Battle of the Olive Grove of Koundouros
Encyclopedia
The Battle of the Olive Grove of Koundouros or Koundouras took place in the spring of 1205, in Messinia, Peloponnese
, between the Franks
and the Greeks
, resulting in a victory of the Frankish knights and the collapse of the local resistance.
In 1204, Constantinople
, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire
was taken by the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade
and the Republic of Venice
. This led to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the establishment of the Latin Empire
.
Meanwhile, a Crusader force of between 500 and 700 knights under the command of William of Champlitte
and Geoffrey I of Villehardouin
advanced into the Peloponnese
to deal with Byzantine resistance. In the Olive Grove of Koundouros in Messenia
, they confronted an army of around 5,000 Peloponnesian Greeks under the command of Michael I Ducas. In the ensuing battle, the Crusaders emerged victorious, forcing the Byzantines to retreat and crushing resistance in the Peloponnese. This battle paved the way for the foundation of the Principality of Achaea
.
conquered Constantinople on 12 April 1204. One of the main leaders of the crusade, Boniface of Montferrat, having lost the opportunity to become Emperor, went on to found the Kingdom of Thessalonica
. That autumn, William of Champlitte
followed him to Thessalonica
but then continued south until he reached the Morea
. There he was joined by Geoffrey I Villehardouin, who sailed to Modon
(Methoni) on his way back from Palestine.
In charge of around a hundred knights and several soldiers, Champlitte and Villehardouin campaigned together to conquer Morea
. They initially captured Methoni
with the support of John Kantakouzenos. They occupied the main cities of the western Peloponnese while meeting little resistance. The Greeks of Lakonia, Arkadia
and Argolis
, under Michael I Komnenos Doukas
, who at the time was the Byzantine governor of the theme of the Peloponnese
, and Michael Kantakouzenos, the son of the then-deceased John Kantakouzenos, tried to stop the Franks at the Olive Grove of Koundouros, near Koroni.
, written around 1207–1212 AD, and The Chronicle of Morea
, written around 1300.
Both texts are written from the point of view of the conquerors. The first was written by the uncle of one of the two commanders who won the battle. The second was probably written by a person born from a mixed French-Greek marriage, since his attitude throughout the text is that of admiration for the Franks and contempt of the locals.
) had 4000 men, mounted and unmounted. Geoffrey of Villehardouin
, uncle of Geoffrey I, in his Chronicle, states that the army of Michael I numbered 5000 men and that of the Franks 500. In any case, despite being outnumbered, the Franks won the battle. The resistance of the Greeks was paralyzed and all the castles and cities of the Peloponnese fell one after the other. Michael I fled to Epirus
to establish the Despotate of Epirus
.
The exact location of the olive grove of Koundouros in Messenia
is unknown; Geoffrey of Villehardouin mentions that it was one day's distance from the castle of "Modon" (Methoni
), locating it somewhere in the Messenian plain, which is full of olive groves even today. In the Chronicle of the Morea, apart from the owner's name (Kountouras), a location name is also indicated: Kepeskianous (Κηπησκιάνους), for which there is no information nor any contemporary name.
In Geoffrey's own account:
In the Chronicle of the Morea, the battle is described in verses 1720–1738:
, they were received by the people and Church. The only resistance met later was defensive, by Leo Sgouros
, guarding the castles of Nafplion
and Acrocorinth
. William of Champlitte
was able to build upon his victories by forming the Principality of Achaia, a Frankish state comprising most of the Peloponnese except for the Venetian cities on the coast.
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
, between the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
and the Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, resulting in a victory of the Frankish knights and the collapse of the local resistance.
In 1204, Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
was taken by the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
and the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
. This led to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the establishment of the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
.
Meanwhile, a Crusader force of between 500 and 700 knights under the command of William of Champlitte
William of Champlitte
William I of Champlitte was a French knight who joined the Fourth Crusade and became the first prince of Achaea .- Early years and the Fourth Crusade :...
and Geoffrey I of Villehardouin
Geoffrey I of Villehardouin
Geoffrey I of Villehardouin was a French knight from the County of Champagne who joined the Fourth Crusade. He participated in the conquest of the Peloponnese and became the second prince of Achaea ....
advanced into the Peloponnese
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
to deal with Byzantine resistance. In the Olive Grove of Koundouros in Messenia
Messenia
Messenia is a regional unit in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, one of 13 regions into which Greece has been divided by the Kallikratis plan, implemented 1 January 2011...
