Battle of Demetrias
Battle of Demetrias | |||||||
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Part of the Byzantine-Latin Wars | |||||||
Map of the Byzantine Empire and the Latin states in southern Greece c. 1278 | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Byzantine Empire |
Venetian Crete | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Alexios Philanthropenos (WIA) John Palaiologos |
Guglielmo da Verona † Fillippo Sanudo (POW) | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
50–80 ships | 30–62 ships | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
heavy | very heavy |
The Battle of Demetrias was a sea engagement fought at
. The battle was fierce, and initially in favour of the Latins, but the timely arrival of Byzantine reinforcements tipped the scale, resulting in a crushing Byzantine victory.Background
In the aftermath of the
With the aid of his newly constructed fleet, in 1263 Palaiologos sent an expedition to the
In the early 1270s (the exact date is uncertain, most recent scholars favour 1272/3 or 1274/5),
The battle
The opposing fleets' numbers are unclear. For the Byzantines,
The Latin fleet caught the Byzantines by surprise, and their initial attack was so violent that they made good progress. Their ships, on which high wooden towers had been erected, had the advantage, and many Byzantine seamen and soldiers were killed or drowned.[9] Just as victory seemed within the Latins' grasp, however, reinforcements arrived led by the despotes John Palaiologos. While retreating from Neopatras, the despotes had learned of the impending battle. Gathering whatever men he could, he rowed forty miles in one night and reached Demetrias just as the Byzantine fleet was beginning to waver.[8]
His arrival boosted the Byzantines' morale, and Palaiologos's men, ferried on board the ships by small boats, began to replenish their casualties and turn the tide. The battle continued all day, but by nightfall, all but two Latin ships had been captured. The Latin casualties were heavy, and included the triarch of Negroponte Guglielmo II da Verona. Many other nobles were captured, including the Venetian Fillippo Sanudo, who was probably the fleet's overall commander.[8]
Aftermath
The victory at Demetrias went a long way to mitigating the disaster of Neopatras for the Byzantines. It also marked the beginning of a sustained offensive across the Aegean: by 1278, Licario had subdued all of Euboea except for its capital,
Notes
References
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 125–127.
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 153–154, 158–159; Nicol 1993, p. 47.
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 154, 161–164, 214–215.
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 235–237; Fine 1994, p. 190.
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, p. 282.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 190; Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 283–284.
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, p. 283, Note #27.
- ^ a b c Geanakoplos 1959, p. 284.
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 283–284.
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 284–285, 295–298; Fine 1994, pp. 190–191, 243–244; Nicol 1993, pp. 59–60.
- ^ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 279, 282.
- ^ Longnon 1969, p. 257.
- ^ Fine 1994, p. 188
- ^ Setton 1976, p. 423.
- ^ Failler 1981, pp. 189–192.
- ^ ODB, "John I Doukas" (A. M. Talbot), pp. 1044–1045.
Sources
- Failler, A. (1981). "Chronologie et composition dans l'Histoire de Georges Pachymérès". Revue des études byzantines. 39: 145–249. .
- ISBN 0-472-08260-4.
- OCLC 1011763434.
- ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- ISBN 978-0-521-43991-6.
- ISBN 0-87169-114-0.
- Longnon, Jean (1969) [1962]. "The Frankish states in Greece, 1204-1311". In ISBN 0-299-04844-6.