European Kingdoms

Duchy of Naxos / Duchy of the Archipelago (Fourth Crusade State)
(AD 1206 - 1207)

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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, while rival claimants also established holdings in Trebizond, Epirus, and in what was now the kingdom of Thessalonica. 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 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. Boniface was made king of Thessalonica, and paid homage to Baldwin for a fief which consisted of Macedonia, Thessaly, and inland Epirus.

The duchy of Naxos was created over the course of a couple of years of fighting out of a number of Aegean islands which had been part of the Eastern Roman empire. That multitude of islands under its control meant that it was also known as the 'Duchy of the Archipelago'. Nominally a vassal of the Latin empire in real terms it was independent. Although overlordship was sometimes claimed by Achaia, it very quickly switched its allegiance to Venice.

Also referred to in its deep history as Naxos Dionysia, the island of Naxos is located in the central Cyclades in the Aegean Sea, to the east of Paros, to the south of Myconos, to the north of Ios, and to the north-west of Amorgos. During the Bronze Age this had been a Minoan island, one which had been inhabited from the third and second millennia BC. By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries AD the population of the Cyclades were Greek Orthodox, while their new Venetian overlords were Roman Catholics.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information from the John De Cleene Archive, 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), and The Duchy of Naxos (Annabella Naxos Sailing Tours), and Naxos (Encyclopaedia Britannica).)

1204 - 1206

Count Baldwin IX of Flanders is installed as Baldwin I of Constantinople, but the fracturing of the Eastern Roman state continues following the Latin conquest of its capital. The Albanian principality of Arbanon achieves full independence while the Eastern Roman court has withdrawn to Nicæa in Anatolia.

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)

Rival claimants have also been quick to establish their own holdings, including Trebizond, Epirus, and Thessalonica. The principality of Achaia and the duchies of Athens and Naxos are also created, in these cases as opportunistic land-grabs or divisions of Constantinople's direct holdings.

1206 - 1207

Venetian, related to doge (?). Founded for Latins. Died 1227.

1206

It takes Marco Sanudo two years to complete his 'conquest' of the Cyclades and Sporades islands, gaining Naxos in 1206. Seemingly little actual fighting is involved, with Sanudo and his forces simply having to show up to generate a surrender. Venetian ships are taking control of many of the Aegean islands and some coastal territories on Greece itself,and Naxos is the last of the Cyclades to fall after Genoese opposition has been overcome.

Marco Sanudo in 1206 founded a duchy which would remain controlled by his descendants until 1383, and then by Francis Crispi and his descendants until 1566, with defensive towers being built such as this Venetian example at Agiá

Sanudo establishes a feudal system, building a fortress or kastro in Naxos and distributing land to his followers. The duchy remains a feudal state which pledges allegiance to the Latin empire in Constantinople.

1207

Quite naturally, Sanudo drops his allegiance to the quickly-weakening Latin throne in Constantinople in exchange for allegiance to Venice, in return for the protection of its powerful navy.

The Sanudo dynasty remains in place until 1383, maintaining strong ties with Venice and the Crusader states in Greece such as the principality of Achaia. Naxos remains one of the most durable Latin states, lasting until 1566 when it falls under Ottoman-appointed governance. The Ottomans take direct control in 1579.

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