Despotate of Morea
Encyclopedia
The Despotate of the Morea or Despotate of Mystras was a province of the Byzantine Empire
which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its 100 years of existence but eventually grew to take in almost all the southern Greek
peninsula, the Peloponnesos, which was called Morea
in the medieval period. It was usually ruled by a close relative of the current Byzantine emperor, who was given the title of despotes
(in this context it should not be confused with despotism
). Its capital was the fortified city of Mystras
, near ancient Sparta
, which became an important centre of Byzantine culture and power.
The Despotate of the Morea was carved out of territory seized from the Frankish
Principality of Achaea
. This itself had been carved out of former Byzantine territory following the Fourth Crusade
(1204). In 1259, the Principality's ruler William II Villehardouin lost the Battle of Pelagonia
against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus. William was forced to ransom himself by giving up most of the eastern part of Morea and his newly built strongholds. The surrendered territory became the nucleus of the Despotate of Morea.
A later Byzantine emperor, John VI Kantakouzenos
, reorganized the territory in the mid-14th century to establish it as an appanage
for his son, the Despot Manuel Kantakouzenos
. The rival Palaiologos
dynasty seized the Morea after Manuel's death in 1380, with Theodore I Palaiologos becoming despot in 1383. Theodore ruled until 1407, consolidating Byzantine rule and coming to terms with his more powerful neighbours – particularly the expansionist Ottoman Empire
, whose suzerainty
he recognised. He also sought to reinvigorate the local economy by inviting Albanians
to settle in the territory.
Subsequent despots were the sons of the Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos
, brother of the despot Theodore: Constantine, Demetrios, and Thomas. As Latin power in the Peloponnese waned during the 15th century, the Despotate of the Morea expanded to incorporate the entire peninsula in 1430 with territory being acquired through dowry settlements, and the fall of Patras
to Constantine. However, in 1446 the Ottoman Sultan Murad II
destroyed the Byzantine defences on the Hexamilion wall
at the Isthmus of Corinth
. His attack opened the peninsula to invasion, though Murad died before he could exploit this. His successor Mehmed II
"the Conqueror" captured
the Byzantine capital Constantinople
in 1453. The despots, Demetrios and Thomas, brothers of the last emperor, failed to send him any aid, as Morea was reeling from a recent Ottoman attack. Their own incompetence at rule led to an Albanian-Greek revolt against them, when they invited in Ottoman troops to help them put down the revolt. At this time, a number of leading Moreote Greeks and Albanians made private peace with Mehmed. After more years of incompetent rule on the part of the despots, their failure to pay their annual tribute to the Sultan, and finally their own revolt against Ottoman rule, Mehmed came into the Morea in May 1460. By the end of the summer he had achieved the submission of all Byzantine-held cities. The only non-Ottoman territories were held by Venice: the port cities of Modon
and Koroni
at the southern tip of the Morea, the Argolid with Argos, and the port of Nafplion
. Monemvasia
subsequently surrendered itself to Venice at the beginning of the 1463-1479 Ottoman-Venetian war
.
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...
which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its 100 years of existence but eventually grew to take in almost all the southern Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
peninsula, the Peloponnesos, which was called 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:...
in the medieval period. It was usually ruled by a close relative of the current Byzantine emperor, who was given the title of despotes
Despotes
Despot , was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent...
(in this context it should not be confused with despotism
Despotism
Despotism is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. That entity may be an individual, as in an autocracy, or it may be a group, as in an oligarchy...
). Its capital was the fortified city of Mystras
Mystras
Mystras is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sparti, of which it is a municipal unit. Situated on Mt...
, near ancient Sparta
Sparta
Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...
, which became an important centre of Byzantine culture and power.
The Despotate of the Morea was carved out of territory seized from the Frankish
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...
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...
. This itself had been carved out of former Byzantine territory following 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...
(1204). In 1259, the Principality's ruler William II Villehardouin lost the Battle of Pelagonia
Battle of Pelagonia
The Battle of Pelagonia took place in September of 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and the Despotate of Epirus, Sicily and the Principality of Achaea...
against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus. William was forced to ransom himself by giving up most of the eastern part of Morea and his newly built strongholds. The surrendered territory became the nucleus of the Despotate of Morea.
A later Byzantine emperor, John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
, reorganized the territory in the mid-14th century to establish it as an appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
for his son, the Despot Manuel Kantakouzenos
Manuel Kantakouzenos
Manuel Kantakouzenos , . Despotēs in the Despotate of Morea or the Peloponnese from October 25, 1349 to his death and a contender to the Principality of Achaia.Kantakouzenos was the second son of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos and Irene Asanina...
. The rival Palaiologos
Palaiologos
Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...
dynasty seized the Morea after Manuel's death in 1380, with Theodore I Palaiologos becoming despot in 1383. Theodore ruled until 1407, consolidating Byzantine rule and coming to terms with his more powerful neighbours – particularly the expansionist Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, whose suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
he recognised. He also sought to reinvigorate the local economy by inviting Albanians
Albanians
Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...
to settle in the territory.
Subsequent despots were the sons of the Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos
Manuel II Palaiologos
Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine Emperor from 1391 to 1425.-Life:...
