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  • Urbs Capta: The Fourth Crusade and Its Consequences/La IVe Croisade et ses consequénces
  • James M. Powell
Urbs Capta: The Fourth Crusade and Its Consequences/La IVe Croisade et ses consequénces. Edited by Angeliki Laiou. [Realités Byzantines,Vol. 10.] (Paris: Éditions Lethielleux. 2005. Pp 373. €39,00 paperback. ISBN 978-2-283-60464-9.)

The twenty-five essays in this volume provide a good introduction to the state of Byzantine studies not only on the Fourth Crusade but even on the broader issue of relations between Byzantine and Western scholarship. Scholarly views of the Fourth Crusade and its impact have undergone significant revisions among historians of the crusades. The famous dicta at the conclusion of Runciman’s third volume now finds few echoes. That is not to say that there is unanimity between Europeanists and Byzantinists on this complex question. The cultural divide remains even though it is not quite so deep. This collection goes a long way in showing that the changed focus of Byzantine specialists sheds light on the Fourth Crusade. Certain questions have now emerged that alter the picture.

Angeliki Laiou’s essay asks the question, “Why was the Fourth Crusade late in coming?” The question is not a mere rhetorical gambit. She argues that a Western design on the Byzantine Empire predated the crusades and was very evident in the course of the twelfth century. In her view the papacy played a role, even if not consistently, in the support of such efforts. Of course, her argument rests heavily on well-known evidence of Norman-Byzantine relations as well as those of Bohemond. But should we not also consider the Norman and the papal interests in terms of the historic ties of the Italian South to the East? Paul Magdalino’s study of prophecies on the fall of Constantinople draws further attention to this context. Michael Angold takes us into the world of Byzantine politics to examine the “corrosion” that was destroying Byzantium from within.

The following sections examine various aspects of the crusade. Jonathan Riley-Smith looks at the development of taxation and its limitations to show why the plans for the crusade went beyond the realities. Benjamin Kedar provides a thorough discussion of a neglected aspect of the Fourth Crusade: its [End Page 522] activities in the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Alfred Andrea discusses the changes in Pope Innocent III’s views on relations with the Greek rite. He shows that Innocent was prepared to adapt as he developed a better understanding. Taxiarchis G. Kolias sheds interesting light on the Byzantine military approach to the defense of Constantinople. The essays by Ruth Macrides and Chryssa Maltezou discuss Greek sources for the crusade. Makrides stresses George Akropolites’s argument that the retreat of Alexius III was strategically aimed at preserving the empire. Maltezou has interesting comments on the slowness of modern Greek schools to reflect new scholarship on the topic. Michel Balard provides an extensive discussion of Western scholarship with bibliography. Fanny Caroff places the art devoted to the Fourth Crusade in a broader context of French and Flemish crusader art. She provides valuable illustrations.

The following section opens with two papers on the economic results of the Fourth Crusade. David Jacoby here continues his research on the situation in Constantinople and its role as a commercial center. In her essay on “L’ouverture des marchés après 1204: Un aspect positif de la IVe croisade,” Cécile Morrisson provides a detailed study of wages and prices as well as the continuities in the Byzantine economy. In both cases the evidence supports the view that recovery followed on the crusade, with both Byzantines and Westerners participating.

The four articles that follow in this section deal with the geographical impact. Charalambos Gasparis discusses Venetian rule in Crete in the thirteenth century. In an interesting article, Marina Koumanoudi provides a dynamic picture of change in the Aegean. Ljubomir Maksimovic looks at Serbia as an outlier that is chiefly affected by the fragmentation of the Byzantine Empire. Sergej Karpov discusses the changes that occur in the Black Sea region as a result of the crusade and the Mongol invasion. Dimiter...

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