The Theme of Hellas ( el, , ''Thema Hellados'') was a
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
military-civilian province (''thema'',
theme
Theme or themes may refer to:
* Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work
* Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos
* Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
) located in southern
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
. The theme encompassed parts of
Central Greece
Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...
,
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
and, until , the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
peninsula. It was established in the late 7th century, and survived until the late 11th/12th century, when it was broken up into smaller districts.
History
7th–8th centuries
The ancient term "Hellas" was already in use in the 6th century to designate southern Greece in an administrative context, being employed in the ''
Synekdemos
The ''Synecdemus'' or ''Synekdemos'' ( el, Συνέκδημος) is a geographic text, attributed to Hierocles, which contains a table of administrative divisions of the Byzantine Empire and lists of their cities. The work is dated to the reign o ...
'' as an alternative name for the
Roman province
The Roman provinces (Latin: ''provincia'', pl. ''provinciae'') were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was rule ...
of
Achaea
Achaea () or Achaia (), sometimes transliterated from Greek as Akhaia (, ''Akhaïa'' ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Western Greece and is situated in the northwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. The ...
.
During the late 6th and early 7th centuries, the collapse of the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
's
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
frontier allowed large-scale
Slavic invasions and settlements to occur all over the
Balkan peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
. From 578, Slavic raids reached
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
and southern Greece. Aided by the Byzantine Empire's preoccupation with the
long and bloody wars with
Sassanid Persia
The Sasanian () or Sassanid Empire, officially known as the Empire of Iranians (, ) and also referred to by historians as the Neo-Persian Empire, was the last Iranian empire before the early Muslim conquests of the 7th-8th centuries AD. Named ...
in the east, and with the
Avar Khaganate
The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...
in the north, the Slavs raided and settled almost at will. The Slavic settlement that followed the raids in the late 6th and early 7th centuries affected the
Peloponnese
The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...
in the south and
Macedonia in the north far more than Thessaly or
Central Greece
Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...
, with the fortified towns largely remaining in the hands of the native Greek population. Nevertheless, in the first decades of the 7th century the Slavs were free to raid Thessaly and the south relatively unhindered; according to the ''
Miracles of Saint Demetrius
The ''Miracles of Saint Demetrius'' ( la, Miracula Sancti Demetrii) is a 7th-century collection of homilies, written in Greek, accounting the miracles performed by the patron saint of Thessalonica, Saint Demetrius. It is a unique work for the hi ...
'', in the Slavic tribes even built
monoxyla
A dugout canoe or simply dugout is a boat made from a hollowed tree. Other names for this type of boat are logboat and monoxylon. ''Monoxylon'' (''μονόξυλον'') (pl: ''monoxyla'') is Greek – ''mono-'' (single) + '' ξύλον xylon'' (t ...
and raided the coasts of Thessaly and many Aegean islands, depopulating many of them. Some of the native Greeks fled to the fortified cities, to off-shore islands, or to
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
.
The creation of the theme of Hellas is dated to sometime between 687 and 695, during the first reign of Emperor
Justinian II
Justinian II ( la, Iustinianus; gr, Ἰουστινιανός, Ioustinianós; 668/69 – 4 November 711), nicknamed "the Slit-Nosed" ( la, Rhinotmetus; gr, ὁ Ῥινότμητος, ho Rhinótmētos), was the last Eastern Roman emperor of the H ...
(),
[.] probably as a direct result of his 688/689 campaign against the Slavs. The first ''
strategos
''Strategos'', plural ''strategoi'', Linguistic Latinisation, Latinized ''strategus'', ( el, στρατηγός, pl. στρατηγοί; Doric Greek: στραταγός, ''stratagos''; meaning "army leader") is used in Greek language, Greek to ...
'' (military governor) of Hellas is attested in 695:
Leontios
Leontius ( el, Λεόντιος, Leóntios; – 15 February 706), was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. Little is known of his early life, other than that he was born in Isauria in Asia Minor. He was given the title of ''patrikios'', and ma ...
, formerly ''strategos'' of the
Anatolic Theme, who had fallen into disgrace following his defeat at the
Battle of Sebastopolis
The Battle of Sebastopolis was fought at Sebastopolis (mostly identified with Elaiussa Sebaste in Cilicia but also with modern Sulusaray) in 692 CE between the Byzantine Empire and the Umayyad Caliphate under Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. The battle ...
