Kingdom of Thessalonica

Coordinates: 40°38′N 22°57′E / 40.633°N 22.950°E / 40.633; 22.950
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Kingdom of Thessalonica
Regnum Thessalonicae (
Latin
)
1204–1224
Coat of Arms per The Lord Marshal's Roll (1295) of Thessalonica
Coat of Arms per The Lord Marshal's Roll (1295)
Boniface
• 1207–1224
Demetrius
Historical eraMiddle Ages
• Kingdom established
1204
• Fall of Thessalonica to Epirus
1224
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Byzantine Empire (Angelos dynasty)
Empire of Thessalonica

The Kingdom of Thessalonica (

Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over conquered Byzantine lands in Macedonia and Thessaly
.

History

Background

After the fall of

Baldwin of Flanders was elected as emperor of the new Latin Empire
.

Establishment

Boniface reluctantly accepted this, and set out to conquer

Thessalonica, the second-largest Byzantine city after Constantinople. At first he had to compete with Emperor Baldwin, who also wanted the city. He then went on to capture the city later in 1204 and set up a kingdom there, subordinate to Baldwin, although the title of "king" was never officially used. Late 13th and 14th century sources suggest that Boniface based his claim to Thessalonica on the statement that his younger brother Renier had been granted Thessalonica on his marriage to Maria Komnene in 1180.[1]

In 1204–05, Boniface was able to extend his rule south into Greece, advancing through

Zetounion and Ravennika, was under governors appointed by the Latin Emperor, and the principalities of southern Greece were only Boniface's feudal vassals.[2] Emperor Henry of Flanders' expedition against the rebellious Lombard barons of Thessalonica in 1208–09, however, ended the feudal dependency of the southern principalities—the Duchy of Athens, the Marquisate of Bodonitsa, the Lordship of Salona, and the Triarchy of Negroponte—on Thessalonica, replacing it with direct imperial suzerainty.[3]

The Lombard Rebellion

Boniface's rule lasted less than two years before he was ambushed by Tsar

William VI of Montferrat, Boniface's elder son, on the throne, and openly defied the Latin Emperor Henry of Flanders. Henry marched against them in 1209 and forced their submission. As a result, Henry's brother Eustace then became regent for Demetrius.[4]

War with Epirus and fall

Taking advantage of this situation, Michael I of Epirus, a former ally of Boniface, attacked the kingdom in 1210, as did the Bulgarians. Henry of Flanders eventually defeated both, but after Michael's death in 1214, his brother and successor Theodore began anew the assault on the kingdom. Over the next nine years Theodore gradually conquered all of Thessalonica except the city itself, as the Latin Empire could spare no army to defend it while they were busy fighting the Byzantine Empire of Nicaea in Asia. In 1224, just as Demetrius had become old enough to take power for himself, Theodore finally captured Thessalonica and the kingdom became part of the Despotate of Epirus.[5]

Titular claimants

The kingdom was claimed by titular kings of the house of

Baldwin II of Constantinople had promised the title to Hugh IV should he regain the Latin Empire
.

References

  1. Salimbene de Adam, Chronicle, 1966 edition vol. 2 p. 790. Cf. (Runciman 1951–1954, vol. 3 p. 125), and for full discussion (Haberstumpf 1995
    , pp. 56–67).
  2. ^ Van Tricht 2011, pp. 161–162.
  3. ^ Van Tricht 2011, pp. 162–163.
  4. ^ Gibbon, Edward (1906). Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 11. New York: Fred de Fau and Co.
  5. .

Bibliography