Isaac II Angelos deposed and blinded

April 8, 1195

The Byzantine emperor was seized by his elder brother Alexios, who had his eyes put out and took the throne as Alexios III. Years later, the blinded Isaac's son would flee west and invite a crusader army to reinstate his father. The consequences would be catastrophic for Byzantium. The Fourth Crusade, diverted to Constantinople on the pretext of restoring the rightful emperor, would instead sack the city and fragment the empire.