campaign against the Latin Empire, and an

unsuccessful

siege of Constantinople

the same year. In 1237,

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 gain money, he was

forced to resort to desperate means, from removing the lead roofs of the

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 Constantinople, with only

the city’s strong

walls

holding them at bay, and the

Battle of

Pelagonia
in 1258 signaled the beginning of the end of Latin predominance in

Greece. Thus, on July 25, 1261, with most of the Latin troops away on campaign,

the Nicaean general

Alexios Strategopoulos

found an unguarded entrance to the city, and entered

it with his troops, restoring the Byzantine Empire for his master,

Michael VIII Palaiologos

.

 Titular

claimants

For about a century thereafter, the heirs of 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
.

They exercised effective authority in Greece only when actually ruling as

princes of Achaea

, as in 1333–1383. Although they are generally regarded as

titular emperors, the continued existence of Latin states in the Aegean that

recognized them as their suzerains makes the term a misnomer; a more accurate

description would be emperors-in-exile.

 Organization

and Society

 Administration

The empire was formed and administrated 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
and

his six-member council. This council had a major voice in the governance of the

realm, especially in the periods of regency, where the Regent (moderator

imperii) was dependent on their consent to rule. The podesta, likewise, was

an extremely influential member, being practically independent of the Emperor.

He exercised authority over the Venetian quarters of Constantinople and

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.

 Society

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

Orthodox

Greeks

, still divided according to the Byzantine system in income classes

based on land ownership.

 Church

As with all Latin states, the Orthodox hierarchy was replaced by

Catholic

prelates

, but not suppressed. 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. Catholic monastic orders,

such as the

Cistercians

, the

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.