Causes Of The Fourth Crusade Diversion

Eastern Orthodox Christians had already captured Jerusalem, but Pope Innocent III demanded a Catholic victory.

European Crusaders attacked Christian minority groups in Damascus after accusing them of heresy.

Philip II of France and Richard I of England initiated a campaign for territorial expansion that turned the Crusaders against one another.

Venetian merchants sought to undermine their primary commercial rival, the Byzantine Empire, by directing an attack on Constantinople.