History of the Crusades. Episode 75, the Fourth Crusade Roman numeral 6.

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dot-com network, this episode is sponsored by Leatherman Data Services.

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Hello again.

Last week we saw the Crusaders and Venetians set sail to Constantinople with young Alexius, the nephew of the ruling Byzantine

Emperor who they intended to place on the throne. Instead of the warm welcome they were hoping for, the residents of

Constantinople seemed utterly indifferent to the arrival of young Alexius outside

their city and the Crusaders and Venetians found the gates of the imperial city closed to them.

There were only two options open to them at this stage.

Return home or attempt to enter the city by force.

The expedition chose the latter, despite the fact that in its 900-year history the walls of

Constantinople had never before been breached.

At the end of last week's episode, the Crusaders had seized the tower in the city of Galata,

and had unshackled the windless inside the tower, lowering the protective chain which stretched

across the entrance to the golden horn, the narrow harbour which ran along the top side of the city.

Now for those who are struggling to visualize the layout of Constantinople in the 13th century I've placed a map on the And I've placed another one on the history of the Crusades podcast Facebook page.

If you can't access either of these sites, grab a copy of Christopher Tyerman's book, God's War.

There's an excellent map of Constantinople on page 545.

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