Siege of Constantinople (1235)

For other sieges of the city, see list of sieges of Constantinople.

Siege of Constantinople (1235)
Part of the Nicaean–Latin wars Bulgarian–Latin wars
Map showing Constantinople and its walls during the Byzantine era
Date 1235 Location Constantinople, Latin Empire (modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) Result Inconclusive
Belligerents
Empire of Nicaea Bulgarian Empire	Latin Empire Duchy of Naxos
Commanders and leaders
John III Vatatzes Ivan Asen II Manuel Doukas Michael II Komnenos Doukas	John of Brienne Angelo Sanudo Geoffrey II of Villehardouin John of Béthune
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown

The siege of Constantinople (1235) was a joint Bulgarian–Nicaean siege on the capital of the Latin Empire. Latin emperor John of Brienne was besieged by the Nicaean emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria.

Prelude

After Robert of Courtenay died in 1228, a new regency under John of Brienne was set up. After the disastrous Epirote defeat by the Bulgarians at the Battle of Klokotnitsa, the Epirote threat to the Latin Empire was removed, only to be replaced by Nicaea, which started acquiring territories in Greece. Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea concluded an alliance with Bulgaria, which in 1235 resulted in a joint campaign against the Latin Empire.

The siege

In 1235, Angelo Sanudo, the second Duke of the Archipelago, sent a naval squadron for the defense of Constantinople, where the Emperor John of Brienne was being besieged by John III Doukas Vatatzes, Emperor of Nicaea, and Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria. The joint Bulgarian-Nicaean siege was unsuccessful. The allies retreated in the autumn because of the incoming winter. Ivan Asen II and Vatatzes agreed to continue the siege in the next year, but the Bulgarian Emperor later refused to send troops. With the death of John of Brienne in 1237, the Bulgarians broke the treaty with Vatatzes because of the prospect that Ivan Asen II could become a regent of the Latin Empire .

Aftermath

By 1247, the Nicaeans had effectively surrounded Constantinople, with only the city's strong walls holding them at bay, and the Battle of Pelagonia in 1258 signaled the beginning of the end of Latin predominance in Greece. Thus, on July 25, 1261, with most of the Latin troops away on campaign, the Nicaean general Alexios Strategopoulos found an unguarded entrance to the city, and entered it with his troops, restoring the Byzantine Empire for his master, Michael VIII Palaiologos.

See also

• Siege of Constantinople (1203)
• Sack of Constantinople (1204)
• Siege of Constantinople (1260)

References

Bibliography

• Langdon, John S. (1985). "The Forgotten Byzantino-Bulgarian Assault and Siege of Constantinople 1235–1236 and the Breakup of the 'Entente Cordiale' Between John III Ducas Vatatzes and John Asen II in 1236 as Background to the Genesis of the Hohenstaufen-Vatatzes alliance of 1242". Byzantine Studies in Honor of Milton V. Anastos. Malibu. pp. 105–36. ISBN 0-89003-168-1.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

External links

• The Latin Occupation in the Greek Lands – The Latin Empire, from the Foundation of the Hellenic World