Bah, I say that the Byzantines invited the invasion upon themselves with their court intrigue. And I mean that literally. Alexios IV simply couldn't control the forces he had unleashed.
I think something like the sack of Constantinople would have happened anyway. Maybe someone in the Byzantine court would have destroyed their own armies in order to destroy some political opponent. Maybe vital areas would have been surrendered in order to strengthen the relative power of others. Maybe something else; the Byzantine court was simply inviting disaster, while the remaining strength of the empire was wasted on fighting obscure theological squabbles and maintaining an introvert order of monks.
Sometimes a nation wakes up in order to avert incoming disaster. In this case the Greek Empire did not, 4th crusade or no.
I think something like the sack of Constantinople would have happened anyway. Maybe someone in the Byzantine court would have destroyed their own armies in order to destroy some political opponent. Maybe vital areas would have been surrendered in order to strengthen the relative power of others. Maybe something else; the Byzantine court was simply inviting disaster, while the remaining strength of the empire was wasted on fighting obscure theological squabbles and maintaining an introvert order of monks.
Sometimes a nation wakes up in order to avert incoming disaster. In this case the Greek Empire did not, 4th crusade or no.