, and who thereupon rebelled against Justinian and overthrew him. Although the contemporary sources do not apply the term "theme" to Hellas until after the 8th century, using the term ''strategia'' (στρατηγία, "generalcy") instead, it is almost certain that it was established from the outset as a full administrative entity, controlling those lands of the old province of Achaea that still remained under imperial control. The original extent of the theme is unclear and debated, but based on the (assumed) extent of Byzantine control, its territory must have comprised the eastern coast of the mainland (eastern Central Greece with
Euboea
Evia (, ; el, Εύβοια ; grc, Εὔβοια ) or Euboia (, ) is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait (only at its narrowest poin ...
and parts of Thessaly), possibly including the eastern Peloponnese, as well as some Aegean islands like
Skyros
Skyros ( el, Σκύρος, ), in some historical contexts Latinized Scyros ( grc, Σκῦρος, ), is an island in Greece, the southernmost of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC and slightly later, the ...
and
Kea
The kea (; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the family Nestoridae found in the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green with a brilliant orange under its wing ...
.
[.] It is unclear whether
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
or
Thebes was the province's original capital; most likely Thebes, as it certainly filled this role in the early 10th century. In the second half of the 10th century, however, the ''strategos'' seat was transferred to
Larissa
Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...
.
Given its lack of depth in the
hinterland
Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...
, the theme was originally probably oriented mostly towards the sea and comprised the coastal areas that the
Byzantine navy
The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its Imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defence and survival of the state than ...
was able to control. It was not until the reign of
Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian ( gr, Λέων ὁ Ἴσαυρος, Leōn ho Isauros; la, Leo Isaurus; 685 – 18 June 741), also known as the Syrian, was Byzantine Emperor from 717 until his death in 741 and founder of the Isaurian dynasty. He put an en ...
() that major land operations are recorded, and not until the early 9th century that the re-establishment of imperial control in the hinterland was completed. Thus Justinian II settled several thousand
Mardaites
The Mardaites () or al-Jarajima ( syr, ܡܪ̈ܕܝܐ; ar, ٱلْجَرَاجِمَة / ALA-LC: ''al-Jarājimah''), inhabited the highland regions of the Nur Mountains.
The Mardaites were early Christians following either Miaphysitism or Monothelit ...
in Hellas, who provided garrisons and crews for local naval squadrons. The number of land troops on the other hand remained rather low throughout the theme's existence, numbering perhaps 2,000, according to the estimates of
Warren Treadgold
Warren T. Treadgold (born April 30, 1949, Oxford, England) is an American historian and specialist in Byzantine studies. He is the National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Byzantine Studies at Saint Louis University. His interest in the ...
. The fleet of Hellas played a prominent role during the anti-
iconoclast
Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be conside ...
revolt of 726/7. During the course of the 8th century, however, imperial authority was gradually extended to the interior. The local Slavic inhabitants were
Christianized
Christianization ( or Christianisation) is to make Christian; to imbue with Christian principles; to become Christian. It can apply to the conversion of an individual, a practice, a place or a whole society. It began in the Roman Empire, conti ...
and subjected to Byzantine authority, often in autonomous districts under their own ''
archon
''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
tes''. This process was interrupted, but not halted, by another wave of Slavic settlement in from
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
; imperial possessions appear not to have been greatly affected, and the fact that in 766, Emperor
Constantine V
Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; la, Constantinus; July 718 – 14 September 775), was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able ...
() was able to call upon 500 artisans from "Hellas and the islands" to Constantinople suggests a secured and regular contact between the province and the imperial centre. The anti-Slavic expedition of the minister
Staurakios
Staurakios or Stauracius ( gr, Σταυράκιος, links=no; early 790s – 11 January 812AD) was Byzantine emperor from 26 July to 2 October 811. He was born in the early 790s, probably between 791 and 793, to Nikephoros I and an unknown ...
in 783 restored and extended imperial control once again, especially in the Peloponnese and northern Greece. In Central Greece and Thessaly, the campaign seems to have been mostly a
show of force
A show of force is a military operation intended to warn (such as a warning shot) or to intimidate an opponent by showcasing a capability or will to act if one is provoked. Shows of force may also be executed by police forces and other armed, non ...
to strengthen imperial rule and subdue the new settlers, while in the Peloponnese it probably involved actual fighting against the Slavs. Although the local Slavs of the Peloponnese were not fully subdued at this time, the gradual strengthening of imperial authority eventually led to the splitting off of the Peloponnese to form a
separate theme around or soon after the year 800.
