From Constantinople to Halliburton: The Mercenary Motivations Behind the Crusades of Christians into the Middle East

Just as oil may be said to be the mercenary motive that drives today's Crusades by Christians who work at Halliburton and Blackwater who know better how to run (ruin) the lives of Muslims than Muslims do themselves, so was there a profit motive in the original Crusades. This less than noble calling to ravage the Middle East was never more obvious-until the 21^st Century, that is-than the Fourth Crusade of 1204. To begin with, the Crusaders had to fork over the princely sum of 85,000 silver marks to Venice-in advance-to pay for their ships and supplies. As if that weren't enough, Venice also made another demand; that the Crusaders share half the spoils of their conquests. Not long after, the Crusaders were called forth to a Byzantine prince waiting in Constantinople who wanted to engage their fighting skills in order to unseat his father and take over the crown himself. The upshot: along the path to the Holy Land, Crusaders fought alongside Venetians to sack Constantinople.

Not Istanbul.