The Fourth Crusade

When Andronicus was invited in to take over as Emperor, many believed that he was going to act as a support structure for the tree. But instead he cut the whole thing down. Roman government became flimsy and ineffective. Everyone could see it and feel it. Hence the riots on the streets and the revolts in the provinces. The certainty that a Roman army would be sent to punish you is what kept men in line. But now, those paying attention could see that the army was not what it had once been. Alexius Angulos Comninos overthrown his brother Isaac at the behest of a coalition of other nobles. In our next episode we'll cover the siege itself