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Thanks. And it’s not like western Europe was the prize. More an easy target. China was the real deal.

ardit33 5y ago
No, he is wrong. Europe was a much harder target. They did well on cities on the Paeonian plains, where it was their natural terrain, but did not do well on European mountainous terrain. They couldn't even take Dubrovnik, let alone Constantinople. (it took the Ottomans half a century, and the advent of the cannons to finally conquer it).
- dopidopHN 5y ago
  Was not Constantinople in a pretty bad position, so they had to ask Blanche de Castille and whoever was ruling France for help around 1240 ? Constantinople ruler at the time, Baldwin II was either killed or captured Sources agree that the city started paying tribute to the mongol. ( one is a document excommunicating Baldwin for accepting overloadship from the mongols ) So the city was not taken but the situation was pretty bad. Similarly, Bulgaria and Hungary were taken too if I’m remember correctly.
- boomboomsubban 5y ago
  While they didn't "take" Constantinople, they vassalized the nearby Trebizond Empire and beat the Latin Empire's leader in battle, potentially capturing him leading to unknown concessions. Then the re-emergent Byzantines bought an alliance rather than battle them.
- hef19898 5y ago
  Constantinople was conquered, and pillaged, by Crusaders diverted there by the Doge of Venice as ways to repay their debts to him. Those crusaders just didn't stay, that's all.
  - JetAlone 5y ago
    https://roman-empire.net/army/the-sack-of-constantinople/ https://roman-empire.net/army/the-sack-of-constantinople/ Yes. Western crusaders smashed altars and raped nuns. The first Latin Pope to officially apologize to us for this was John Paul II, in Anno Domini 2001, almost eight hundred years after the atrocity took place. This apology was rendered just 2 years after he controversially kissed a Koran. >"What a beautiful scripture, containing teachings nigh-incompatible with our dogmas!! ちゅ〜 <3" >"Ohhhhhhhh that one is for year 2099. Okay. I see what happened, I started a century too far into the Novus Ordo playbook. Sorry. Sorry. The pages got stuck together. What was on the start of this page? 2001? Apologizing for the atrocity? Ohhhhkay, right. Back on track." 2001 a Grace Odyssey.
    - hef19898 5y ago
      >> Gods gonna recognize hus folks That was used, apparently, as an excuse by the Crusaders killing Christians. A bunch of scum, even by their own standards. The Doge, 80 and blind, played that bunch like fiddle so. He got a mercenary army to sack one of his biggest economic competitors for free, and he got to keep the plunder.
      - JetAlone 5y ago
        That quote, "God will know His own" was said at the height of the Albigensian crusades, which was carried out IIRC approximately 100 years later against the Cathars. Because the Catholic Church played such a major part in civil life, competing claims to authentic Christianity in Western Europe distinct from their church was considered an existential threat. I am in no way condoning what they did, but a good way to relate to the context in which they made this decision would be to consider how Sovereign Citizens are looked at by authorities in our contemporary times.
        yywwbbn 5y ago
        The Cathars were mostly tolerated by the local authorities and nobility in the south of France though. The Albigensian were basically a land grab by the nobles in northern France in expense of their souther brethren and nothing more (why would the catholic king of Aragon and the count of Toulouse fight on the side of the Cathars otherwise?)

No, he is wrong. Europe was a much harder target. They did well on cities on the Paeonian plains, where it was their natural terrain, but did not do well on European mountainous terrain. They couldn't even take Dubrovnik, let alone Constantinople. (it took the Ottomans half a century, and the advent of the cannons to finally conquer it).

dopidopHN 5y ago
Was not Constantinople in a pretty bad position, so they had to ask Blanche de Castille and whoever was ruling France for help around 1240 ? Constantinople ruler at the time, Baldwin II was either killed or captured Sources agree that the city started paying tribute to the mongol. ( one is a document excommunicating Baldwin for accepting overloadship from the mongols ) So the city was not taken but the situation was pretty bad. Similarly, Bulgaria and Hungary were taken too if I’m remember correctly.
boomboomsubban 5y ago
While they didn't "take" Constantinople, they vassalized the nearby Trebizond Empire and beat the Latin Empire's leader in battle, potentially capturing him leading to unknown concessions. Then the re-emergent Byzantines bought an alliance rather than battle them.
hef19898 5y ago
Constantinople was conquered, and pillaged, by Crusaders diverted there by the Doge of Venice as ways to repay their debts to him. Those crusaders just didn't stay, that's all.
- JetAlone 5y ago
  https://roman-empire.net/army/the-sack-of-constantinople/ https://roman-empire.net/army/the-sack-of-constantinople/ Yes. Western crusaders smashed altars and raped nuns. The first Latin Pope to officially apologize to us for this was John Paul II, in Anno Domini 2001, almost eight hundred years after the atrocity took place. This apology was rendered just 2 years after he controversially kissed a Koran. >"What a beautiful scripture, containing teachings nigh-incompatible with our dogmas!! ちゅ〜 <3" >"Ohhhhhhhh that one is for year 2099. Okay. I see what happened, I started a century too far into the Novus Ordo playbook. Sorry. Sorry. The pages got stuck together. What was on the start of this page? 2001? Apologizing for the atrocity? Ohhhhkay, right. Back on track." 2001 a Grace Odyssey.
  - hef19898 5y ago
    >> Gods gonna recognize hus folks That was used, apparently, as an excuse by the Crusaders killing Christians. A bunch of scum, even by their own standards. The Doge, 80 and blind, played that bunch like fiddle so. He got a mercenary army to sack one of his biggest economic competitors for free, and he got to keep the plunder.
    - JetAlone 5y ago
      That quote, "God will know His own" was said at the height of the Albigensian crusades, which was carried out IIRC approximately 100 years later against the Cathars. Because the Catholic Church played such a major part in civil life, competing claims to authentic Christianity in Western Europe distinct from their church was considered an existential threat. I am in no way condoning what they did, but a good way to relate to the context in which they made this decision would be to consider how Sovereign Citizens are looked at by authorities in our contemporary times.
      - yywwbbn 5y ago
        The Cathars were mostly tolerated by the local authorities and nobility in the south of France though. The Albigensian were basically a land grab by the nobles in northern France in expense of their souther brethren and nothing more (why would the catholic king of Aragon and the count of Toulouse fight on the side of the Cathars otherwise?)