Everything about Despot Of Epirus totally explained
» The Principality of Epirus can also refer to the pashalik of Ali PashaThe
Despotate or
Principality of Epirus (
Greek:
Δεσποτάτο της Ηπείρου) was one of the
Byzantine Greek states that emerged in the aftermath of the
Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the
Byzantine Empire, along with the
Empire of Nicaea, and the
Empire of Trebizond. The term "despotate" is a misnomer, as the first rulers of Epirus didn't hold the court dignity of
despotes, which was in any case not a hereditary title associated with any particular jurisdiction.
Foundation
The Despotate was founded in 1205 by
Michael Komnenos Doukas, a cousin of the
Byzantine emperors
Isaac II Angelos and
Alexios III Angelos. At first, Michael allied with
Boniface of Montferrat, but having lost
Morea (
Peloponnese) to the
Franks at the
battle of the Olive Grove of Koundouros, he went to
Epirus, where he considered himself the Byzantine governor of the old province of
Nicopolis and revolted against Boniface. Epirus soon became the new home of many Greek
refugees from
Constantinople,
Thessaly, and the
Peloponnese, and Michael was described as a second
Noah, rescuing men from the
Latin flood.
John X Kamateros, the
Patriarch of Constantinople, didn't consider him a legitimate successor and instead joined
Theodore I Laskaris in
Nicaea; Michael instead recognized the authority of
Pope Innocent III over Epirus, cutting ties to the
Eastern Orthodox Church.
Henry of Flanders demanded that Michael submit to the
Latin Empire, which he did, at least nominally, by allowing his daughter to marry Henry's brother Eustace in 1209. Michael didn't honour this alliance, assuming that mountainous Epirus would be mostly impenetrable by any Latins with whom he made and broke alliances. Meanwhile, Boniface's relatives from
Montferrat made claims to
Epirus as well, and in 1210 Michael allied with the
Venetians and attacked Boniface's
Kingdom of Thessalonica. Michael was excessively cruel to his prisoners, in some cases
crucifying Latin priests. Pope Innocent III excommunicated him in response. Henry forced Michael into a renewed nominal alliance later that year.
Michael however turned his attention to capturing other strategically important Latin-held towns, including
Larissa and
Dyrrhachium. He also took control of the ports on the
Gulf of Corinth. In 1214 he captured
Corcyra from
Venice, but was
assassinated later that year and was succeeded by his half-brother Theodore.
Conflict with Nicaea and Bulgaria
Theodore Komnenos Doukas immediately set out to attack
Thessalonica, and fought with the
Bulgarians along the way. Henry of Flanders died on the way to counterattack, and in 1217 Theodore captured his successor
Peter of Courtenay, most likely executing him. The Latin Empire, however, became distracted by the growing power of Nicaea and couldn't stop Theodore from capturing Thessalonica in 1224. In 1225, after
John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea had taken
Adrianople, Theodore arrived and in turn took it from him. Theodore also allied with the Bulgarians and drove the Latins out of the
Thrace. In 1227 Theodore crowned himself Byzantine emperor, although this wasn't recognized by most Greeks, especially not the Patriarch in Nicaea.
In
1230 Theodore broke the truce with Bulgaria, hoping to remove
Ivan Asen II, who had held him back from attacking Constantinople. In the battle of
Klokotnitsa (near
Haskovo in
Bulgaria) the Bulgarian emperor defeated, captured, and later blinded Theodore. His brother
Manuel Komnenos Doukas took power in Thessalonica, while their nephew
Michael II Komnenos Doukas took over Epirus. Theodore was released in 1237, overthrew his brother and set up his son
John Komnenos Doukas as ruler of Thessalonica.
Nicaean and Byzantine suzerainty
Thessalonica never regained its power after the battle of Klokotnitsa. Theodore's younger son
Demetrios Angelos Doukas lost Thessalonica to Nicaea in 1246 and Michael II of Epirus allied with the Latins against the Nicaeans. In 1248
John III Doukas Vatatzes of Nicaea forced Michael to recognize him as emperor, and officially recognized him in turn as
despotēs in Epirus. Vatatzes' granddaughter Maria later (in 1256) married Michael's son
Nikephoros, although she died in 1258. Also in 1248 Michael's daughter Anna married
William II,
Prince of Achaea, and Michael decided to honour this alliance over his obligations to Vatatzes. The allies were defeated in the ensuing conflict at the
Battle of Pelagonia in 1259.
Emperor
Theodore II Laskaris allied with Michael II and their children, betrothed by John years before, finally married in 1256, with Theodore receiving Dyrrhachium in return. Michael didn't accept this transfer of land and in 1257 revolted, defeating a Nicaean army led by
George Acropolites. As Michael marched on Thessalonica, he was attacked by King
Manfred of Sicily, who conquered
Albania and
Corcyra. However, Michael immediately allied with him by marrying his daughter Helena to him. After Theodore II died, Michael, Manuel, and William II fought the new Nicaean emperor
Michael VIII Palaiologos. The alliance was very unstable and in 1259 William was captured at the disastrous
Battle of Pelagonia. Michael VIII went on to capture Michael II's capital of
Arta, leaving Epirus with only
Ioannina and Vonitsa. Arta was recovered by 1260 while Michael VIII was occupied against Constantinople.
