European Kingdoms

Duchy of Athens (Fourth Crusade State)
AD 1205 - 1456

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From the start, the capital of the newly-created Eastern Roman empire was based at Constantinople, dedicated by Emperor Constantine 'the Great' in AD 330. In AD 395, the Roman empire finally suffered a permanent split, creating formal Eastern Roman and Western Roman empires within Europe and beyond, acknowledging what had existed in practise for many years.

With the defeat of the 'Dynasty of the Angeli' by the Fourth Crusade in Constantinople in 1204, Latin rulers governed the city and much of the former empire, backed by Venice and France. The leader of the Fourth Crusade also set up other minor Crusader states in Greece, but other territories were lost, including the Albanian principality of Arbanon.

The reigning Eastern Romans withdrew to Nicæa in Anatolia, but rival claimants also established holdings in Trebizond, Epirus, and in what was now the kingdom of Thessalonica so that, at one point, there were four claimants to the Eastern Roman throne, as well as the Bulgar and Serb states which also claimed dominance over it.

Small crusader states were founded thanks to Boniface, marquis of Montferrat. After private plunder had reigned unchecked in Constantinople for three days, the leaders of the crusaders collected whatever valuables they could so that the proceeds could be divided. The haul was less than expected.

They elected Baldwin of Flanders as their 'Emperor of the East', and handed him the ruined city of Constantinople, half of it devoured by the flames of two consecutive sieges, and all of it plundered from cellar to attic. Boniface was made king of Thessalonica, and paid homage to Baldwin for a fief which consisted of Macedonia, Thessaly, and inland Epirus.

Otho de la Roche gained a strip of central Greece in the form of the 'Duchy of Athens', from where he ruled over Attica and Boeotia. He treated his Athenian subjects with more consideration than any of his fellow crusaders, and was rewarded by obtaining a degree of respect and deference which could not be found in any other Latin state. Though the smallest, the duchy of Athens was undoubtedly the most prosperous of the new creations of the conquest of 1204.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade, Susan Wise Bauer (2010), from The Despotate of Epiros, Donald McGillivray Nicol (Blackwell & Mott, 1957), from the World Heritage Encyclopaedia, and from External Links: History of the Byzantine Empire (Live Science), and The Cambridge History of the Byzantine Empire, Jonathan Shepard (Ed, Revised Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2008, and available via the Internet Archive), and Byzantine Empire, CWC Oman (Fisher Unwin, 1892, and available via Heritage History).)

1205 - 1225?

Burgundian. Conquered Athens for the Latin emperor.

1205 - 1207

With the Fourth Crusade at Constantinople having splintered control of the lower Balkans into many pieces, the powerful Asens of Bulgaria have been able to make good progress in expanding their empire.

Under the leadership of Boniface, marquis of Montferrat, and Dandolo, doge of Venice, the Fourth Crusade was diverted from its original purpose, instead ending up storming the walls of Constantinople and setting up a Latin kingship there

The Battle of Adrianople on 14 April 1205 sees Baldwin I of Constantinople being defeated by Tsar Kaloyan before being captured and taken into captivity where he dies. Just two years later Boniface of Montferrat, king of Thessalonica, suffers a similar fate, being defeated in battle by the Bulgarians. His vassal, Otho de la Roche of Athens, remains loyal to the Latin emperors.

1225? - 1263

Son. Duke of Athens. Accession date uncertain.

1260

General Michael VIII Palæologus takes hold of the throne of Nicæa, and the young John Lascaris is entirely sidelined, his eyes are put out, and he is exiled to a dungeon in which he remains until his death thirty years later. However, the outraged leaders of the various Latin and Eastern Roman rival territories are no match for Michael's forces when they meet in battle. His victory is complete.

When the Fourth Crusade took control of Constantinople in AD 1204, with the help of the Venetians, they inherited a reduced Eastern Roman empire (click or tap on map to view full sized)

1261

The Nicæan-Latin Wars are not concluded when Michael VIII Palæologus recaptures Constantinople from his base in Nicæa, as Achaia and Athens are still occupied by Latin rulers. Constantinople falls during a surprise attack when much of the garrison is raiding Nicæan territory.

The Latins are helped in their largely successful evacuation by the Venetian fleet, although they persist in retaining their claim to the throne (held by Philip de Courtenay in 1281). Michael VIII is able to claim Constantinople as his seat from which to command the reduced Eastern Roman empire, as the capital of the Palaeologi.

1263 - 1280

Son. Duke of Athens. Lost territory.

1276

Eastern Roman Emperor Michael VIII of the Palaeologi invades Euboea and Thessaly. John de la Roche joins Gilbert of Verona to march to the relief of Negroponte, which is under attack by Michael's Admiral Licario. During a battle at Vatonda John is thrown from his horse and is captured along with Gilbert and many other knights.

Self-established co-emperor of Nicæa during the early years of the reign of the young Emperor John IV Lascaris, Michael VIII quickly challenged the impoverished Latin emperor of Constantinople and found him wanting

1280 - 1287

Brother. Duke of Athens. Reversed losses.

1287 - 1308

Duke of Athens, aged 7. Last de la Roche duke.

1303 - 1310

Frederick I of Sicily sponsors an expedition of Sicilian and Catalan mercenaries to save having to pay for them out of his own small funds. The pretext is helping Eastern Roman Emperor Michael IX of the Palaeologi to fight off Turkic infringements.

Ritxard de Flor (alternatively shown as Rutgar von Blumand Ruggiero de Fiore) leads the company which is known as the Almogávares or the 'Grand Catalan Company'. After defeating Turkic groups in several encounters de Flor is assassinated by Romans, to be succeeded by Bernat de Rocafort.

