Originally published: London : Hambledon and London, 2003.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [227]-243) and index.

The Empire of Christ -- The rulers of the empire -- The search for security -- The passage of the First Crusade -- Jerusalem and Antioch -- Innovation and continuity -- Andronicus -- Iron not gold -- The fall of Constantinople -- Recovery -- Survival.

The first great city the crusaders came to in 1089 was not Jerusalem but Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine empire. Almost as much as Jerusalem itself, Constantinople was the key to the foundation, survival and ultimate eclipse of the crusading kingdom. The Byzantines had developed an ideology over seven hundred years which placed Constantinople rather than Rome or Jerusalem at the center of the world. The attitudes of its rulers reflected this priority, and led to tensions with the crusaders over military and diplomatic strategy. At the same time, the riches and sophistication of the great city made a lasting impression on the crusaders, even though they found Byzantine society alien and remote. In the end, the lure of the city's wealth was irresistibly fatal to the claims of Christian unity. In 1204 the Fourth Crusade, under Enrico Dandolo, captured and sacked Constantinople, signaling the effective end of almost a thousand years of Byzantine dominance in the east.