The competition grew in the 12th century. Venice had secured privileges from Emperor Isaac II Angelos. His successor Alexios III Angelos resented Venetian control of the Byzantine trade. He tried to give more room to Genoa, as well as Pisa (to avoid giving Genoa all the power). Thus, the Genoan marine crushed the very pirates the Republic had created to cripple Venetian (and Byzantine) trade. The Genoan district in Constantinople became larger in 1201. The Pisan influence grew also in Thessaloniki. Venice could not let these go unaddressed. When Alexios Angelos asked the crusaders to help him become Emperor, they could not refuse. A new Emperor, owing his throne to the crusaders and Venice, was what the city needed to regain its commercial power in the Byzantine Empire.