Art of I he Foundrij among the Anticnis. 1.t5 



who remained shut themselves up in their houses, ascended 

 the roofs, and defended thc;mselves with stones and brick- 

 bats : the Barbarians, enraged, set fire to the houses, which 

 were in a short time almost entirely destroyed. A great 

 number of staUies were melted, and 40,000 of the inhabi- 

 tans perished on this occasion*. 



Under the emperor Alexius Comnenus, different quarters 

 of the city were devastated by fire and by earthquakes; the 

 colossal statue of Constantine, which was placed upon the 

 grand column of porphyry 110 feet high, was thrown down 

 by a whirlwind, and killed ten persons in its fallf. 



The four horses of Chio had fortunately escaped all these 

 fires; but in the great one of 1203, which was the most 

 dreadful that had ever broke out in that city, they were 

 much exposed, because the flames on that occasion attacked 

 the Hippodrome. 



When, in the year 1202, the French, under count 

 Baldwin of Flanders^ joined with the Venetians in order to 

 undertake the third crusade, and stop the progress of the 

 sultan Saiadin, who threatened to take Jerusalem, the son 

 of the emperor Isaac, whom his brother Alexis had impri-f 

 soned on usurping the crown, implored the assistance of 

 the crusaders, in order to save his father from the hands of 

 this usurper, and to re-establish him in his lawful rights. 

 The crusaders warmly espoused his interests, and laid siege 

 to Constantinople. The Venetians had already mounted to 

 the assault on the side towards the sea, and had taken pos- 

 session of five-and-twenty towers, when Alexis marched out 

 of the city to give battle to the French ; but although 

 he had an army infinitely more nimnierous, a panic seized 

 him, and he fled with the greatest part of his treasures. The 

 inhabitants of Constantino])lc, astonished at his precipitate 

 (light, proceeded to the prison, where the emperor Isaac 

 was detained, and, clothing him in the imperial robes, made 

 obeisance to him. 'I'hey then opened the gates of the city, 

 and received their young prince with every demonstration of 

 joy. In order to prevent any quarrels between the Greeks 



• Zonar. 1. c. p.70. 

 ■)• Idem, 1..-. p. 89. 



and 



