 As Venice was one of the participants in the Crusade its relations with the Byzantine Empire were strained during this period.Moreover, by styling themselves "Lord of one-quarter and one-eighth of the whole Empire of Romania" after the Crusade, the Doges of Venice contributed to the deterioration of the relations between the two states.Efforts to improve relations, for example through the Nicaean–Venetian Treaty of 1219, proved unsuccessful.