David Nicolle, The Fourth Crusade 1202-04: The Betrayal of Byzantium (Allen)

David Nicolle

The Fourth Crusade 1202-04: The Betrayal of Byzantium

(Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2011) 96pp.  $19.95.  ISBN 9781849083195 

Nicolle

The eleventh and twelfth century European Crusades to the Near East has been an increasingly discussed controversial topic, both among Historians as well as the general public, over the last few decades. This study of the Western World going to war with the Muslim Kingdoms of the Near East, especially given current geo-political issues, has resulted in an expansion of interest and scholarship. While the whole Crusader movement has seen an increase in focus and controversy during this time, the Forth Crusade had been controversial since its completion over eight centuries ago. This assault and conquest of the Byzantine capital of Constantinople was not only a shock for the simple idea of Christians attacking Christians, all in the name of God, but also for the legendary status the city held throughout Europe. The Fourth Crusade from the beginning is a story intensifying from one scandalous decision to another cumulating in the unimaginable attack on this “Second Rome”. David Nicolle’s work The Fourth Crusade 1202-04: The Betrayal of Byzantium attempts to deliver a discussion of this controversial conquest in an installment of the Osprey Campaign series.

Nicolle delivers a concise, consisting of only 96 pages, yet fairly complete overview of the Fourth Crusade. This is done first by splitting the work into chapters which complement each other very well. The first two chapters, “Origins of the Campaign” and “Chronology”respectively,develop the backstory to the subsequent campaign. While the second chapter is fairly self-explanatory, the first chapterexplains the social and political situation immediately before the Crusade both in Western Europe as well as the Byzantine Empire. Nicolle not only sets the stage for the crusade through the text but also provides the reader with an extensive map showing the political and social realities of Europe at this time.(6-7) The Second set of chapters, “Opposing Commanders” and “Opposing Forces and Opposing Plans”, looks at the development of both the leadership of each side of the Crusade as well as the makeup of each sides military forces. Nicolle uses these relatively short sections effectively by giving the reader enough information to understand the development of the crusade but not so much to cloud their focus or distract from the mission of the Osprey Campaign series. The longest chapter, entitled “The Campaign”, covers the main movement of the Crusade itself. It is here that Nicolle looks at the series of events which push the movement from the simple straight forward Crusade, to the traditional goal of Jerusalem, eventually evolving to the assault on their fellow Christians in Byzantium.  The final section of the work covers the aftermath of the campaign all the way up till the modern era. It is this last Chapter, entitled “The Battlefield Today”, which most readers will find the most intriguing and yet will be left wanting more. It attempts to do something most historical works overlook which is to revisit the sites which were important to the Crusade and briefly look at the history of these sites since as well as their current state. This is a unique addition to an otherwise straightforward look at the campaign. If it would have only been expanded a few more pages, being that it is the shortest chapter of the book, the entire piece as a whole would have benefited.

This work is not an in depth analysis of the origins, development, or major figures of the Fourth Crusade. As a result anyone approaching the work expecting such a discussion will be undoubtably disappointed. However, this was not the intention of Nicolle or the Osprey Campaign series. The work’s focus is on offering the reader an introduction to the topic in a concise manor and in this way succeeds at this goal.  Keeping this in mind, the entire work will undoubtedly remind the reader of an excerpt from Crusades focused textbook in both its voice and visual style which results in both positives and negatives.  Outside of the obvious benefit this style offers to general readability, the work also excels at providing extensive visual material in the form of maps and photographs of significant places and artifacts. Via the maps the reader will be able to see the political scene of Europe before the Crusade, follow the Crusade on its way to Constantinople, and view the troop movements at the siege of the city.(6-7, 47, 50, 58-9,68-9, 80, 85) These maps help the reader visualize the crusade and allow for a greater level of understanding especially for the novice historian. The photographs also help the reader see everything from murals, important buildings, and other objects which result in a more complete picture of the Crusade.

Despite the positives this style produces, one still finds issues which arise. The most obvious of these missteps is the unnecessary artistic representations of the siege of Constantinople.(54-5, 72-3) These are not only completely unnecessary but distract the reader from the more positive sections of the work. On a more academic level, Nicolle glosses over different events and figures which deserve more discussion. Subsequently, anyone outside of the novice historian would be much better served by looking to the more established Fourth Crusade histories.[1] Despite these shortcomings Nicolle is able to deliver a very compact accessible history of the controversial Fourth Crusade which more than fulfils the goals of the Osprey Campaign Series.

 

Chadrick J. Allen M.A.
Des Moines Area Community College
[email protected]

 

[1] Most notably: Donald E. Queller and Thomas F. Madden, The Fourth Crusade: The Conquest of Constantinople, (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999); Jonathan Phillips, The Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, (New York: Penguin Books 2005).

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