Zara, Siege

Zara, Siege of

(1202) Major episode of the Fourth Crusade, the first attack on a Christian city by a Crusading army. Zara (modern Zadar, Cro.), a vassal city of Venice, had rebelled and placed itself under Hungary's protection in 1186. Over the objections of Pope Innocent III, the Venetians diverted the Fourth Crusade from Palestine and Egypt, using financial pressure to persuade the Crusaders to besiege Zara. The city soon surrendered, and the army went on to attack Constantinople in 1203–04.