Fourth Crusade: From Sack to Restoration - Medieval DOCUMENTARY

Head to keeps.com/kings to get 50% off your first order of hair loss treatment! Previous feature-length episodes: Ancient Origins of the Kievan Rus: From Rurikids to Mongols: https://youtu.be/zHPLFHHGk-o Caesar in Gaul: https://youtu.be/LRV185XaMIM Caesar against Pompey: https://youtu.be/_O5DshzvUsk How Caesar Won the Great Roman Civil War: https://youtu.be/o8F8IajtW9U How Rome Conquered Greece: https://youtu.be/v5q1rerf-qw Slave Rebellions in Rome: https://youtu.be/YK68w-5Jn40 Pyrrhic Wars: https://youtu.be/2QBA6ZPmj3Q Mongol Invasions: https://youtu.be/bzatw32j-i4 Korean War: https://youtu.be/ViVGj58kt34 Early Muslim Expansion: https://youtu.be/r2cEIDZwG5M Early Muslim Expansion - Arab Conquest of Iran and Egypt: https://youtu.be/baHT2nR5Wr4 Third Crusade: https://youtu.be/jCyCSgsFXKQ War of the Roses: https://youtu.be/Do7XBxUVJsE

I am going to release a long video of my own when I grow up...

- Blinds and imprisones his brother, the emperor. - Becomes the emperor. - Bribes everyone - Has no interest in ruling. - Doesnt elaborate

This is such a fascinating era of history. The scale of destruction and rebuilding is virtually impossible to wrap your head around in the era of machinery. This was a city that was built up for nearly a thousand years. Destroyed by the people sent to save it and then somehow managed to recover and maintain its relevance for another 250 years. Magnificent effort!

Basically better than anything on History Channel the last 20 years.

The sack of Constantinople was a hard watch. The frustration i felt about the whole situation almost brought me to tears. I can only imagine how frustrated, sad, and powerless the people of Constantinople felt seeing their valuable city and timeless artifacts destroyed piece by piece.

"But suddenly the Nicaean emperor cut down the rear leg of the horse and decapitated the Seljuk leader." - That's pretty badass.

Theodoros Laskaris is a very underrated Emperor. He did much to form a solid Roman state after the Fourth Crusade and he is barely ever mentioned.

Damn, listening to the narrator speak of the extensive looting of Constantinople is absolutely gut-wrenching.

I live in Greece, but this documentary motivated me to visit Tarnovo. Kings and Generals have really taken their content to another level and all this for free

Pardon the language, but my god what a complete clusterfuck the 4th crusade was. On a side note, just recently found your channel and I'm having a BLAST. Great content, you've helped rekindle my love of history, thank you.

Eastern Rome never truly recovered from its sack in 1204. The ports of Constantinople were controlled by Italians and little revenue was coming into the state coffers of Eastern Rome. Slowly over the centuries its Anatolian lands were controlled by the Turks. By 1400, Constantinople was bankrupt. And the conquest of Constantinople in 1453 was the liquidation of Eastern Rome.

A two-hour Kings and Generals episode? Clear my afternoon.

The 4th crusade: When you do things exactly the opposite of the way you're meant to do them

It's interesting that as the Crusaders were besieging Constantinople, no Byzantine armies from the provinces arrived to help break the siege.

What the Laskarids's Dynasty achieved (i would include Michael Palaiologos with them, since he was started as their general), was a huge labor. Starting with a single city, Nicaea, they defeated gradually the Seljuks, the Latins, the Bulgars, and the other states-successors of Epirus and Trabezond, and succeded to free Constantinople, and restore the Empire. Glory to Theodore I Laskaris, John III Doukas Vatatzes and Theodore II Laskaris!

The description of the sack and the lost treasures is beyond soul-crushing... To imagine that what Romans have created surpasses the (impressive in themselves) scraps that we have currently, it boggles the mind.

Drink everytime he says "was assasinated and his brother asscended to the throne"

Being used to a rather short duration of a typical YouTube video I prepared myself for a daunting task of watching little heads moving across maps for over two hours. Only a few minutes in I was completely engrossed in the story of power, greed, conquest, alliance, betrayal and, let's not forget, blinding. Oh yes, blinding captured opponents had been a favourite pastime. The real-life game of thrones. Two hours passed before I even noticed. This is a fantastic storytelling, the dynamic maps and heads of leaders help to visualise historical complexities and quite literally see the big picture, the thing I always struggled while reading books. The narration is calm, precise and yet, at times quite emotional, in particular when it comes to the sacking of Constantinopol. A perfect place for those who, like myself, hated history at school, to see how fascinating it can be.

I love how Kings and Generals always tries to present different POVs in their videos. Keep it up, guys! You're awesome!