Baldwin II of Constantinople
Baldwin II was the last Latin Emperor of Constantinople, a man who spent most of his long reign traveling the courts of western Europe in a desperate attempt to raise money and military support for an empire that was visibly dying. He became emperor as a young child in 1228, with the elderly John of Brienne serving as co-emperor regent until 1237. Baldwin then reigned as sole emperor until the Nicaean recovery of Constantinople in 1261. His reign of over three decades was characterized by the progressive loss of territory to the Nicaean Greeks, chronic financial crisis so severe that he reportedly burned the palace's wooden furniture for heat and pawned the Crown of Thorns to Venetian creditors (it was redeemed by Louis IX of France, who built the Sainte-Chapelle to house it). Constantinople became a ghost city under Latin rule, with much of its once-vast population gone and many buildings abandoned or stripped of their lead roofing. On July 25, 1261, while Baldwin was absent from the city, the Nicaean general Alexios Strategopoulos entered Constantinople with a small force and found it nearly undefended. Baldwin fled by ship. He spent his remaining twelve years in futile attempts to organize a reconquest. He died in poverty in 1273.
- Lived: 1217 CE – 1273 CE
- Nationality: flemish
- Roles: emperor, head_of_state
