ON TO CONSTANTINOPLE—CAPTURE OF GALATA.
The Venetians and crusaders left Zara in ruins, its palaces and walls
razed to the ground. They sailed for Corfu. Dandolo and Boniface waited
five days until they were joined by young Alexius. These chiefs paused
at Durazzo, where the inhabitants were led to recognize Alexius as the
lawful heir to the sovereignty, and on May 4, 1203, they joined the army
before Corfu.
Here there was developed great dissatisfaction among the soldiers as the
full meaning of the diversion of the crusade burst upon them. More than
half the army rose in rebellion; they held their parliament of protest;
the leaders were gathered in a secluded valley preparatory to desertion.
It seemed for the moment that conscience and piety, fanned by
resentment, would triumph over chicanery and deceit; but Dandolo and
Boniface were equal to the situation. They threw themselves at the feet
of the malcontents, shed abundance of tears, and so wrought upon the
sympathies of the multitude that they effected a compromise, by which it
was agreed that the army should hold together until Michaelmas and serve
Alexius’s project, and after that should be carried to Syria.
Dandolo realized that there was no security for his schemes with such a
host, except by their quick accomplishment. May 23d the harbor of Corfu
witnessed a repetition of the gala-scene when the fleet left Venice. Far
as the eye could reach the sea was colored with the sails of the
invaders of a Christian empire in the name of Christ. The inhabitants of
the islands touched by the voyagers, impressed with the martial might
thus displayed, threw off their allegiance to the reigning Alexius and
waved their banners for Alexius the Young. The natural beauties of the
Ægean, the riches of the islands, the acquiescence of the people, and
the abundant gifts from fields and vineyards that loaded the vessels
filled all hearts with enthusiasm. By the shores of ancient Troy, up
through the Dardanelles, where they lingered a week to ravage the
harvest, and then over the wide Marmora they sped onward as if the very
breezes articulated benedictions from Heaven. If conscience intruded,
its mutterings were silenced with the thought, “After this, after
Constantinople, when we shall have been sated with the spoil of the
heretic, then for Jerusalem!” This mingled greed and piety burst into
huzzas as they sailed by the beautiful villas which lined the western
shores of the Marmora or watched the steadily enlarging roofs and
gardens of Chalcedon and Scutari on the Asiatic side, until the domes
and palaces of Constantinople, in multitude and massiveness beyond
anything seen elsewhere in Europe, seemed to rise and welcome them.
But the mighty walls, which appeared to have been erected by Titans and
rivalled the hills upon which the city sat, awakened a corresponding
fear lest the glory they witnessed should prove beyond their possession.
“Be sure,” says Villehardouin, “there was not a man who did not tremble,
because never was so great an enterprise undertaken by so small a number
of men.”
June 23d the fleet came to anchor off the Abbey of San Stefano, twelve
miles below the city. Dandolo determined upon a reconnaissance in force
which should also strike terror into the Greeks by its magnificent
display. All the standards were spread to the breeze. The sides of the
ships were sheathed in glowing shields. The warriors of the West stood
on the deck, each one, says Nicetas, the Greek eye-witness, “as tall as
his spear.” Thus they glided close under the walls of the city, upon
which the inhabitants crowded to witness this picturesque prediction of
their doom.
Having made a sufficiently valiant show, the fleet crossed the Bosporus
and anchored in the harbor of Chalcedon. Here the army captured the
harvests just gathered from the neighboring country, and pillaged
Chalcedon, while the leaders occupied the palaces and gardens, upon
which the emperor had just expended great wealth in making them the
abode of his pleasure. The reigning Alexius deigned to send to his
unwelcome guests a body of troopers, who were driven off with severe
chastisement for their temerity. He then addressed them through Nicholas
Roux, a Lombard retainer: “The emperor knows that you are the most
puissant and noble of all those who do not wear the crown; but he is
astonished at your invasion of a Christian state. It is said that you
have come to deliver the Holy Land from the Infidel. The emperor
applauds your zeal and begs to assist you. If you are needy he will
provision your army if you will be gone. Do not think this generous
offer prompted by any fear; with one word the emperor could gather about
him innumerable hosts, disperse your fleet and armies, and forever close
against you the routes to the East.”
Conan de Bethune made response for the Latins: “Go tell your master that
the earth we tread upon does not belong to him, but is the heritage of
the prince you see seated among us,” pointing to young Alexius. “A
usurper is the enemy of all princes; a tyrant is the foe of mankind.
Your master can escape the justice of God and men only by restoring his
brother and nephew to the throne.”
Dandolo then tried the spirit of the people of Constantinople. A
splendid galley bearing young Alexius moved close along the walls of the
city. Boniface and the doge supported the prince on their arms, while a
herald proclaimed, “Behold the heir of your throne!” This met with no
response save the derisive shout, “Who is this Alexius?” But the
defiance hurled by the Greeks from the safety of their walls was not the
voice of universal courage. Nicetas tells us that “the Greek commanders
were more timid than deer, and did not dare to resist men whom they
called ‘exterminating angels, statues of bronze, which spread around
terror and death.’”
The next day at Scutari the leaders, according to their custom, held
council of war in the saddle in the presence of their waiting troops. An
instant assault was determined upon. After due religious solemnities
they embarked. The war-horses, heavily caparisoned for battle, with
their knights in armor at their sides, were put upon _huissiers_, or
flat-bottomed boats constructed with wide gangways across which a number
could quickly dash from ship to shore. The rank and file were packed
into larger vessels. The fighting galleys were trimmed for action, and
each took in tow a huissier. Much depended upon the celerity of the
crossing and the surprise of the Greeks, since the swift current of the
Bosporus might quickly ingulf them in the terrible Greek fire if the
combustible material should be spread upon the water. At sound of
trumpet the Venetian rowers sprang to the oars; the narrow Bosporus
suddenly foamed with the impact of hundreds of prows. No order was
observed, except that the crossbowmen and archers led the van to drive
the enemy from the landing-places. The ships struck the shore probably
near the modern Tophana, north of the Golden Horn. The Greek soldiers
could not withstand the showers of arrows that swept the open places,
and precipitately fled. The knights leaped their horses into the water
and prevented the enemy’s return to attack. Within an hour the open camp
of the Greeks was in possession of the Latins. The harbor of the Golden
Horn had been closed with a chain, behind which the Greek fleet lay in
apparent immunity from attack by the Venetian galleys. The northern end
of this chain was fastened within the strong tower of Galata. That
fortress was quickly carried and the chain released, but not until the
Venetian ship, the _Eagle_, with its tremendous ram armed with enormous
shears of steel, had already severed it midway. The Latin galleys swept
in, sinking or capturing the entire Greek fleet.
The marine defence of Constantinople, which might with ordinary
foresight have been made resistless, was inconsiderable. The
demoralization of the Greek service was pitiable. Admirals had sold the
very sails for their own private gain. Useless masts had not been
replaced, though the near forests abounded in timber; for the trees, as
Nicetas tells us, were guarded by the eunuchs like groves of worship,
but really as hunting-preserves for the pleasure of the court.
The victory of the Latin fleet left Galata their easy prey, and gave
them a near basis from which to conduct operations against the city
across the Golden Horn.