Italian invasions
After Michael VIII restored the empire in Constantinople in 1261 he frequently harassed Epirus, and forced Michael's son
Nikephoros to marry his niece
Anna Kantakouzene in 1265. Michael considered Epirus a
vassal state, although Michael II and Nikephoros continued to ally with the Princes of Achaea and the
Dukes of Athens. In 1267 Corcyra and much of Epirus were taken by
Charles of Anjou, and in 1267/68 Michael II died. Michael VIII didn't attempt to annex Epirus directly, and allowed Nikephoros I to succeed his father and deal with Charles, who captured Dyrrhachium in 1271. In 1279 Nikephoros allied with Charles against Michael VIII, agreeing to become Charles' vassal. With Charles' defeat soon after Nikephoros lost Albania to the Byzantines.
Under
Andronikos II Palaiologos, son of Michael VIII, Nikephoros renewed the alliance with Constantinople. Nikephoros, however, was persuaded to ally with
Charles II of Naples in 1292, although Charles was defeated by Andronikos's fleet. Nikephoros married his daughter to Charles's son
Philip I of Taranto and sold much of his territory to him. After Nikephoros's death in c. 1297 Byzantine influence grew under his widow Anna, Andronikos's cousin, who ruled as regent for her young son
Thomas I Komnenos Doukas. In 1306 she revolted against Philip in favour of Andronikos; the Latin inhabitants were expelled but she was forced to return some territory to Philip. In 1312 Philip abandoned his claim to Epirus and claimed the defunct Latin Empire of Constantinople instead as the inheritance of his wife
Catherine II of Valois, Princess of Achaea.
Collapse of the despotate
Anna succeeded in marrying off Thomas to a daughter of Michael IX, but Thomas was assassinated in 1318 by his cousin
Nicholas Orsini, who married his widow and took control of Epirus. He was recognized as legitimate by Andronikos, but was overthrown by his brother
John in 1323. John was poisoned around 1335 by his wife Anna, who became regent for their son
Nikephoros II. In 1337 the new Emperor,
Andronikos III Palaiologos, arrived in northern Epirus with an army partly composed of 2,000 Turks contributed by his ally
Umur of Aydın. Andronikos first dealt with unrest due to attacks by Albanians and then turned his interest to the Despotate. Anna tried to negotiate but Andronikos demanded the complete surrender of the Despotate to which she finally agreed. Thus Epirus came peacefully under imperial rule.
A term of the surrender agreement was that Nikephoros would be engaged to one of the daughters of the emperor's right-hand man,
John Kantakouzenos. When the time of the engagement came, Nikephoros had vanished. Andronikos learned that Nikephoros had fled to Italy, with the help of members of the Epirote aristocracy who supported an independent Epirus. He stayed in
Taranto, Italy, in the court of Catherine II of Valois (Philip of Taranto's widow), the
titular empress of Constantinople.
In 1339, there was a revolt supported by Catherine of Valois, who was in the Peloponnese at the time, and by Nikephoros who had returned to Epirus, based in Thomokastron. At the end of 1339 the imperial army returned to the area and next year, 1340, Andronikos III himself arrived together with John Kantakouzenos. Nikephoros was persuaded through diplomacy to recognize the authority of the emperor. He surrendered Thomokastron, married Maria Kantakouzene, the daughter of John Kantakouzenos, and received the title of
panypersebastos (πανυπερσέβαστος).
The Empire soon fell into a civil war between
John V Palaiologos and John VI Kantakouzenos, and Epirus was conquered by the
Serbian King
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan in
1348. Nikephoros II took advantage of the Byzantine civil war and the death of Dušan to escape and to reestablish himself in Epirus in 1356, to which he also added Thessaly. Nikephoros died putting down an
Albanian revolt in 1359 and the territory of the former despotate became a component part of the personal Empire of Dusan's half-brother,
Simeon-Siniša Palailogos. In 1367 the Epirotan Despotate was resurrected under local Serbian nobleman
Thomas II Preljubović. With much of the country under the control of Albanian clans, the area was divided between several rulers, each claiming the title of despotes. After Thomas' death in 1384, his widow remarried in 1385 and transferred the Despotate to homage of Italian nobility. The state tradition was carried on by the Serbian and Italian rulers of
Ioannina, who solicited aid from the
Ottoman Turks against the Albanians. By 1416 the Tocco family of
Cephalonia, succeeded in reuniting Epirus, or at least in asserting their control over its towns. But internal dissention eased the Ottoman conquest, which proceeded with the capture of
Ioannina in 1430,
Arta in 1449,
Angelokastron in 1460, and finally
Vonitsa in 1479. With the exception of several coastal Venetian possessions, this was the end of Frankish rule in mainland
Greece.
Rulers of Epirus
Nicholas Orsini (1318-1323)
John Orsini (1323-1335)
Nikephoros II Orsini (1335-1337) and (1356-1359)
Simeon Uroš Palaiologos (1359-1366), emperor (tsar) of Serbians and Greeks
Thomas II Preljubović (1367-1384), despot
Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina (1384-1385)
Buondelmonti dynasty
Esau de' Buondelmonti (1385-1411)
Giorgio de' Buondelmonti (1411)
Tocco dynasty
Carlo I Tocco (1411-1429)
Carlo II Tocco (1429-1448), fall of Ioannina 1430
Leonardo Tocco (1448-1479), fall of Arta 1449 and Angelokastron 1460Further Information
Get more info on 'Despot Of Epirus'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://despotate_of_epiros.totallyexplained.com">Despotate of Epiros Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
