Siege of Zara

Overview

The siege of Zara or siege of Zadar was the first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first attack against a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders. The crusaders had an agreement with Venice for transport across the sea, but the price far exceeded what they were able to pay. Venice set the condition that the crusaders help them capture Zadar, a constant battleground between Venice on one side and the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia (Sclavonia) and Hungary on the other, whose king, Emeric, pledged himself to join the Crusade. Although some of the crusaders refused to take part in the siege, the attack on Zadar began in November 1202 despite letters from Pope Innocent III forbidding such an action and threatening excommunication. Zadar fell on 24 November and the Venetians and the crusaders sacked the city. After wintering in Zadar, the Fourth Crusade continued its campaign, which led to the siege of Constantinople.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The siege of Zadar in November 1202 marked the first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first recorded instance of Catholic crusaders attacking a Catholic city. The action arose directly from the financial impasse between the crusading force and Venice: unable to meet the cost of Venetian transport across the sea, the crusaders agreed to help Venice seize Zadar, a city that had long been contested between Venice and the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia, backed by the Hungarian king Emeric, who had himself pledged to join the Crusade. Pope Innocent III explicitly forbade the attack and threatened excommunication, and a portion of the crusaders refused to participate — yet the siege proceeded regardless, and the city fell on 24 November, after which both Venetians and crusaders sacked it. The crusaders then wintered in Zadar before continuing their campaign toward Constantinople. The siege established the pattern that would define the Fourth Crusade: strategic and financial pressures diverting the expedition away from its stated objective and toward targets within Christendom, culminating ultimately in the assault on Constantinople.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (1)