Atlas of Battles

siege, major, medieval

Siege of Constantinople

Siege of Constantinople was a siege conducted on 13 April 1204 at Constantinople, in what is now Turkey. It was part of the Fourth Crusade, which ran from 1202 to 1204. The recorded result: Crusader victory. Recorded strength: 22,000; 60 war galleys and 150 transports against 15,000; 20 war galleys.

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The Taking of Constantinople
The Taking of Constantinople. Palma Le Jeune (1544–1620), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought13 April 1204
WhereConstantinople, Turkey41.038N, 28.945E
OutcomeCrusader victory
BelligerentsCrusaders; Republic of VeniceagainstByzantine Empire; Varangian Guard; Genoese; Pisans
Part ofFourth Crusade1202 to 1204

Record

Date13 April 1204
to 13 April 1204
PlaceConstantinople, Turkey
41.038N, 28.945E
KindSiege, medieval
Territorial changeCapture and sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders; Establishment of the Latin Empire; Beginning of the struggle for Constantinople
Strength22,000; 60 war galleys and 150 transports15,000; 20 war galleys
Casualties and losses2,000 Byzantine civilians killed by Crusaders
Commanders
  • Alexios V Doukas
Siege of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleFall of ConstantinopleSiege of PeraBattle of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleReconquest of ConstantinopleFall of ConstantinopleBursaAdapazarıİzmitTekirdağLüleburgazKırklareliBilecik100 km41.038N, 28.945E
The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.

The ground today

Relief of the ground around the site of Siege of Constantinople
Relief within about 10.0 km of the site, contours every 10 m. Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA.
Satellite view of the site of Siege of Constantinople today
The same ground from Sentinel-2 on 2025-07-22. Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2025.

The recorded site stands at about 10 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -14 to 155 m, 169 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 77% built-up, 13% tree cover, 8% water.

built-up: 77%tree cover: 13%water: 8%built-up 77%tree cover 13%water 8%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 105 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 82 m
Elevation from the Copernicus DEM GLO-30 (ESA, Airbus); land cover from ESA WorldCover 2021 (CC BY 4.0), within about 5 km of the recorded site. Computed, not recorded.

Nearest engagements

Contested ground: this site was fought over 43 times between 510 BC and 1453.

In the same war

Elsewhere in 1204

Siege of Constantinople is one of 590 engagements of the 13th century in the atlas and one of 622 in present-day Turkey.

Sources

Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1750892, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Sack of Constantinople, revision 1382211964, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.