Thread

1. digilypse · 1790982779 · focus · HN ↗

   A few decades later, Venice brilliantly exploited the Fourth Crusade’s debt (and the fact that they built all the Crusade’s ships) to proceed on a debt-collection/revenge tour along the Adriatic, sacking Zara, getting the entire Crusade excommunicated, and ultimately diverting the entire force to Constantinople where they sacked the city in 1204 and replaced the government with the Latin Empire.

   I found City of Fortune by Roger Crowley to be a very entertaining read, the full story of the Crusade is absurd. Venice completely dedicated its entire economy to producing the Crusade’s ships for years to make this happen.

   1. fakedang · 1791024177 · focus · HN ↗

      If you look at most of Byzantine history, most of their misfortune they brought upon themselves. Yarmouk, Manzikert, the Fourth Crusade...

      I don't know why neo-fascists tend to glorify the ERE/Byzantium as some last bastion of Roman culture against Islamic hordes, when in reality around that time they were practically being ruled by emperors who were previously counterfeiters, caulkers and moneylenders. Nepotism was so bad around the middle ages that emperors would make their drunk vagrant cousin twice removed admiral of the fleet just because he could.

      I digress. The ultimate flex by the Venetians was Doge Enrico Dandolo pillaging Constantinople, taking a lot of artifacts including the Horses of St. Mark and the Portrait of the Four Tetrarchs, and then getting himself buried in the city he pillaged.

      1. toyg · 1791063709 · focus · HN ↗

         And this in contrast to an islamic culture that was, back then, extremely meritocratic. A lot of the best Ottoman civil servants, fighters, seamen, and pirates, were Europeans who, after ending up "on the other side" for various reasons, were promoted on merit to the highest positions in the empire - something that would have been unthinkable in most Christian states back then, where strict caste systems kept everyone in their place.

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