In 1202 Pope Innocent III organised a crusade against Egypt. Venetians were hired to transport the soldiers. The Doge of Venice, Dandolo, urged the Crusaders first to attack Zara, a city on the Adriatic that belonged to the Byzantine Emperor, because it was a haven for pirates. They captured Zara and then sailed against Constantinople, which they took on 12 April in 1204. The city was sacked, and a "Latin Kingdom" was created (which lasted until 1261). The Venetians took the occasion of this crusade to seize many of the Aegean Islands.