9th–12th centuries
During the 9th and early 10th centuries, Hellas suffered from
Saracen
upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens
Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek and Latin writings, to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Romans as Arabia Pe ...
raids, especially after the conquest of
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...
by the
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
in the 820s and the establishment of the
Emirate of Crete
The Emirate of Crete ( ar, إقريطش, Iqrīṭish or , ''Iqrīṭiya''; gr, Κρήτη, Krētē) was an Islamic state that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete from the late 820s to the reconquest of the island by the Byzantine Empir ...
. Among the major such events, in the 880s the Arab
emir of Tarsus attacked Euripos (
Chalcis
Chalcis ( ; Ancient Greek & Katharevousa: , ) or Chalkida, also spelled Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief town of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...
) but
was defeated, and in 902 the Saracens under the renegade
Damian of Tarsus Damian of Tarsus (Greek: Δαμιανός ό Ταρσεύς, ; died 924), surnamed Ghulam Yazman (" slave/page of Yazman"), was a Byzantine Greek convert to Islam, governor of Tarsus in 896–897 and one of the main leaders of naval raids against t ...
sacked the port city of
Demetrias
Demetrias ( grc, Δημητριάς) was a Greek city in Magnesia in ancient Thessaly (east central Greece), situated at the head of the Pagasaean Gulf, near the modern city of Volos.
History
It was founded in 294 BCE by Demetrius Polior ...
. Ten ships from Hellas also participated in the failed attempt to recover Crete under
Himerios in 911/2. In 918 and again in 923, the area was subjected to Bulgarian raids under Tsar
Simeon
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.
Meaning
The name is derived from Simeon, so ...
that reached even into the Peloponnese and may have destroyed Thebes. Nevertheless, from the late 9th century on Hellas, along with the rest of Greece, shows evidence of increased prosperity, such as the increase in coinage, foundation of new towns and the establishment of new industries (most notably the
silk industry
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. The best-known silk is obtained from the coc ...
in Thebes). The Saracen threat receded during the 10th century and was practically ended as the result of the
Byzantine reconquest of Crete
The siege of Chandax in 960-961 was the centerpiece of the Byzantine Empire's campaign to recover the island of Crete which since the 820s had been ruled by Muslim Arabs. The campaign followed a series of failed attempts to reclaim the island fro ...
in 960–961, but the Bulgarian threat was renewed under Tsar
Samuel
Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bibl ...
, who occupied Thessaly in 986 and launched several devastating raids into Central Greece and the Peloponnese until his defeat at the
Battle of Spercheios
The Battle of Spercheios ( bg, Битка при Сперхей, el, Μάχη του Σπερχειού) took place in 997 AD, on the shores of the Spercheios river near the city of Lamia in central Greece. It was fought between a Bulgarian army ...
in 997.
During the 10th and 11th centuries, Hellas was often governed jointly with the Peloponnese under a single ''strategos'', and as the civilian administration rose in importance, the same practice appears there as well, with ''
protonotarioi'', ''
praetor
Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...
es'' and ''
kritai'' being appointed for both themes.
Thessaly appears to have been detached from Hellas and joined to the
theme of Thessalonica
The Theme of Thessalonica ( el, Θέμα Θεσσαλονίκης) was a military-civilian province (''thema'' or theme (Byzantine administrative unit), theme) of the Byzantine Empire located in the southern Balkans, comprising varying parts of Ce ...
from the early 11th century—though the
Spercheios
The Spercheios (, ''Sperkheiós''), also known as the Spercheus from its Latin name, is a river in Phthiotis in central Greece. It is long, and its drainage area is . It was worshipped as a god in the ancient Greek religion and appears in some c ...
valley remained part of Hellas—until sometime in the 12th century. The ''strategos'' of Hellas is still attested for much of the 11th century, and a ''
doux'' of Thebes and Euripus after the middle of the 12th century. By the end of the 11th century, the joint administration of Hellas and the Peloponnese came under the control of the ''
megas doux'', the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy. Due to the latter's absence from the province, however, the local administration remained under the local ''praetor'', a position often held during this period by senior and distinguished officials like the legal scholars
Alexios Aristenos
Alexios Aristenos ( gr, Ἀλέξιος Ἀριστηνός) was ''oikonomos'' and ''nomophylax'' of the Great Church at Constantinople. He flourished around 1166 AD, in which year he was present at the Council of Constantinople. He edited a ''S ...
and
Nicholas Hagiotheodorites Nicholas Hagiotheodorites ( gr, Νικόλαος Ἁγιοθεοδωρίτης, Nikolaos Hagiotheodōritēs; died 1175) was a Byzantine scholar, official, and Metropolitan of Athens.
