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• 1 2022-11-02T13:18:17-07:00 When was it made? 17 plain 2022-12-21T06:36:36-08:00

  This seal was made during the reign of the Latin Emperor Henry of Flanders, from 1206 to 1216. Only two years before Henry began his reign as emperor, the crusaders leading the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) shifted their attention from attacking the Holy Land to conquering the Byzantine Empire, whose capital was in Constantinople. Constantinople is the city now known as Istanbul, in Turkey. Before this conquest, the Byzantine Empire was already troubled, primarily due to lack of control over their territories.

  The leaders of the Fourth Crusade, one of whom was Count Baldwin of Flanders, the future Latin Emperor and older brother of Henry, established the Pact of March 1204 in an attempt to create a unified political state. The crusaders attacked Constantinople and in April 1204, the Byzantine Greeks ruling in Constantinople were expelled by the crusaders. The crusaders founded the new Latin Empire, and they named Baldwin of Flanders as their first emperor. Even though this was a massive feat, the Latin Empire would only last for less than a century, as it fell in 1261.
  
  Emperor Henry of Flanders, the successor of his brother Baldwin, had been a successful leader in the Fourth Crusade. Not only had he shown his military expertise in war, but he also demonstrated leadership qualities. During his reign over the newly founded Latin Empire of Constantinople, he continued to lead with these favorable qualities as he is attributed with a relatively fair treatment of the Greeks left from the former Byzantine Empire. He also successfully expanded the Latin Empire through military operations, until his death in 1216.