, they confronted an army of around 5,000 Peloponnesian Greeks under the command of Michael I Ducas. In the ensuing battle, the Crusaders emerged victorious, forcing the Byzantines to retreat and crushing resistance in the Peloponnese. This battle paved the way for the foundation of the Principality of Achaea
Principality of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea or of the Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica...
.
Background
The army of the Fourth CrusadeFourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
conquered Constantinople on 12 April 1204. One of the main leaders of the crusade, Boniface of Montferrat, having lost the opportunity to become Emperor, went on to found the Kingdom of Thessalonica
Kingdom of Thessalonica
The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over the conquered Byzantine lands.- Background :...
. That autumn, William of Champlitte
William of Champlitte
William I of Champlitte was a French knight who joined the Fourth Crusade and became the first prince of Achaea .- Early years and the Fourth Crusade :...
followed him to Thessalonica
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
but then continued south until he reached the Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
. There he was joined by Geoffrey I Villehardouin, who sailed to Modon
Methoni, Messenia
Methoni is a village and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Its name may be derived from Mothona, a mythical rock. It is located 11 km south of Pylos and...
(Methoni) on his way back from Palestine.
In charge of around a hundred knights and several soldiers, Champlitte and Villehardouin campaigned together to conquer Morea
Morea
The Morea was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea.-Origins of the name:...
. They initially captured Methoni
Methoni, Messenia
Methoni is a village and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Its name may be derived from Mothona, a mythical rock. It is located 11 km south of Pylos and...
with the support of John Kantakouzenos. They occupied the main cities of the western Peloponnese while meeting little resistance. The Greeks of Lakonia, Arkadia
Arkadia
Arkadia may refer to:* Arcadia, a region of Greece, also known as Arkadía* Arkadia , a shopping mall in Warsaw, Poland* Arkadia, Łowicz County in Łódź Voivodeship...
and Argolis
Argolis
Argolis is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese. It is situated in the eastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula.-Geography:...
, under Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Michael I Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas , often inaccurately called Michael Angelos , was the founder and first ruler of the principality of Epirus from 1205 until his death in 1215.-Life:...
, who at the time was the Byzantine governor of the theme of the Peloponnese
Peloponnese (theme)
The Theme of the Peloponnese was a Byzantine military-civilian province encompassing the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. It was established in circa 800, and its capital was Corinth.-History:...
, and Michael Kantakouzenos, the son of the then-deceased John Kantakouzenos, tried to stop the Franks at the Olive Grove of Koundouros, near Koroni.
Primary sources
The battle is described in two original texts, The Chronicle of the Conquest of Constantinople, by Geoffrey of VillehardouinGeoffrey of Villehardouin
Geoffrey of Villehardouin was a knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade...
, written around 1207–1212 AD, and The Chronicle of Morea
Chronicle of Morea
The Chronicle of the Morea is a long 14th-century history text, of which four versions are extant: in French, Greek , Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the Chronicle narrates events of the Franks' establishment of feudalism in mainland Greece. West European Crusaders settled in...
, written around 1300.
Both texts are written from the point of view of the conquerors. The first was written by the uncle of one of the two commanders who won the battle. The second was probably written by a person born from a mixed French-Greek marriage, since his attitude throughout the text is that of admiration for the Franks and contempt of the locals.
Description of the battle
According to the Chronicle of the Morea, the Franks had 700 men, while the "Romans" (Byzantine GreeksByzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
) had 4000 men, mounted and unmounted. Geoffrey of Villehardouin
Geoffrey of Villehardouin
Geoffrey of Villehardouin was a knight and historian who participated in and chronicled the Fourth Crusade...
