Hello everyone and welcome to the history of Byzantium.

Episode 263.

Questions 10.

Listen to V.

Asks what was Alexia's Anglos thinking in offering such impossible rewards to the Crusaders?

Did he overestimate the Empire's wealth or did he think he could wriggle out of such promises once he became emperor?

I don't think it was the latter.

He was very friendly with Boniface and his troops and he never really tried to get out of his obligations.

So I think he always intended to pay his debts.

He was a teenager when he escaped Constantinople and had grown up under house arrest.

So it's entirely possible that he overestimated the wealth of the Empire.

He was certainly out of the loop on how badly things were going in his absence.

But I think the most likely explanation is that it was Boniface of Montferrad who told him how much to ask for,

making sure that it was enough to smooth over any doubts the rest of the Latins might have about agreeing to the diversion.

Boniface seemed to think from early on that the Romans could pay off the Crusaders debts.

Constantinople's reputation for being rich was well known.

And Boniface wanted to use that wealth to feed his ambitions.

As we'll see when the narrative resumes, Boniface was keen to be emperor himself once Alexius was dead.

When Alexius Anglos eventually stopped paying the Latins,

you may remember that Enrico Dandolo asked for a meeting at which the Doge supposedly yelled at the young emperor for breaking his word.

Listener MS asks, what exactly did the Doge expect Alexius to do?

Given that the Empire was clearly impoverished, large parts of the city were on fire,

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