[eleni121]

More than just trashing Xstian towns during the Fourth crusade.

April 13th, 1204: From Wikipedia-a glossed over summary...the actual horrors perpetrated lasted hundreds of years leading to the Fall of Eastern Christendom and the subjugation of Christians into hundreds of years of slavery under the Mohammedans.

"The crusaders inflicted a horrible and savage sacking on Constantinople for three days, during which many ancient works of art were stolen or destroyed. Many important medieval Greek works were lost during the sack of the city. Despite their oaths and the threat of excommunication, the Crusaders ruthlessly and systematically violated the city's holy sanctuaries, destroying, defiling, or stealing all they could lay hands on. Many also broke their vows to respect the women of Constantinople and assaulted them."

This if the only Crusade for which apologies need to be made. And indeed Pope John Paul II twice expressed sorrow for the events of the Fourth Crusade

[Pietro]

"This if the only Crusade for which apologies need to be made"

The fourth Crusade was a poorly managed affair from the start, if memory serves me. After many false starts and lengthy delays in Europe they finally managed to reach Constantiople where they found the great city an incredibly rich and hollow shell. It proved far to tempting to the mercenaries and adventurers that had stuck w/ the enterprise long after any serious chance of regaining lands lost to the Turks had gone up in smoke.

The advanced corruption and decay of that old city was the greatest reason for its sacking, although the thought of Christian attacking Christian is still unpleasant.