10. Court Ceremonies and Rituals of Power in the Latin Empire of Constantinople

Abstract

In the Byzantine Empire, palaces were of great importance for the rituals of power at the imperial court. They played a main part in blinding and impressing the visitors with golden pomp and provided a suitable frame for the eminent position of the basileus . Venice and the Doges were the real heirs of Byzantium. The exact division of the Byzantine Empire an act comparable to the organization of space on Venetian galleys was based on the contracts signed between the crusaders and Venice. In the sixteenth century, the conquest of Constantinople became an important element of legitimization in the struggle against the Ottoman Empire, something that may be considered a proof of the enormous effect of the Byzantine heritage. The Latin Empire faded away and sank into oblivion once again not very gloriously in 1261: Constantinople was captured by the army of Michael VIII Palaiologos. Keywords: Byzantine heritage; Constantinople; Court Ceremonies; Latin Empire; rituals of power