The Fall of the New Rome (1)

The Sack of  the New Rome on a Venetian mosaic

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

The Catalan Dominance in the Western Sea

Mariano Barbasán Laguerue 

King Pedro of Aragon at the Pass of Pass of Panissars

I have nearly completed the draft of a new chapter telling the story of the Crusade against Aragon undertaken by Philip, king of France, with the papal endorsement in 1285. As personal matters played a significant role in the train of events, I put the ousting of Charles of Anjou from the Sicilian throne as one of the main reasons for this enterprise. 

Admiral Roger of Lauria cast a long shadow on Catalan maritime activities, and my account devotes some time to his tactics, especially in the Battle of Las Formigues. The ill-fated Crusade ended with the French recognition (de facto) of the Catalan dominance in the Western Mediterranean Sea. I follow the plot issued by Ramon Muntaner's Chronicle. 

My next topic is the sack of Constantinople by the participants of the Fourth Crusade. I've just started collecting the data. I will speak briefly of the zigzags of the Crusade and focus on the amphibious activities of the Venetian fleet. 

I re-edited a piece titled "The Byzantine Contribution to Maritime Warfare." I will upload it on the Academia site. Still, I have to decide first what to do with another piece devoted to the technological transition in shipbuilding during the VI-XI centuries. 

I prepared a third and final Zoom lecture of the cycle, "A Tale of the Two Watercraft Brands." I will deliver it on January 15th under the auspices of the Institute of Integration.