The Hagiotheodorites family first appears in the early 12th cen ...
. Increasingly, however, smaller jurisdictions appeared within the boundaries of both themes. These eventually evolved into the smaller fiscal districts variously termed ''horia'' (sing. ''horion''), ''chartoularata'' (sing. ''chartoularaton''), and ''
episkepseis'' (sing. ''episkepsis'') in the 12th century, while the old themes of Hellas and the Peloponnese gradually withered away as administrative entities. The ''horia'' in particular are only attested for Greece, and appear to have been based at Larissa, Thebes and Euripus, Athens, Corinth, and Patras.
The 11th century was largely a period of peace for southern Greece, interrupted only by raids during the
uprising of Petar Delyan
The Uprising of Peter Delyan ( bg, Въстанието на Петър Делян, el, Επανάσταση του Πέτρου Δελεάνου), which took place in 1040–1041, was a major Bulgarian rebellion against the Byzantine Empire in ...
(1040–1041), a raid by the Turkic Uzes tribe in 1064, and the unsuccessful
Norman attacks into Thessaly in 1082–1083. The
Italian maritime republics
The maritime republics ( it, repubbliche marinare), also called merchant republics ( it, repubbliche mercantili), were thalassocratic city-states of the Mediterranean Basin during the Middle Ages. Being a significant presence in Italy in the M ...
, with 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, ...
first and foremost, began to establish their presence in the region towards the end of the century, signalling the beginning of the Italians' ascendancy in maritime commerce and their gradual takeover of the
Byzantine economy
The Byzantine economy was among the most robust economies in the Mediterranean for many centuries. Constantinople was a prime hub in a trading network that at various times extended across nearly all of Eurasia and North Africa. Some scholars arg ...
: in the aftermath of the failed Norman invasion, Alexios I granted the first trading privileges to the Venetians in exchange for their naval aids against Norman fleets, such as immunity from taxation and the right to set up trade colonies in certain towns including Constantinople itself; In Hellas, Euripus, Thebes, and Athens were among those towns. Alexios' successors tried to curb these privileges with successes in part — and leading to the Venetian sacking of Euripus in 1171 as a retaliation - but in 1198
Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos ( gkm, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, Alexios Komnēnos Angelos; 1211), Latinized as Alexius III Angelus, was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to 17/18 July 1203. He reigned under the name Alexios Komnen ...
() was forced to concede even more extensive ones, allowing the Venetians to create trade stations virtually in all cities situated close to the coast.
In 1148, the Normans under
Roger II of Sicily
Roger II ( it, Ruggero II; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily
Roger I ( it, Ruggero I, Arabic: ''رُجار'', ''Rujār''; Maltese: ''Ruġġieru'', – 22 June 1101), nicknamed Rog ...
plundered Thebes, carrying off its silk workers to
Palermo
Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...
. The local silk industry survived, however, and was revived, partly if not mostly with Jewish workers as attested by
Benjamin of Tudela
Benjamin of Tudela ( he, בִּנְיָמִין מִטּוּדֶלָה, ; ar, بنيامين التطيلي ''Binyamin al-Tutayli''; Tudela, Kingdom of Navarre, 1130 Castile, 1173) was a medieval Jewish traveler who visited Europe, Asia, an ...
in his visit in 1165. Both Benjamin and the Arab geographer
al-Idrisi describe Greece during the middle of the 12th century as densely populated and prosperous, while Benjamin records the presence of Jewish communities in Thebes,
Krisa
Krisa also known as Krisi is a village in Bewani-Wutung Onei Rural LLG, Sandaun Province, Papua New Guinea, 20 kilometers south of the provincial capital of Vanimo. In the local language, the village, its people and the local language itself a ...
, Euripus,
Ravenica
Ravennika or Ravenica was a medieval settlement in Central Greece.
Ravennika is first mentioned as "Rovinaca" by the Jewish traveller Benjamin of Tudela, who reported 100 Jewish families there. The name is most likely of Slavic origin, its meani ...
, and Zetouni (
Lamia
LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...
). The situation began to change towards the end of the reign of
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos ( el, Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, translit=Manouíl Komnenos, translit-std=ISO; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Romanization of Greek, Latinized Comnenus, also called Porphyrogennetos (; "born in the purple"), w ...
