The Battle of Megara occurred in 1359 between an alliance of the Christian states of southern Greece (the

Despotate of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...

, the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

, the

Knights Hospitaller The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

), and of a Turkish raiding fleet. The battle was a victory for the allies.

Background

Against the growing menace of Turkish raids in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

, a league was formed, probably at the initiative of

Manuel Kantakouzenos Manuel Kantakouzenos (or Cantacuzenus) ( Greek: Μανουήλ Καντακουζηνός, ''Manouēl Kantakouzēnos''), (c. 1326 – Mistra, Peloponnese, 10 April 1380). ''Despotēs'' in the Despotate of Morea or the Peloponnese from 25 Oct ...

, the

Despot of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...

. It comprised the Byzantines of the Morea, the ''

bailli A bailiff (french: bailli, ) was the king's administrative representative during the ''ancien régime'' in northern France, where the bailiff was responsible for the application of justice and control of the administration and local finances in h ...

'' of the

, Walter of Lor, the ''

Signoria A signoria () was the governing authority in many of the Italian city states during the Medieval and Renaissance periods. The word signoria comes from ''signore'' , or "lord"; an abstract noun meaning (roughly) "government; governing authority; ...

'' of the

, and the

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

Battle

According to the Aragonese version of the ''

Chronicle of the Morea The ''Chronicle of the Morea'' ( el, Τὸ χρονικὸν τοῦ Μορέως) is a long 14th-century history text, of which four versions are extant: in French, Greek (in verse), Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the ''Chr ...

'', the allies campaigned in the Megarid, where their navy, composed of Venetian and Hospitaller ships (the latter under the preceptor of

Kos Kos or Cos (; el, Κως ) is a Greek island, part of the Dodecanese island chain in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Kos is the third largest island of the Dodecanese by area, after Rhodes and Karpathos; it has a population of 36,986 (2021 census), ...

, Raymond Berenguer), attacked a Turkish corsair fleet. The allies destroyed 35 Turkish vessels, forcing the surviving Turks to retreat to their Catalan ally,

Roger de Llúria Roger of Lauria (''c''. 1245 – 17 January 1305) was a Neapolitan admiral in Aragonese service, who was the commander of the fleet of the Crown of Aragon during the War of the Sicilian Vespers. He was probably the most successful and talent ...

, the ruler of the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of th ...

. The ''Chronicle of the Morea'' asserts that after the battle, the land contingents of the participants returned home, but according to the history of

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under ...

, Manuel's father, the allies launched an invasion of Llúria's

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its ...

n possessions.

Dating

In 1362, Roger de Llúria found himself embroiled in a dispute with the Venetian Bailo of Negroponte, Peter Gradenigo, that soon led to war. As a result, in early 1363 he allowed Turkish mercenaries to enter his capital, Thebes. There they remained until a peace with Venice was concluded in July 1365. Accordingly, the battle was often dated to the summer of 1364, but various proposals have been made by modern scholars ranging from 1357 to 1364. The dating of the battle remains uncertain, but based on the bailliage of Walter of Lor, a date is most likely. With the revised chronology, it may be that the Turks Llúria allied himself with were the survivors of Megara.

References

Sources

* * * {{Setton-A History of the Crusades , volume = 3 , chapter = The Morea, 1311–1364 , pages = 104–140 , last = Topping , first = Peter , chapter-url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/History/History-idx?type=article&did=History.CrusThree.i0016&id=History.CrusThree 1359 in Europe 14th century in Greece Conflicts in 1359 Megara 1359 Megara 1359 Megara Megara 1359 Megara 1359 Megara 1359 Megara 1359