Siege_of_Constantinople_(1235) Knowpia

Siege of Constantinople (1235)
	Part of the Nicaean–Latin wars ; Bulgarian–Latin wars
	; Map showing Constantinople and its walls during the Byzantine era
Date	1235
Location	Constantinople, Latin Empire; (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey)
Result	Inconclusive
Belligerents
Empire of Nicaea; Bulgarian Empire	Latin Empire; Duchy of Naxos
Commanders and leaders
John III Vatatzes; Ivan Asen II; Manuel Doukas; Michael II Komnenos Doukas	John of Brienne; Angelo Sanudo; Geoffrey II of Villehardouin
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The siege of Constantinople (1235) was a joint Bulgarian–Nicaean siege on the capital of the Latin Empire. Latin emperor John of Brienne was besieged by the Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria.

Prelude edit

After Robert of Courtenay died in 1228, a new regency under John of Brienne was set up. After the disastrous Epirote defeat by the Bulgarians at the Battle of Klokotnitsa,^[1]^[2] the Epirote threat to the Latin Empire was removed, only to be replaced by Nicaea, which started acquiring territories in Greece. Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea concluded an alliance with Bulgaria, which in 1235 resulted in a joint campaign against the Latin Empire.

The siege edit

In 1235, Angelo Sanudo, the second Duke of the Archipelago, sent a naval squadron for the defense of Constantinople, where the Emperor John of Brienne was being besieged by John III Doukas Vatatzes, Emperor of Nicaea, and Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria. The joint Bulgarian-Nicaean siege was unsuccessful.^[3] The allies retreated in the autumn because of the incoming winter. Ivan Asen II and Vatatzes agreed to continue the siege in the next year, but the Bulgarian Emperor later refused to send troops. With the death of John of Brienne in 1237, the Bulgarians broke the treaty with Vatatzes because of the prospect that Ivan Asen II could become a regent of the Latin Empire ^{[citation needed]}.

Aftermath edit

By 1247, the Nicaeans had effectively surrounded Constantinople, with only the city's strong walls holding them at bay, and the Battle of Pelagonia in 1258 signaled the beginning of the end of Latin predominance in Greece. Thus, on July 25, 1261, with most of the Latin troops away on campaign, the Nicaean general Alexios Strategopoulos found an unguarded entrance to the city,^[4] and entered it with his troops, restoring the Byzantine Empire for his master, Michael VIII Palaiologos.

References edit

^ Turnovo inscription of Tsar Ivan Asen II in the Holy 40 Martyrs Church in honour of the victory at Klokotnitsa on 9 March 1230
^ "Battle of Klokonista". badley.info. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
^ "John III Ducas Vatatzes". NNDB.com. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
^ Nicol (1993), p. 34.^{[full citation needed]}

Bibliography edit

Langdon, John S. (1985). "The Forgotten Byzantino-Bulgarian Assault and Siege of Constantinople 1235–1236 and the Breakup of the 'Entente Cordiale' Between John III Ducas Vatatzes and John Asen II in 1236 as Background to the Genesis of the Hohenstaufen-Vatatzes alliance of 1242". Byzantine Studies in Honor of Milton V. Anastos. Malibu. pp. 105–36. ISBN 0-89003-168-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)