A. D. 1203. 369 



guards alone performed the duty of foldiers (for the Roman-Greeks had 

 long ago given up all pretenfions to courage) the ufurper fled with his 

 treafure, and abandoned his wife and his empire to the mercy of the 

 conquerors. 



July 19'" — The blind depofed emperor was immediately tranfported 

 from a prifon to a throne ; and he and his fon were proclaimed joint 

 emperors. Jealous of their own fubjeds, the emperors begged, and 

 bribed, the foreign warriors, who had created them, to continue their 

 prefence and formidable protedtion for a year. An outrage produced 

 by the intolerant bigotry of the Latins, or Franks *, and a delay in 

 the payment of the ftipulated fubfidy, were the fignals for hoftilities. 

 The young prince was murdered by a new ufurper, who in vain at- 

 tempted to expell the flrangers from the land. The city was ftormed. 

 the ufurper fled, and the rapacity of the crufaders was fatiated with the 

 accumulated wealth of the capital of the Roman world (April, 1204). 

 Thus fell, almofl: without refiftance, the Roman empire, once the fcourge 

 and the terror of mankind, a prey to a handful of military fanatics 

 (moflly French and Italians) and the naval forces of a commercial re- 

 public, nearly in the fame manner, as its antient Britifli provincials in 

 the fifth century fell under the dominion of their German auxili- 

 aries f . 



The conquerors, who now forgot the Holy land, placed Baldwin earl 

 of Flanders upon the throne of the Eaftern Roman empire, and appro- 

 priated one fourth part of the countries yet fubjed to that empire for 

 the fupport of his dignity. Three eighths were divided among the 

 other chiefs; and three eighths were the portion of the republic of Ve- 

 nice. In the partition the Venetians took care to obtain for themfelves 

 a part of the maritime province of Peloponnefus, the feat of a rich ma- 

 nufadure of filks, together with a chain of iflands and maritime ports, 

 •which extended their territories from the head of the Adriatic fea to 

 Conflantinople ; and in that city itfelf they pofTefled three of the eight 

 regions or wards. They, moreover, purchafed the illand of Crete, or 

 Candia, for ten thoufand marks, from the marquis of Montferrat, to 

 whofe fhare it had fallen. But thefe extenfive and disjointed territories, 

 though apparently fo well adapted for commercial eftablifhrnents, being 



* To foms readers it may not be fiiperfluous to Fianis in the eatlern borders of the Mediten-a- 



be informed, that the nations, who acUnowleged nean. 



the fnpreroacy of the pope, were callt J by the f It is curious to obferve the importance afTum- 



gencral name of Latins, as thofe, who adhered to cd by fmall communities. An aiiiiahll of Pifa 



the patriarch of Conltantinople, were ir. h'ke man- [^ap. Mvralori Script. F. vi, col. 191] has record- 



iicr called Giech; and thence we find the RulTi- td, that in the year 1204 ConRantinople was taken 



ans called Greeks by the writers of the eleventh by the Pif.uis and t!ie Venetians. The weftern 



century. From the French, or Franks, being the warriors are totally annihilated by this hii^oiio- 



moft numerous nation in the armies of the crofs, grapher of Pifa, the co-optration of which is 



all the weftern Chriftians are to this day called fcarcely noticed en this occafion by general hif- 



torians. 



Vol. I. • ^ A 