, brother of the despot Theodore: Constantine, Demetrios, and Thomas. As Latin power in the Peloponnese waned during the 15th century, the Despotate of the Morea expanded to incorporate the entire peninsula in 1430 with territory being acquired through dowry settlements, and the fall of Patras
Patras
Patras , ) is Greece's third largest urban area and the regional capital of West Greece, located in northern Peloponnese, 215 kilometers west of Athens...
to Constantine. However, in 1446 the Ottoman Sultan Murad II
Murad II
Murad II Kodja was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1451 ....
destroyed the Byzantine defences on the Hexamilion wall
Hexamilion wall
The Hexamilion wall is a defensive wall constructed across the Isthmus of Corinth guarding the only land route into the Peloponnese peninsula from mainland Greece.- Early fortifications :...
at the Isthmus of Corinth
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancient Greek word for "neck" and refers to the narrowness of the land. The Isthmus was known in the ancient...
. His attack opened the peninsula to invasion, though Murad died before he could exploit this. His successor Mehmed II
Mehmed II
Mehmed II , was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire for a short time from 1444 to September 1446, and later from...
"the Conqueror" captured
Fall of Constantinople
The Fall of Constantinople was the capture of the capital of the Byzantine Empire, which occurred after a siege by the Ottoman Empire, under the command of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, against the defending army commanded by Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI...
the Byzantine capital 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:...
in 1453. The despots, Demetrios and Thomas, brothers of the last emperor, failed to send him any aid, as Morea was reeling from a recent Ottoman attack. Their own incompetence at rule led to an Albanian-Greek revolt against them, when they invited in Ottoman troops to help them put down the revolt. At this time, a number of leading Moreote Greeks and Albanians made private peace with Mehmed. After more years of incompetent rule on the part of the despots, their failure to pay their annual tribute to the Sultan, and finally their own revolt against Ottoman rule, Mehmed came into the Morea in May 1460. By the end of the summer he had achieved the submission of all Byzantine-held cities. The only non-Ottoman territories were held by Venice: the port cities of Modon
MODON
frame|Established : 2001 Type : [[Public]]Category : [[Industrial district|Industrial cities]]Head Office : [[Riyadh]]Country : [[Saudi Arabia]]Website :...
and Koroni
Koroni
Koroni or Coroni is a town 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. Known as Corone by the Venetians and Ottomans, the town of Koroni Koroni or Coroni is a...
at the southern tip of the Morea, the Argolid with Argos, and the port 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...
. Monemvasia
Monemvasia
Monemvasia is a town and a municipality in Laconia, Greece. The town is located on a small peninsula off the east coast of the Peloponnese. The peninsula is linked to the mainland by a short causeway 200m in length. Its area consists mostly of a large plateau some 100 metres above sea level, up to...
subsequently surrendered itself to Venice at the beginning of the 1463-1479 Ottoman-Venetian war
Ottoman–Venetian War (1463–1479)
The First Ottoman–Venetian War was fought between the Republic of Venice and her allies and the Ottoman Empire from 1463 to 1479. Fought shortly after the capture of Constantinople and the remnants of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottomans, it resulted in the loss of several Venetian holdings in...
.
Byzantine despots of the Morea
- Manuel KantakouzenosManuel KantakouzenosManuel Kantakouzenos , . Despotēs in the Despotate of Morea or the Peloponnese from October 25, 1349 to his death and a contender to the Principality of Achaia.Kantakouzenos was the second son of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos and Irene Asanina...
(1349-?) - Michael Asan ?
- Andrew Asan (?-1354)
- Manuel KantakouzenosManuel KantakouzenosManuel Kantakouzenos , . Despotēs in the Despotate of Morea or the Peloponnese from October 25, 1349 to his death and a contender to the Principality of Achaia.Kantakouzenos was the second son of Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos and Irene Asanina...
(restored) (1354-1380) - Matthew KantakouzenosMatthew KantakouzenosMatthew Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357.-Life:...
(1380-1383) - Demetrios I Kantakouzenos (1383)
- Theodore I PalaiologosTheodore I Palaiologos, Lord of MoreaTheodore I Palaiologos was despot in the Morea from 1383 until his death on June 24, 1407. He was the youngest surviving son of the Byzantine Emperor John V Palaiologos and his wife Helena Kantakouzene. His maternal grandfather was former Emperor John VI Kantakouzenos...
(1383-1407) - Theodore II PalaiologosTheodore II Palaiologos, Lord of MoreaTheodore II Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Despot in Morea from 1407 to 1443.-Life:...
(1407-1443) - Constantine PalaiologosConstantine XIConstantine XI Palaiologos, latinized as Palaeologus , Kōnstantinos XI Dragasēs Palaiologos; February 8, 1404 – May 29, 1453) was the last reigning Byzantine Emperor from 1449 to his death as member of the Palaiologos dynasty...
(1428-1449), after 1449 became emperor at ConstantinopleConstantinopleConstantinople 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:...
. Thereafter, joint rule between his brothers:- Thomas PalaiologosThomas PalaiologosThomas Palaiologos was Despot in Morea from 1428 until the Ottoman conquest in 1460. After the desertion of his older brother to the Turks in 1460, Thomas Palaiologos became the legitimate claimant to the Byzantine throne...
(1428-1460) - Demetrios II PalaiologosDemetrios PalaiologosDemetrios Palaiologos or Demetrius Palaeologus , Despot in the Morea de facto 1436–1438 and 1451–1460 and de jure 1438–1451, previously governor of Lemnos 1422–1440, and of Mesembria 1440–1451...
(1449-1460)
- Thomas Palaiologos
See also
- Byzantine Greece