The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its existence but eventually grew to include almost all the southern
Greek peninsula now known as the
Peloponnese, which was known as the
Morea during the medieval and early modern periods. The territory was usually ruled by one or more sons of the current
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
, who were given the title of ''
despotes
Despot or ''despotes'' ( grc-gre, δεσπότης, despótēs, lord, master) 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 of the Byzantine emperor ...
'' (in this context it should not be confused with
despotism
Despotism ( el, Δεσποτισμός, ''despotismós'') is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot; but (as in an autocracy) societies which limit respect an ...
). Its capital was the fortified city of
Mystras, near ancient
Sparta
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referr ...
, which became an important centre of the
Palaiologan Renaissance.
History
The Despotate of the Morea was created out of territory seized from the
Frankish Principality of Achaea. This had been organized from former Byzantine territory after the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
(1204). In 1259, the Principality's ruler
William II Villehardouin lost the
Battle of Pelagonia
The Battle of Pelagonia or Battle of Kastoriae.g. ; . took place in early summer or autumn 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and an anti-Nicaean alliance comprising Despotate of Epirus, Sicily and the Principality of Achaea. It was a decisive ev ...
against the Byzantine Emperor
Michael VIII Palaeologus
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...
. William was forced to ransom himself by surrendering 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 or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under ...
, reorganized the territory in 1349 to establish it as an
appanage for his son, the
Despot Manuel Kantakouzenos
Manuel Kantakouzenos (or Cantacuzenus) ( Greek: Μανουήλ Καντακουζηνός, ''Manouēl Kantakouzēnos''), (c. 1326 – Mistra, Peloponnese, 10 April 1380). ''Despotēs'' in the Despotate of Morea or the Peloponnese from 25 Oct ...
. For the larger portion of his reign, Manuel maintained peaceful relations with his Latin neighbors and secured a long period of prosperity for the area. Greco-Latin cooperation included an alliance to contain the raids of Murad I into Morea in the 1360s. 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
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
, whose
suzerainty
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is ca ...
he recognised. He also sought to reinvigorate the local economy by inviting
Albanians
The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...
to settle in the territory.
Subsequent despots were the sons of the Emperor
Manuel II Palaiologos, brother of the despot Theodore: Theodore II, 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 by dowry settlements, and the conquest of
Patras
)
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...
by Constantine. However, in 1446 the Ottoman Sultan
Murad II destroyed the Byzantine defences—the
Hexamilion wall
The Hexamilion wall ( el, Εξαμίλιον τείχος, "six-mile wall") was a defensive wall constructed across the Isthmus of Corinth, guarding the only land route onto the Peloponnese peninsula from mainland Greece.
History
Early fortif ...
at the
Isthmus of Corinth
The Isthmus of Corinth ( Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) 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 Anci ...
. His attack opened the peninsula to invasion, though Murad died before he could exploit this. His successor
Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...
"the Conqueror"
captured the Byzantine capital
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
in 1453. The despots
Demetrios and
Thomas Palaiologos
Thomas Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Θωμᾶς Παλαιολόγος; 1409 – 12 May 1465) was Despot of the Morea from 1428 until the fall of the despotate in 1460, although he continued to claim the title until his death five years late ...
, brothers of the last emperor, failed to send him any aid, as Morea was recovering from a recent Ottoman attack. Their rule was unpopular, however, resulting in an
Albanian–Greek revolt against them, during which they invited Ottoman troops to help them put down the revolt. At this time, a number of influential Greek ''archons'' made peace with Mehmed. After more years of incompetent rule by 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. Demetrios ended up a prisoner of the Ottomans and his younger brother Thomas fled. By the end of the summer, the Ottomans had achieved the submission of virtually all cities possessed by the Greeks.
A few holdouts remained for a time. The rocky peninsula of
Monemvasia refused to surrender, and it was first ruled for a brief time by a Catalan corsair. When the population drove him out, they obtained the consent of Thomas to submit to the Pope's protection before the end of 1460. The
Mani Peninsula at the south end of the Morea resisted under a loose coalition of the local clans, and that area then came under
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
's rule. The last holdout was
Salmeniko
The Salmeniko Castle ( el, Κάστρο του Σαλμενίκου, ''Kastro tou Salmenikou'') or Orgia or Oria Castle (Κάστρο Οργιάς/Ωριάς, cf. '' Kastro tis Orias'') was a castle at the foot of Panachaiko mountain, in the mode ...
, in the Morea's northwest.
Graitzas Palaiologos was the military commander there, stationed at
Salmeniko Castle
The Salmeniko Castle ( el, Κάστρο του Σαλμενίκου, ''Kastro tou Salmenikou'') or Orgia or Oria Castle (Κάστρο Οργιάς/Ωριάς, cf. '' Kastro tis Orias'') was a castle at the foot of Panachaiko mountain, in the mod ...
(also known as Castle Orgia). While the town eventually surrendered, Graitzas and his garrison and some town residents held out in the castle until July 1461, when they escaped and reached Venetian territory. Thus ended the last of the Byzantine Empire proper.
After 1461 the only non-Ottoman territories were possessed by Venice: the port cities of
Modon The Saudi Authority for Industrial Cities and Technology Zones ( ar, الهيئة السعودية للمدن الصناعية ومناطق التقنية), also known simply as MODON ( ar, مُدُن) is a government organization created by the Go ...
and
Koroni at the southern end of the Morea, the
Argolid with Argos, and the port of
Nafplion
Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in th ...
.
Monemvasia subsequently surrendered itself to Venice at the beginning of the 1463–1479
Ottoman-Venetian war.
Byzantine despots of the Morea
House of Kantakouzenos (1349–1383)
House of Palaiologos (1383–1460)
Following the Ottoman conquest of the Morea, the title continued to be used by Thomas Palaiologos and his son Andreas in exile;
After the death of Andreas in 1502, the title was claimed by the Albanian exile
Constantine Arianiti,
and by the Greek nobleman
Fernando Palaiologos.
See also
*
*
*
Byzantine Greece
*
Principality of Theodoro
The Principality of Theodoro ( el, Αὐθεντία πόλεως Θεοδωροῦς καὶ παραθαλασσίας), also known as Gothia ( el, Γοτθία) or the Principality of Theodoro-Mangup, was a Greek principality in the southern p ...
*
Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty
The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologos dynasty in the period between 1261 and 1453, from the restoration of Byzantine rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos following its recapture from the Latin Empire, founde ...
References
Citations
General and cited sources
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morea, Despotate of the
States and territories established in 1349
States and territories disestablished in 1460
1349 establishments in Europe
1460 disestablishments in Europe
Byzantine rump states
Tributary states of the Ottoman Empire
Former monarchies
Morea