Latin Rulers of Constantinople 1204-1261AD Byzantine Coin Jesus Christ i36181

Description

Item:
i36181
Authentic Ancient Coin of:
Byzantine - Latin Rulers of Constantinople 1204-1261 A.D.
Billon Trachea 28mm (1.85 grams) Constantinople mint: 1204-1261 A.D.
Reference: Sear 2022
Christ  enthroned.
Emperor standing, holding sword.
You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.
The
Latin Empire
or
Latin Empire of Constantinople
(original
Latin
name:
Imperium Romaniae
, "
Empire of
Romania
") 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 as titular successor to the
Roman Empire
in the east, with a Western
Roman Catholic
emperor enthroned in place of the Eastern
Orthodox
Roman 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 unconquered sections of the empire, it eventually fell when Byzantines recaptured Constantinople under Emperor
Michael VIII Palaiologos
in 1261. The last Latin emperor,
Baldwin II
, went into exile, but the imperial title survived, with several pretenders to it, until the 14th century.
Arms of the Latin Empire of Constantinople
Name
The original name of this state in the Latin language was
Imperium Romaniae
("
Empire of Romania
"). This name was used based on the fact that the common name for the Roman Empire in this period had been
Romania
(
Ῥωμανία
, "
Land of the Romans
").
The names
Byzantine
and
Latin
were not contemporary terms. They were invented much later by historians seeking to differentiate between the classical period of the
Roman Empire
, the medieval period (label the
Byzantine Empire
) and the late medieval Latin Empire, all of which called themselves "Roman." The term
Latin
has been used because the crusaders (
Franks
, Venetians, and other westerners) were Roman Catholic and used Latin as their liturgical and scholarly language. It is used in contrast to the Eastern Orthodox locals who used
Greek
in both liturgy and common speech.
The Latin Empire with its vassals (in yellow) and the Greek successor states of the
Byzantine Empire (in red) after the
Treaty of Nymphaeum
in 1214. The borders are very uncertain.
History
Creation
By arrangement among the crusaders, Byzantine territory was divided: in the
Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae
, 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
.
In Asia Minor
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
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, 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 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, 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.
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 and knights were crushed by Kaloyan's troops, and Emperor Baldwin was captured. He was imprisoned in the Bulgarian capital
Tarnovo
until his death later in 1205. 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 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
, 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 25 July 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 1333–83. 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.
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, as well as profit from Constantinople's strategic location on major trade routes. While the empire showed some moderate vitality while Henry 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 foodstuffs. In several senses, the only significant export on which the economy of the Latin Empire had any real basis was the sale of relics back to Western Europe which had been looted from Greek churches. For example, Emperor Baldwin II sold the relic of the Crown of Thorns while in France trying to raise new funds.
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