Siege of Zara

The siege of Zara was the first major action of the Fourth Crusade and the first attack against
a Catholic city by Catholic crusaders. The crusaders had an agreement with Venice for
transport across the sea, but the price far exceeded what they were able to pay. Venice set the
condition that the crusaders help them capture Zadar (or Zara), a constant battleground
between Venice on one side and Croatia and Hungary on the other, whose king Emeric
pledged himself to join the crusade.

The city had been dominated economically by Venice throughout the 12th century but had
rebelled in 1181 and allied itself with King Emeric of Hungary and Croatia. Subsequent
Venetian attempts to recover control of Zara had been repulsed, and by 1202 the city was
economically independent, under the protection of the King.Emeric was Catholic and had
himself taken the cross in 1195 or 1196. By May 1202 most of the Crusaders had gathered in
Venice, but their numbers were much smaller than expected, around 12,000 instead of 33,500
(4-5,000 knights and 8,000 infantry). The Venetian side fulfilled part of the agreement. There
were 50 galleys and 450 transports, three times the size of the assembled army. The
crusaders, who came from France, had agreed to pay the Venetians to transport them to the
Holy Land, but they found themselves without sufficient funds. This was disastrous for the
Venetians, who had long suspended commerce in preparation for the expedition. In addition,
it would take around 14,000 men, or at most 20-30,000 (out of a Venetian population of 60-
100,000) to man the entire fleet, further straining the Venetian economy. Faced with the
threat of abandonment of the crusade and forfeiture of money already paid, they agreed to the
Venetian proposal to lay siege to Zara. The crusaders used the 50 amphibious transports, 100
horse carriers and 60 warships designed and built for them by the Venetians. Their transports
were approximately 30 m long, 9 m wide and 12 m high, with a crew of 100. Each one could
carry up to 600 infantry. The horse carriers featured specially designed slings to carry their
cargo of horses, and featured fold-out ramps below the waterline that could be opened to
allow mounted knights to charge directly onto shore. The Venetian warships were powered
by 100 oarsmen each and featured metal-tipped rams just above the waterline as their primary
weapons. They also carried more than 300 siege weapons. Many of the crusaders were
opposed to attacking Zara, and some refused to participate altogether and returned home. In
1202, Pope Innocent III, despite wanting to secure papal authority over Byzantium,forbade
the crusaders of Western Christendom from committing any atrocious acts against their
Christian neighbours. However, this letter was concealed from the bulk of the army who
arrived at Zara on 10–11 November 1202, and the attack proceeded. On the eve of St.
Martin's Day the fleet arrived at Zadar. The attack on Zadar took the form of an amphibious
landing followed by a brief siege. Chains and booms were laid across the mouth of Zadar's
harbor as a defense, but the crusaders burst through them in their Venetian ships and landed
their troops and equipment near the city, where they made a camp. The citizens of Zara made
reference to the fact that they were fellow Catholics by hanging banners marked with crosses
from their windows and the walls of the city but nevertheless on 13 November siege engines
were placed and used to bombard the city's walls. Zadar fell on 24 November 1202 after a
brief siege. There was extensive pillaging, and the Venetians and other crusaders came to
blows over the division of the spoils. Order was achieved, and the leaders of the expedition
agreed to winter in Zara, while considering their next move. The fortifications of Zara were
demolished by the Venetians. Most of the population of Zadar fled to Nin and Biograd or the
surrounding islands.

Two years later, most of the citizens returned to Zadar. Pope Innocent III excommunicated
the entire crusading army, along with the Venetians, for taking part in the attack. Fearing that
this would disband the army, the Crusader leaders decided not to inform their followers.
Innocent shortly reconsidered his decision. Regarding the Crusaders as having been
blackmailed by the Venetians, in February 1203 he rescinded the excommunications against
all non-Venetians in the expedition. The siege and sacking of Zadar in 1202 had a major
impact on the city, its economy and its people. Apart from the political effects of its status in
the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia; the destruction of the city had long-lasting effects on a
city that was one of the major maritime and trade centres on the Adriatic Sea, a city which
had the potential to rival the Republic of Venice and Dubrovnik. The incident foreshadowed
the siege of Constantinople later in the campaign.