Activity: Talk, presentation or media contribution › Invited talk
Description
Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine empire (now known as Istanbul), survived both the fall of the Roman Empire and the expansion of Islam. By the twelfth century, it was the largest and most prosperous city in the Christian world, a repository of ancient art and literature and famed for its collection of relics connected with Jesus Christ. But in the year 1204, Constantinople was attacked, captured and pillaged not by a Muslim army but by one composed of Christian co-religionists who were supposedly on a crusade to recover Jerusalem. This lecture explores how that strange contradiction came about, what the consequences were and how these events still resonate today.
Period
15 Jan 2026
Held at
Hampstead and North West London Historical Association, United Kingdom