page_title: Byzantine Empire under the Angelos dynasty
section_title: Third Crusade
hierarchical_section_title: Byzantine Empire under the Angelos dynasty / Isaac II Angelos / Third Crusade
caption_attribution_description: Die Schlacht von Iconium 1190, 1835
context_page_description: The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the Angeloi dynasty between 1185 and 1204 AD. The Angeloi rose to the throne following the deposition of Andronikos I Komnenos, the last male-line Komnenos to rise to the throne. The Angeloi were female-line descendants of the previous dynasty. While in power, the Angeloi failed to stop the invasions of the Turks by the Sultanate of Rum, the successful uprising and resurrection of the Bulgarian Empire, and the loss of the Dalmatian coast and much of the Balkan areas won by Manuel I Komnenos to the Kingdom of Hungary.
  A combination of incompetence and bitter infighting among the elite saw Byzantium permanently lose her financial capability and substantial military power; her previous policies of openness with Western Europe, followed by the sudden massacre of Latins under Andronikos, had preceded the rule of the Angeloi making enemies among Western European states. The weakening of the empire under the Angeloi dynasty invited the end of the Byzantine Empire centered at Constantinople when in 1204 soldiers of the Fourth Crusade overthrew the last Angeloi Emperor, Alexios V Doukas.
context_section_description: The Third Crusade thus set out with the aims of driving back the "infidels" who had taken Jerusalem. Richard and Philip's sea route meant that they would not have to rely on their Greek counterparts for supplies or permission to pass through. The odd exception came when Richard crushed the rebellion of Isaac Komnenos and refused to hand the island of Cyprus back to Byzantium, using it instead to tame his rebellious vassal Guy of Lusignan, former King of Jerusalem. The new Kingdom of Cyprus would last from 1192 to 1489 before being annexed by the Republic of Venice.
  The crusade under Frederick was a different matter. His army was too large for any Imperial fleet and took the land route through Anatolia. As he neared Byzantium, Stefan Nemanja of the Serbian state of Raška and the above-mentioned Peter IV of Bulgaria hastily concluded an anti-Byzantine alliance with the Holy Roman Emperor. Isaac decided to send his army to meet Frederick but the plan backfired when the army's commander initiated secret negotiations to overthrow Isaac.
  Panicked by the sudden and overwhelming opponent army arriving, Isaac refused to offer Frederick support, imprisoning his envoys. Furious at this "Greek betrayal", Frederick ordered his son Henry, King of the Romans, who had remained in Germany to ask Pope Clement III permission to attack the Greek Christians. A western Imperial fleet was also mobilized for transport to cross in Asia whilst he prepared an assault on Constantinople. Realizing that he was damned either way, Isaac decided to allow the Crusaders to cross the Dardanelles, a crossing further from Constantinople than was the Bosporus and provided the transport required for such an immense task.
  Isaac failed to take advantage of the chaos of the Crusaders army. As it marched across the Anatolian peninsula, it encountered frequent Turkish raids, despite official gestures of friendship from the Sultanate of Rûm under Kilij Arslan II. Not bearing to stand by and do nothing, Frederick sacked Iconium, capital of the Sultanate, before moving on. Isaac did not seize the initiative and Kilij Arslan II returned later to reclaim his fallen capital. Frederick's army would later slowly but surely disband after the Holy Roman Emperor was found dead (presumed to have either drowned in a river, suffered a heart attack or perhaps both). More looting and damage would be done by these weary soldiers as they retreated back to Europe.
  Meanwhile, the Third Crusade achieved ephemeral success – after a few indecisive victories against Saladin, Richard was forced to depart for France where rumors reached him of planned treachery by his younger brother John, Lord of Ireland and of the intentions of his former ally Philip II, who had left the Crusade shortly after the Siege of Acre, to conquer the Duchy of Normandy.
caption: Iconium is won by the Third Crusade. This was Byzantium's second and last benefit of the Crusades.
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