| Reconquest of Constantinople | |||||||||
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| Part ofStruggle for Constantinople | |||||||||
_1.jpg) TheGate of the Spring (Pege) or Selymbria Gate, through which Strategopoulos and his men entered Constantinople on 25 July 1261 | |||||||||
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TheReconquest of Constantinople was the recapture of the city ofConstantinople in 1261 AD by the forces led byAlexios Strategopoulos of theEmpire of Nicaea from Latin occupation, leading to the re-establishment of the Byzantine Empire under thePalaiologos dynasty, after an interval of 57 years where the city had been made the capital of the occupyingLatin Empire that had been installed by theFourth Crusade in 1204 following the CrusaderSack of Constantinople.
The recapture of Constantinople brought the city back into Byzantine possession, bringing to an end the half-century occupation of the Latin Empire over the Byzantine capital. The reconstituted Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos would go on to hold the city successfully against further designs at its capture for nearly two centuries until itsfall to the Ottoman Turks in 1453.
Following his victory at theBattle of Pelagonia in 1259 AD against an anti-Nicaean coalition, theNicaean emperor,Michael VIII Palaiologos, was left free to pursue the reconquest of Constantinople and the restoration of the Byzantine Empire. The rump-stateLatin Empire was now cut off from any aid, from either theLatin states of Greece or from the Nicaeans' Greek rival, theDespotate of Epirus.[1] Already in 1260, Michael Palaiologosattacked Constantinople, as one of the Latin knights taken prisoner in Pelagonia, and whose house was within thecity walls, had promised to open a gate for the emperor's troops. He failed to do so, and so, Palaiologos launched an unsuccessful assault onGalata instead in that initial attempt.[2][3] To further his plans, Michaelconcluded an alliance withGenoa in March 1261, and in July 1261, as the one-year truce following after the failed Nicaean attack was nearing its end, the generalAlexios Strategopoulos was sent with a small advance force of 800 soldiers (most of themCumans) to keep a watch on theBulgarians and spy out the defences of the Latins.[4][5]
When the Nicaean force reached the village ofSelymbria, some 30 miles (48 km) west of Constantinople, they learned from some independent local farmers (thelematarioi) that the entire Latin garrison, as well as theVenetian fleet, was absent conducting a raid against the Nicaean island ofDaphnousia in the Black Sea.[6] Strategopoulos initially hesitated to take advantage of the situation, fearing that his small force might be destroyed if the Latin army returned too soon, and because he would exceed the provisions of the emperor's orders, but eventually decided he could not squander such a golden opportunity to retake the city.[7]
On the night of 24/25 July 1261, Strategopoulos and his men approached thecity walls and hid at amonastery near the Gate of the Spring.[7] Strategopoulos sent a detachment of his men, led by some of thethelematarioi, to make their way to the city through a secret passage. This afforded them the opportunity to attack the walls from the inside, which surprised the guards and opened the gate, giving the Nicaean forces an entry into the city.[8] The Latins were taken completely unaware, and after a short struggle, the Nicaeans gained control of the Theodosian land walls. As news of this spread across the city, the Latin inhabitants, from EmperorBaldwin II downwards, hurriedly rushed to the harbours of theGolden Horn, hoping to escape by ship. At the same time, Strategopoulos' men set fire to the Venetian buildings and warehouses along the coast to prevent them from landing there. Due to the timely arrival of the returning Venetian fleet, many of the Latins managed to evacuate to the still Latin-held parts of Greece, marking the end of theLatin occupation with the city's restoration to the Byzantines.[8]
The recapture of Constantinople signalled the restoration of the Byzantine Empire, and on 15 August, the day of theDormition of the Theotokos, Emperor Michael VIII entered the city in triumph and was crowned at theHagia Sophia. The rights of the legitimate emperor,John IV Laskaris, for whom Palaiologos had been ostensibly ruling for as a guardian, were brushed aside, and the boy subsequently wasblinded and imprisoned.[9]
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