Book contents
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Frontispiece
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps
- Illustrations
- Tables
- Dedication
- Preface
- Preface to the Paperback Edition
- General Introduction
- Part I The Earlier Empire c. 500–c. 700
- Part II The Middle Empire c. 700–1204
- Part III The Byzantine Lands in the Later Middle Ages 1204–1492
- Chapter 20 a After The Fourth Crusade: The Greek Rump States and the Recovery of Byzantium
- Chapter 20b After the Fourth Crusade: The Latin Empire of Constantinople and the Frankish States
- Chapter 21 Balkan Powers: Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria (1200–1300)
- Chapter 22 The Palaiologoi and the World Around Them (1261–1400)
- Chapter 23 Latins in the Aegean and the Balkans (1300–1400)
- Chapter 24 The Roman Orthodox World (1393–1492)
- Glossary (Including Some Proper Names)
- Genealogical Tables and Lists of Rulers
- Alternative Place Names
- Bibliography
- Book part
- Picture Acknowledgements
- Index
Chapter 20 a - After The Fourth Crusade: The Greek Rump States and the Recovery of Byzantium
from Part III - The Byzantine Lands in the Later Middle Ages 1204–1492
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 November 2019
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Frontispiece
- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c. 500–1492
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Maps
- Illustrations
- Tables
- Dedication
- Preface
- Preface to the Paperback Edition
- General Introduction
- Part I The Earlier Empire c. 500–c. 700
- Part II The Middle Empire c. 700–1204
- Part III The Byzantine Lands in the Later Middle Ages 1204–1492
- Chapter 20 a After The Fourth Crusade: The Greek Rump States and the Recovery of Byzantium
- Chapter 20b After the Fourth Crusade: The Latin Empire of Constantinople and the Frankish States
- Chapter 21 Balkan Powers: Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria (1200–1300)
- Chapter 22 The Palaiologoi and the World Around Them (1261–1400)
- Chapter 23 Latins in the Aegean and the Balkans (1300–1400)
- Chapter 24 The Roman Orthodox World (1393–1492)
- Glossary (Including Some Proper Names)
- Genealogical Tables and Lists of Rulers
- Alternative Place Names
- Bibliography
- Book part
- Picture Acknowledgements
- Index
Summary
It was almost unthinkable that the ‘queen of cities’ should fall. It was in the words of Byzantine contemporaries a ‘cosmic cataclysm’. The Byzantine ruling class was disorientated and uprooted. The Constantinopolitan elite sought refuge where they could. Among the common people there was at first a sense of jubilation at their discomfiture: the proud had been humbled. Such was the demoralisation that at all levels of society submission to the conquering crusaders seemed a natural solution. Many leading Byzantines threw in their lot with the Latins. The logothete of the Drome Demetrios Tornikes continued to serve them in this capacity. He was the head of one of the great bureaucratic families which had dominated Constantinople before 1204. In the provinces leading families made deals with the conquerors. Theodore Branas governed the city of Adrianople – the key to Thrace – on behalf of the Venetians. Michael Angelos Doukas – a member of the Byzantine imperial house – took service with Boniface of Montferrat, now ruler of Thessaloniki. The cooperation of the local archontes smoothed Geoffrey I of Villehardouin’s conquest of the Peloponnese.
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- The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire c.500–1492 , pp. 731 - 758Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019