The Historians' History of the World 07

1205-1208 Guillaume de Champlitte, receiving territory in the Peloponnesus as his share of the Byzantine Empire, is joined by Geoffrey Villehardouin, nephew of the chronicler, and conquering about half the peninsula within three years organises a strong feudal government. Geoffrey is his most important feudal vassal, and receives the fief of Kalamata.

1210 Guillaume returns to France leaving his relative Hugh in charge, but the latter dying, Geoffrey is elected in his place. Geoffrey possesses himself of the principality. He strengthens it in every possible way.

1218 Geoffrey II succeeds his father.

1219-1222 Serious quarrel of Geoffrey with the pope. The ban of excommunication is finally removed.

1246 Death of Geoffrey. His brother Guillaume Villehardouin succeeds. He proposes to complete conquest of Peloponnesus.

1247 Conquest of Nauplia with help of Venetians of Modon.

1248 Conquest of Monemvasia. Before the end of the year the entire Peloponnesus is under Frankish domination.

1259 Guillaume assists his father-in-law Michael II of Epirus in his war against Michael VIII of Constantinople. Battle of Pelagonia, and capture of Guillaume, by Michael VIII.

1261 Guillaume released by ceding Monemvasia, Misithra, and Maina, three strong cities, to Michael VIII.

Pope Urban IV releases Guillaume from promise not to wage war on Michael. Warfare results in the Morea.

1263 Urban IV mediates between Michael and Guillaume.

1267 The principality becomes a dependency of the kingdom of Naples, having been that of the Romanian emperors.

1277 Death of Guillaume. His daughter Isabella succeeds.

1278 Death of Isabella’s husband Philip of Anjou. Guillaume de la Roche, duke of Athens, governs for ten years.

1291 Isabella marries Florenz of Hainault.

1297 Death of Florenz and end of last prosperous period of the principality. The suzerainty of Achaia has been transferred to Philip of Tarentum.

1301 Isabella marries Philip of Savoy.

1304 Isabella and Philip leave Greece in consequence of disputes with their vassals and with Philip of Tarentum.

1311 Death of Isabella in Italy. Her daughter Maud of Hainault, widow of Guy II of Athens, succeeds.

1313 Maud marries Louis of Burgundy.

1315 Maud and Louis leave for Greece. Ferdinand of Majorca claims principality and sets out to take it.

1316 Death of Ferdinand in battle with Louis.

1317 Death of Louis. The house of Anjou try to marry Maud to Count John of Gravina, but finds she has already married Hugh de la Pallisse. King of Naples declares this marriage null, and Maud is compelled to go through ceremony with John. She is then imprisoned and dies about 1324. Philip of Tarentum takes title of prince.

1332 Robert, titular emperor of Romania, succeeds his father Philip as prince, while his mother Catherine of Valois becomes suzerain. John of Gravina still disputes the principality. The Achæan barons fail in attempt to transfer their fealty to Constantinople and to Don Jayme II of Majorca.

1346 At death of Catherine de Valois, Robert becomes suzerain of Achaia as well as prince.

1364 Death of Robert, leaving principality to his widow Mary of Bourbon, the suzerainty devolving on Philip III titular emperor of Romania. Mary establishes herself in Greece, but is unable to hold the position.

1373 James de Baux becomes suzerain.

1387 Mary retires to Italy. She is last sovereign to rule over the whole of the principality. Achaia falls into a state of anarchy. The country is ravaged by the Seljuk and Ottoman Turks; the strategi and despots of the Palæologus family established by the emperor of Constantinople in the Morean territory that was the price of William Villehardouin’s ransom, gradually reconquer the Peloponnesus from the French feudal lords. About 1425, Murad II sets about ruining the Byzantine possessions in the Peloponnesus. After this the Ottoman power in the land steadily increases. In 1458 Muhammed II visits the Peloponnesus, and it is finally conquered by him in 1460, except some cities still in the hands of the Venetians. For world-historic interest, perhaps the most important feature of the feudal states in Greece is thus stated by Finlay: “The Franks ruled the greater part of the Peloponnesus for two centuries, and the feudal system which they introduced was maintained in full vigour for sufficient time to admit of its effects on civilised communities living under the simpler system of personal rights, traced out in the Roman law, being fully developed. The result was that the Franks were demoralised, the Greeks impoverished, and Greece ruined.”

THE VENETIAN ACQUISITIONS (1207-1566 A.D.)