The Siege of Constantinople (1203) was a Crusader siege of the capital of the Byzantine Empire. To take the city by force, the Crusaders first needed to cross the Bosphorus. About 200 ships, horse transports and galleys would undertake to deliver the crusading army across the narrow strait, where Alexius III had lined up the Byzantine army in battle formation along the shore, north of the suburb of Galata. The Crusaders' knights charged str...