One of the most famous of the Venetian doges, Dandolo was among the merchants expelled from the empire by Manuel Comnenus in 1171. On becoming doge he negotiated with the Byzantines and won compensation for those Venetians who had suffered losses. He is best known for the leading part he played, though a very old man, in the Fourth Crusade, taking part in the capture of Zara, and of course Constantinople. One of the founders of the Latin empire, he could do nothing to prevent the disaster of Adrianople, dying soon after the defeat.