[Cronos]

Most folks don’t realize that the fall of Constantinople started with the sack of Constantinople by Vienna. Then the West just watched with eager anticipation as it teetered into destruction by the Turks.

Utter rot -- you mean the sack by Venice. The Venetians were competitors with the byzantines in the mid-Middle Ages

But the fall started earlier right from the Bulgar attacks in the 9th century. Byzantium also fell due to internal fighting. The armies had nearly got the Mongols to come to their side after Hulagu Khan decimated the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate in BAghdad and killed the CAliph. However, we missed that opportunity because by then the head of the Golden horde was Muslim and he fought against the other 3 Mongol hordes, splitting the Mongols.

[DariusBane]

yes, yes child mistake feel free to flame. Not rot though. It was a byzantine fall many forces at work, from starving out the land holding nobles who provided men and tax revenue because the emperor was scared of the power of the nobles and hired mercs. The Venetian sac pretty much did them in and transfered the wealth to rome.