The sack of the Constantinople was so fierce that the commanders of the crusading armies commanded that the booty be piled up in a church in the city in order to attempt its fair distribution…Unfortunately, there are no accounts of how much of the booty was melted down and how much brought to Venice.’
David Buckton
Human greed seems to know no limits and even monotheistic religions with their ambition to tame human nature seem to have failed on many occasions in history. It has been heart breaking to learn that the treasury of San Marco in Venice is filled with tens of thousands of artifacts stolen from Constantinople’s palaces, churches and monasteries in 1204 when the Crusaders literally crushed and loothed the city. I want you to realise that some of the artefacts are made of pure gold. I also want you to realise that these were artefacts, Christians had stolen from fellow Christians.
Note that Latin rule lasted from 1204 to 1261, marking the beginning of the decline of Constantinople. When the Latins departed, the city had already been stripped of much of its glory, wealth, and dignity.
Glance through these uniquely precious objects to grasp the glory of Constantinople in the 13th century that was reduced to its ashes by the Crusaders!
Chalice of the Byzantine emperor Romanos
Byzantine altar made of pure gold and decorated with 1,300 pearls, 300 emeralds, 300 sapphires, 400 garnets, 100 amethysts, rubies and topazes.
Art historians say that this pure gold altar which is a Byzantine masterpiece was loothed from the Pantokrator Monastery in Contanstinople which is still standing in Zeyrek, Fatih in current İstanbul.
Gilded reliquary casket
Incense burner
Icon of Archangel Michael
If you want to learn more about these artefacts that are living reminders of the glory of Constantinople, make sure to read Treeasures of San Marco, Venice by David Buckton! The book mentions that the San Marco Treasury hosts the best single collection of Byzantine metal work.
And here is a video that can give you a further view on the richness of the San Marco treasury which was once the glory of Constantinople!
Note that the treasury survived a fire in 1231 that destroyed many objects which tell us that what is now displayed is a small fraction of the pieces the treasury once possesed.
You can listen to the article from the author’s voice:
