Siege of Constantinople (1235–1236) 1235
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate. Wikidata lists more than one location for this battle; the first is shown.
Key facts
| Year | 1235 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
|---|---|---|
| Era | Medieval (500–1499) | derived from year |
| Location | Turkey | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 41.0083, 28.9750 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The siege of Constantinople took place between 1235 and late 1236 when a joint Bulgarian–Nicaean army led by Tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Emperor of Nicaea John III Doukas Vatatzes conducted an unsuccessful siege of the capital of the Latin Empire.
The siege arose from the prolonged conflict between the Latin Empire, Bulgaria and the Byzantine successor states, the Empire of Nicaea and Despotate of Epirus, following the capture and sack of Constantinople by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Each aimed to revive or establish an empire in the territories of the Byzantine Empire. Initially, Asen was led by the Latins to believe he would become emperor of Constantinople following the death of Robert of Courtenay in 1228. The Latins terminated negotiations after the Bulgarians defeated Epirus at the Battle of Klokotnitsa in 1230, as the Latins sought only to prevent an alliance between Bulgaria and Epirus. The announcement that John of Brienne had become the new Latin emperor angered Asen. He initiated negotiations and eventually agreed to a formal alliance with Vatatzes in early 1235 to combine their forces to reclaim Constantinople. Ecclesiastical concessions and a dynastic marriage sealed the alliance.
Despite their combined strength against a small garrison, the siege failed to breach the Constantinopolitan walls supported by the Venetian navy.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Siege of Constantinople (1235–1236) (revision 1372939818), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars
- Battle of Arcadiopolis (1194) 1194
- Battle of Serres (1196) 1196
- Siege of Varna (1201) 1201
- Battle of Adrianople (1205) 1205
- Battle of Klokotnitsa 1230
- Battle of Adrianople (1254) 1254
- Battle of Devina 1279
- Battle of Skafida 1304
- Battle of Rusokastro 1332
All 29 battles of the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars →
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