, uncle of Geoffrey I, in his Chronicle, states that the army of Michael I numbered 5000 men and that of the Franks 500. In any case, despite being outnumbered, the Franks won the battle. The resistance of the Greeks was paralyzed and all the castles and cities of the Peloponnese fell one after the other. Michael I fled to Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
to establish the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire 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 exact location of the olive grove of Koundouros in Messenia
Messenia
Messenia is a regional unit in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, one of 13 regions into which Greece has been divided by the Kallikratis plan, implemented 1 January 2011...
is unknown; Geoffrey of Villehardouin mentions that it was one day's distance from the castle of "Modon" (Methoni
Methoni, Messenia
Methoni is a village and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is a municipal unit. Its name may be derived from Mothona, a mythical rock. It is located 11 km south of Pylos and...
), locating it somewhere in the Messenian plain, which is full of olive groves even today. In the Chronicle of the Morea, apart from the owner's name (Kountouras), a location name is also indicated: Kepeskianous (Κηπησκιάνους), for which there is no information nor any contemporary name.
In Geoffrey's own account:
So William of Champlitte and Geoffry of Villehardouin [the nephew] departed from the host, and took with them about a hundred knights, and a great number of mounted sergeants, and entered into the land of Morea, and rode onwards till they came to the city of Modon. Michael heard that they were in the land with so few people, and he collected together a great number of people, a number that was marvellous, and he rode after them as one thinking they were all no better than prisoners, and in his hand. And when they heard tell that he was coming, they refortified Modon, where the defences had long since been pulled down, and there left their baggage, and the lesser folk. Then they rode out a day's march, and ordered their array with as many people as they had. But the odds seemed too great, for they had no more than five hundred men mounted, whereas on the other part there were well over five thousand. But events happen as God pleases; for our people fought with the Greeks and discomfited and conquered them. And the Greeks lost very heavily, while those on our side gained horses and arms enough, and other goods in very great plenty, and so returned very happy, and very joyously, to the city of Modon.
In the Chronicle of the Morea, the battle is described in verses 1720–1738:
/ they heard and they learned that the Franks had come,
/ and that they walked through the villages and took the gains of war
/ and they said and they thought they had been harmed
/ Over there they were drawn, they call it Kepescianous
/ where they name it the olive grove of Kountouras
/ They were four thousand, on foot and mounted
/ The Franks, though, when they learned it from the Romans
/ since they were together with them and they knew the place
/ there they drew them, they came and they found them
/ and war they gave the Franks and the Romans.
/ And the Franks were not, on foot and mounted,
/ but just seven hundred, that many they thought.
/ Eagerly did the Romans start the war,
/ because they saw them few, but later they were sorry.
/ Why shall I tell you a lot and what do we care?
/ The war, they won, then, those Franks
/ they slaughtered them all, a few did escape
/ That was the only war the Romans made
/ during the time that the Franks won the Morea.
Aftermath
The Battle of the Olive Grove of Kountoura was decisive for the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Franks. After their victory, there was no serious threat against them in the Morea. In AndravidaAndravida
Andravída is a town and a former municipality in Elis, West Greece, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Andravida-Kyllini, of which it is a municipal unit. Its population is about 4,300. Distance from Patras is around 63 km SW and 33 km NW of...
, they were received by the people and Church. The only resistance met later was defensive, by Leo Sgouros
Leo Sgouros
Leo Sgouros was a Greek independent lord in the northeastern Peloponnese in the early 13th century. The scion of the magnate Sgouros family, he succeeded his father as hereditary lord in the region of Nauplia...
, guarding the castles of Nafplion
Nafplion
Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in Greece that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the first capital of modern Greece, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the peripheral unit of...
and Acrocorinth
Acrocorinth
Acrocorinth , "Upper Corinth", the acropolis of ancient Corinth, is a monolithic rock overseeing the ancient city of Corinth, Greece. "It is the most impressive of the acropoleis of mainland Greece," in the estimation of George Forrest. Acrocorinth was continuously occupied from archaic times to...
. William of Champlitte
William of Champlitte
William I of Champlitte was a French knight who joined the Fourth Crusade and became the first prince of Achaea .- Early years and the Fourth Crusade :...
was able to build upon his victories by forming the Principality of Achaia, a Frankish state comprising most of the Peloponnese except for the Venetian cities on the coast.