Pope Innocent III

Reign: 1198 – 1216
Life: 1161–1216

Pope Innocent was one of the most powerful and influential of the medieval popes. Innocent greatly extended the scope of the Crusades, directing crusades against Muslim Iberia and the Holy Land as well as the Livonian Crusade against the Baltic and Finnic pagans of Livonia and the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars in southern France. He organized the Fourth Crusade of 1202, 1204, which ended in the sack of Constantinople. In the event, the sack of Constantinople and the subsequent period of Frankokratia heightened the hostility between the Latin and Greek churches; the Byzantine Empire was restored in 1261, albeit in a much weaker state.

During Pope Innocent III's reign, John, King of England ruled England, Alfonso VIII of Castile ruled Spain, and Minamoto no Sanetomo ruled Japan (Shogunate).

Want to learn more? Further reading

Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy by John Julius Norwich

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The World During Their Reign

The most notable rulers who held power elsewhere at the same time, from European courts to Ottoman, Mughal, and Chinese thrones.

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From the library

Go deeper on Pope Innocent III

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Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy

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