A closer look
The Fourth Crusade is the ultimate historical example of getting distracted on a road trip and committing massive war crimes. In 1202, a bunch of French knights hired Venice to build them a fleet to attack Muslim-held Egypt. When they showed up completely broke, the blind, 90-year-old Venetian Doge basically said, 'Cool, you can work off your debt as my personal mob enforcers.' Instead of going to the Holy Land, the Crusaders ended up besieging and violently sacking Constantinople—the largest Christian city in the world. The Pope excommunicated everyone involved, but Venice kept the loot anyway.
