https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frammenti_di_mosaico_pavimentale_del_1213,_09.JPG
I have finished collecting data about the sack of Constantinople by a crusading army in 1204. The material is so extensive that it covers about one and a half "notebooks." By a "notebook," I mean up to 150 pages completed in Colibri 11. I have found several sources compiled by the witnesses, both Roman and Latin.
On the Roman side, we have the superb "Annals of Niketas Choniates," the insider report of a Byzantine historian based in Constantinople who endured the siege and fall of the Queen of Cities. I reread this account and can't help admiring his style and vigor. I will adopt some of his descriptions in other narratives.
In the following extract, Niketas refers to the emperor Alexios III Angelos as an unscrupulous pilot plunged in adorable pastime and sensitive to courtly flattery:
"Like a steersman compelled by the waves to let go of the rudder, he withdrew from the administration of public affairs and spent his time wearing golden ornaments and giving ear to, and granting, every petition of those who had helped raise him to power."
Next week, I will re-edit a new chapter of my project, consisting of the Byzantine contribution to maritime warfare and the technological breakthrough during the second half of the first millennia C.E. The first part focuses on dromons and East Roman galleys. In contrast, the second half discusses a novel approach to shipbuilding and the lateen sail. When I am through, I will upload the article on my page on the Academia site
https://independent.academia.edu/BaizermanMichael
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