Atlas of Battles

battle, major, medieval

Reconquest of Constantinople

Reconquest of Constantinople was a battle fought on 25 July 1261 at Constantinople, in what is now Turkey. The recorded result: Nicaean victory. Recorded strength: 800 soldiers against Small garrison; 233 number of Venetians.

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The Theodosian Walls in Constantinople. Gate of Springs(Silivri).
The Theodosian Walls in Constantinople. Gate of Springs(Silivri).. No machine-readable author provided. CrniBombarder!!! assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
Fought25 July 1261
WhereConstantinople, Turkey41.017N, 28.977E
OutcomeNicaean victory
BelligerentsEmpire of NicaeaagainstLatin Empire; Republic of Venice
Casualties and lossesMinimaland300

Record

Date25 July 1261
PlaceConstantinople, Turkey
41.017N, 28.977E
KindBattle, medieval
Territorial changeRe-establishment of the Byzantine Empire; End of the Latin Empire; The Latin emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople fled the city by ship
Strength800 soldiersSmall garrison; 233 number of Venetians
Casualties and lossesMinimal300
Commanders
  • Alexios Strategopoulos
  • Baldwin II, Latin Emperor
Reconquest of ConstantinopleReconquest of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleSiege of ConstantinopleBursaAdapazarıTekirdağLüleburgazKırklareliBilecik100 km41.017N, 28.977E
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 Reconquest 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 Reconquest 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 2 m; within 10.0 km the ground runs from -14 to 137 m, 151 m of relief, hilly country and today it is 50% water, 42% built-up, 5% tree cover.

water: 50%built-up: 42%tree cover: 5%water 50%built-up 42%tree cover 5%
west to east, 10.0 km0 to 66 mnorth to south, 10.0 km0 to 99 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.

Elsewhere in 1261

Reconquest 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 Q1400402, released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Reconquest of Constantinople, revision 1377533861, 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.