Latin Kingdoms
Latin Kingdoms, or Crusader States, domains established in the eastern Mediterranean region by western Europeans during the Crusades. “Latin” referred to the Latin rites of the Roman Catholic Church. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was in existence almost 200 years, 1099–1291, before the Muslims regained complete control. To its north were the County of Tripoli, 1109–1289; the Principality of Antioch, 1098–1268; and the County of Edessa, 1098–1144. , map.) The Latin Empire of Constantinople was founded in 1204, when the Fourth Crusade was directed against the Byzantine Empire, and fell to the Byzantines in 1261. It included many vassal states in the southern Balkans.