The Massacre of the Latins ( it, Massacro dei Latini; el, Σφαγὴ τῶν Λατίνων) was a large-scale massacre of the
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
(called "Latin") inhabitants of
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, the capital of the
Eastern Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantino ...
, by the
Eastern Orthodox
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or " canonical ...
population of the city in April 1182.
The Roman Catholics of Constantinople at that time dominated the city's
maritime trade and financial sector.
Although precise numbers are unavailable, the bulk of the Latin community, estimated at 60,000 at the time by
Eustathius of Thessalonica
Eustathius of Thessalonica (or Eustathios of Thessalonike; el, Εὐστάθιος Θεσσαλονίκης; c. 1115 – 1195/6) was a Byzantine Greek scholar and Archbishop of Thessalonica. He is most noted for his contemporary account of the s ...
,
was wiped out or forced to flee. The
Genoese and
Pisan
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and '' comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
communities especially were devastated, and some 4,000 survivors were sold as
slaves to the
(Turkish) Sultanate of Rum.
The massacre further worsened relations and increased enmity between the
Western and
Eastern Christian churches,
and a sequence of hostilities between the two followed.
Background
From the late 11th century, Western merchants, primarily from the
Italian city-states of
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
,
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
and
Pisa, had started appearing in the East. The first had been the Venetians, who had secured large-scale trading concessions from
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...
. Subsequent extensions of these privileges and Byzantium's own
naval impotence at the time resulted in a virtual maritime monopoly and stranglehold over the Empire by the Venetians.
Alexios' grandson,
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; " born in the purple"), was a Byzantine empero ...
, wishing to reduce their influence, began to reduce the privileges of Venice while concluding agreements with her rivals:
Pisa,
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
and
Amalfi
Amalfi (, , ) is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Salerno, in the region of Campania, Italy, on the Gulf of Salerno. It lies at the mouth of a deep ravine, at the foot of Monte Cerreto (1,315 metres, 4,314 feet), surrounded by dramati ...
.
Gradually, all four Italian cities were also allowed to establish their own quarters in the northern part of Constantinople itself, towards the
Golden Horn.
The predominance of the Italian merchants caused economic and social upheaval in Byzantium: it accelerated the decline of the independent native merchants in favour of big exporters, who became tied to the
landed aristocracy, who in turn increasingly amassed large estates.
Together with the perceived arrogance of the Italians, it fueled popular resentment amongst the middle and lower classes both in the countryside and in the cities.
The religious differences between the two sides, who viewed each other as
schismatics, further exacerbated the problem. The Italians proved uncontrollable by imperial authority: in 1162, for instance, the Pisans together with a few Venetians raided the Genoese quarter in Constantinople, causing much damage.
Emperor Manuel subsequently expelled most of the Genoese and Pisans from the city, thus giving the Venetians a free hand for several years.
In early 1171, however, when the Venetians attacked and largely destroyed the Genoese quarter in Constantinople, the Emperor retaliated by ordering the
mass arrest of all Venetians throughout the Empire and the confiscation of their property. There were also mass rapes and the burning of houses. A subsequent Venetian expedition in the Aegean failed: a direct assault was impossible due to the strength of the imperial forces, and the Venetians agreed to negotiations, which the Emperor stalled intentionally. As talks dragged on through the winter, the Venetian fleet waited at
Chios
Chios (; el, Χίος, Chíos , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greek island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea. The island is separated from Turkey by the Chios Strait. Chios is notable for its exports of mast ...
, until an outbreak of the plague forced them to withdraw.
The Venetians and the Empire remained at war, with the Venetians prudently avoiding direct confrontation but sponsoring Serb uprisings, besieging
Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...
, Byzantium's last stronghold in Italy, and signing a treaty with the Norman
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...
. Relations were only gradually normalized: there is evidence of a treaty in 1179, although a full restoration of relations would only be reached in the mid-1180s.
Meanwhile, the
Genoese and
Pisans
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and '' comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the ...
profited from the dispute with Venice, and by 1180, it is estimated that up to 60,000 Latins lived in Constantinople.
Death of Manuel I and massacre
Following the death of Manuel I in 1180, his widow, the Latin princess
Maria of Antioch, acted as regent to her infant son
Alexios II Komnenos
Alexios II Komnenos ( gkm, Αλέξιος Β' Κομνηνός; 14 September 1169, p. 383September 1183), Latinized Alexius II Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1180 to 1183. He ascended to the throne as a minor. For the duration of his sho ...
. Her regency was notorious for the favoritism shown to Latin merchants and the big aristocratic land-owners, and was overthrown in April 1182 by
Andronikos I Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός; – 12 September 1185), Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. He was the son of Isaac Komnenos and the grandson of the emperor Ale ...
, who entered the city in a wave of popular support.
Almost immediately, the celebrations spilled over into violence towards the hated Latins, and after entering the city's Latin quarter a mob began attacking the inhabitants.
Many had anticipated the events and escaped by sea.
The ensuing massacre was indiscriminate: neither women nor children were spared, and Latin patients lying in hospital beds were murdered.
Houses, churches, and charities were
looted.
Latin clergymen received special attention, and Cardinal John, the
papal legate, was beheaded and his head was dragged through the streets at the tail of a dog.
[Carroll, Warren (1993). ''The Glory of Christendom'', Front Royal, VA: Christendom Press, pp. 157, 131]
Although Andronikos himself had no particular anti-Latin attitude, he allowed the massacre to proceed unchecked. Andronikos had managed to incite the anti-Latin sentiment of Constantinopolitans, on the grounds that the empress and the ''protosebastos'' had bought the Latin support by promising them the chance of plundering the city.
During the massacre Empress Maria was put under house arrest, before finally being executed.
Impact
The massacre further worsened the image of the Byzantines in the West, and although regular trade agreements were soon resumed between Byzantium and Latin states, the underlying hostility would remain, leading to a spiraling chain of hostilities: a Sicilian expedition under
William II of Sicily
William II (December 115311 November 1189), called the Good, was king of Sicily from 1166 to 1189. From surviving sources William's character is indistinct. Lacking in military enterprise, secluded and pleasure-loving, he seldom emerged from his ...
in 1185
sacked Thessalonica, the Empire's second largest city, and the German emperors
Frederick Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt ...
and
Henry VI both threatened to attack Constantinople.
The worsening relationship culminated with the brutal
sack of the city of Constantinople by the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
in 1204, which led to the permanent alienation of Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholics. The massacre itself however remains relatively obscure, and Catholic historian
Warren Carroll
Warren H. Carroll (March 24, 1932 – July 17, 2011) was the founder and first president of Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia. He authored multiple works of Roman Catholic church history.
Biography
The son of Herbert Allen Carroll ...
notes that "Historians who wax eloquent and indignant—with considerable reason—about the sack of Constantinople ... rarely if ever mention the massacre of the Westerners in ... 1182."
The Italian-born translator and Byzantine chancery official
Leo Tuscus Leo Tuscus (or Leo the Tuscan, fl. 1160/66–1182/83) was an Italian writer and translator who served as a Latin–Greek interpreter in the imperial chancery of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Manuel Komnenos.
Leo was born in the first half of t ...
was among the Latins who survived the massacre.
See also
*
Venetian–Genoese Wars
*
Battle of Demetritzes
*
East–West Schism
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Massacre Of The Latins
1180s in the Byzantine Empire
12th-century massacres
Constantinople
Massacres in the Byzantine Empire
Conflicts in 1182
Anti-Catholic riots
Anti-Catholicism in Eastern Orthodoxy
1182 in Europe