Pope Innocent III (1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216) was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni.
Pope Innocent was one of the most powerful and influential popes in the history of the papacy. He exerted a wide influence over the Christian regimes of Europe, claiming supremacy over all of Europe's kings. Pope Innocent was central in supporting the Catholic Church's reforms of ecclesiastical affairs through his decretals and the Fourth Lateran Council. This resulted in a considerable refinement of the Western canon law. Pope Innocent is notable for using interdict and other censures to compel princes to obey his decisions, although these measures were not uniformly successful. Innocent called for Christian crusades against Muslims in Spain and the Holy Land and against heretics in southern France (Albigensian Crusade). One of Pope Innocent's most critical decisions was organizing the Fourth Crusade. Originally intended to attack Islam through Egypt, a series of unforeseen circumstances led the crusaders to Constantinople, where they ultimately attacked and sacked the city (1204). Innocent reluctantly accepted this result, seeing it as the will of God to reunite the Greek and Latin churches, but it poisoned relations between the two churches from that day to this.
Read more about Pope Innocent III: The Vatican Library and The Vatican Secret Archives, Works
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