(), whose costly military ventures led to a hike in taxation. Coupled with the corruption and autocratic behaviour of officials, this led to a decline in industry and the impoverishment of the peasantry, eloquently lamented by the
Metropolitan of Athens
The Archbishopric of Athens ( el, Ιερά Αρχιεπισκοπή Αθηνών) is a Greek Orthodox archiepiscopal see based in the city of Athens, Greece. It is the senior see of Greece, and the seat of the autocephalous Church of Greece. Its ...
,
Michael Choniates
Saint Michael Choniates (or Acominatus; el, ; c. 1140 – 1220) was a Byzantine Greek writer and cleric, born at Chonae (the ancient Colossae). At an early age he studied at Constantinople and was the pupil of Eustathius of Thessalonica. Around ...
. This decline was temporarily halted under
Andronikos I Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos ( gr, Ἀνδρόνικος Κομνηνός; – 12 September 1185), Latinization of names, Latinized as Andronicus I Comnenus, was Byzantine emperor from 1183 to 1185. He was the son of Isaac Komnenos (son of Alexio ...
(), who sent the capable Nikephoros Prosouch as ''praetor'', but resumed after Andronikos' fall.
At the turn the 13th century, the centrifugal tendencies in the Byzantine state became more and more pronounced. In the northwestern Peloponnese,
Leo Sgouros
Leo Sgouros ( el, Λέων Σγουρός), Latinized as Leo Sgurus, was a Greek independent lord in the northeastern Peloponnese in the early 13th century. The scion of the magnate Sgouros family, he succeeded his father as hereditary lord in th ...
, ruler of
Nauplia
Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...
, had already taken over
Argos
Argos most often refers to:
* Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece
** Ancient Argos, the ancient city
* Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer operating in the United Kingdom and Ireland
Argos or ARGOS may also refer to:
Businesses
...
and Corinth, and launched raids into Attica. Taking advantage of the preoccupation of the imperial authorities with the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
, in 1204 he captured Athens, before taking over Boeotia and Thessaly without a fight. Having become the master of a quasi-independent realm encompassing much of eastern mainland Greece, he then tried to legitimize his position by marrying the daughter of the deposed Alexios III Angelos at Larissa. Following the
sack of Constantinople
The sack of Constantinople occurred in April 1204 and marked the culmination of the Fourth Crusade. Crusader armies captured, looted, and destroyed parts of Constantinople, then the capital of the Byzantine Empire. After the capture of the c ...
by the Crusaders in April 1204, however, the situation changed: in the same autumn,
Boniface of Montferrat
Boniface I, usually known as Boniface of Montferrat ( it, Bonifacio del Monferrato, link=no; el, Βονιφάτιος Μομφερρατικός, ''Vonifatios Momferratikos'') (c. 1150 – 4 September 1207), was the ninth Marquis of Montferrat ( ...
led a crusader army into Greece. Leo Sgouros tried to confront the Crusaders at the
Thermopylae
Thermopylae (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: (''Thermopylai'') , Demotic Greek (Greek): , (''Thermopyles'') ; "hot gates") is a place in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur ...
, but his soldiers ran away, and he retreated to his fortress bases in the Peloponnese, from where he resisted for a few more years. Boniface divided the captured lands among his followers; the main
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
states formed in the former area of Hellas were 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 the ...
, the
Marquisate of Bodonitsa The margraviate or marquisate of Bodonitsa (also Vodonitsa or Boudonitza; el, Μαρκιωνία/Μαρκιζᾶτον τῆς Βοδονίτσας), today Mendenitsa, Phthiotis (180 km northwest of Athens), was a Frankish state in Greece foll ...
, the
Lordship of Salona
The Lordship of Salona, after 1318 the County of Salona, was a Crusader state established after the Fourth Crusade (1204) in Central Greece, around the town of Salona (modern Amfissa, known in French as ''La Sole'' and Italian as ''La Sola''). ...
, and the
Triarchy of Negroponte
The Triarchy of Negroponte was a crusader state established on the island of Euboea ( vec, Negroponte) after the partition of the Byzantine Empire following the Fourth Crusade. Partitioned into three baronies (''terzieri'', "thirds") (Chalkis, ...
.
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{{Byzantine Greece
Themes of the Byzantine Empire
States and territories established in the 7th century
Byzantine Greece