1308 - 1310

Duke of Athens. Defeated and killed by Sicillians.

1310 - 1312

The Almogávares in March 1310 defeat Walter of Brienne, duke of Athens, killing him and all of his knights at the Battle of Cephissus (or Orchomenus) in Boeotia. The captive wives and possessions are divided by lot, while a prince of the house of Aragon is invited to rule Athens. The Brienne family maintains its lost claim on Athens.

Occupation by Byzantine Greeks, Islamic Moors, and Christian Italians left Sicily with a rich cultural vein which is reflected in this tombstone of a Norman-Sicilian woman in 1148, inscribed in Latin (left), Greek (right), Hebrew (top), and Arabic (bottom)

Frederick I in 1311 sends his infant son, Manfred, to be deputy governor of the Grand Catalan Company while also in 1312 taking the role of duke of Athens. It remains nominally subject to Sicily with Berenguer Estanyol as the boy's regent.

1311 - 1312

One of Walter's captains. Captained Athens until relieved.

1312 - 1317

Sicillian duke of Athens for Aragon. Aged 5. Died.

1312 - 1316

Regent for Manfred. An able governor. Died.

1317 - 1338

Brother of Manfred. Sicillian duke of Athens.

1317 - 1330

Regent for William. Stood down when relieved.

1330 - 1335

Regent for William.

1331

John Orsini of Epirus is attacked by Walter VI of Brienne, titular duke of Athens and a son-in-law of the Angevin Philip I of Taranto and Thamar Angelina Komnene. Walter besieges Arta, which forces John temporarily to accept Angevin suzerainty. Nicholas Lancia is reported to be leading the Athens defences against Walter's expedition.

Two sides of a denier coin which was issued during the reign of John I Orsini, despot of Epirus for twelve years and count of Cephalonia

1338 - 1348

Brother of William. Duke of Randazzo. Died of plague.

1348 - 1355

Son. Also in Neopatria & Malta. Died of plague.

1355 - 1377

Son. King of Sicily. Died of plague.

1377 - 1379

Duchess of Athens and queen of Sicily.

1379 - 1387

Last Sicillian duke of Athens for Aragon.

1387 - 1388

The Florentine Acciaioli family (otherwise shown as Acciajuoli) now govern the duchy after they have removed the Aragonese rulers with help from Navarre. Nerio I wills the city and duchy of Athens to Venice but instead it remains a Florentine possession.

1388 - 1394

Duke of Athens. Father-in-law of Theodore I of Morea.

1390 - 1393

Nerio's forces capture the duchy of Neopatras from its Catalan masters, but they hold it for just three years before Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I conquers it. After that Nerio has to pay an annual tribute to be able to retain Athens.

The junior archon of first century Athens, Hierotheos the Thesmothete, may have been the very first head of the early Christian population in the city

1394 - 1395

Illegitimate son. Duke of Athens.

1395

The political situation is fraught, with various local lords constantly jockeying for power and Venice and the Ottomans playing more powerful hands. A small Ottoman force attacks the Acropolis in Athens and Nerio's brother, Donato, is in no position to defend the town. Instead it is signed over to Venice in return for protection.

1395 - 1397

One of the Venetian podestas.

1397 - 1399

One of the Venetian podestas.

1399 - 1400

One of the Venetian podestas.

1400 - 1402

One of the Venetian podestas.

1402 - 1403

Antonio I Acciaioli launches a surprise attack on Athens and manages to capture the lower town. The Acropolis is besieged, surrendering in February 1403 despite Venetian efforts to provide support.

The Ottomans directly challenged the most powerful of Europe's Mediterranean empires in the form of the Venetian republic, leading to a series of vicious wars over the course of three centuries which are known as the Ottoman-Venetian Wars

1402 - 1435

Restored as duke of Athens. Died childless.

1435 - 1439

Cousin. Duke of Athens. Fought claimants but deposed.

1439 - 1441

Brother and usurper. Duke of Athens. Died.

1441 - 1451

Restored as duke of Athens.

1451 - 1454

Son. Duke of Athens. Acceded as a child. Ottoman captive.

1451 - 1454

Mother and regent. Ottoman vassal (1453).

1453 - 1454

Second husband. Ottoman vassal (1453).

1453

Constantinople, the Palaeologi capital and heart of the fading Eastern Roman empire, is captured by Mehmed II of the Ottoman empire, and Greece becomes an Ottoman province. The loss is viewed as a disaster for the Christian world, despite Rome's frequent differences with the Orthodox church in Constantinople over the centuries, and with its emperors.

The fall of Constantinople not only ended the last vestiges of the Roman empire, now dating back almost two millennia in its many forms, but it also opened up south-eastern Europe to the Ottoman Turks

1454

Regent for her young son, Chiara Zorzi has remarried since the death of Nerio II, to Bartolomeo Contarini. The people of Athens call on Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II to make an intervention, clearly distrusting the couple's motives. They and the young Francesco I are summoned to the Ottoman capital at Adrianople, and Francesco is never allowed to leave. His place in Athens is taken by another Francisco, son of Antonio II, as an Ottoman vassal.

1455 - 1458

Duke of Athens. Ottoman vassal. Captured. Later murdered.

1456 - 1458

The army of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II arrives in Athens to take control. The duke and his subjects take refuge in the Acropolis and manage to hold out for two years until they are forced to surrender. The sultan enters Athens in August 1458, permitting Francesco to retain the lordship of Thebes as his vassal until he is murdered in 1460.