One day Frederick left the village and joined one of the caravans returning to Constantinople for the purpose of telling the Byzantine emperor the story of what had happened to him. But the situation had changed back in his homeland, and his absence was taken advantage of by the nobility who seized the throne believing him to be dead.
The new Germanic emperor had established an alliance with the Basileus of Constantinople who granted him part of the conquests that the Germans had obtained in the Holy Land during the year before. When Frederick arrived in Constantinople the news spread like wildfire. It was then that a decree was sent forth ordering his capture. He was now seen as an enemy of the Byzantines.
His only way out was to flee the city with the help of some loyal former knights
