The First Parliament of Ravennika was convened in May 1209 by

Latin Emperor The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261 ...

Henry of Flanders Henry (c.1178 – 11 June 1216) was Latin emperor of Constantinople from 1205 until his death in 1216. He was one of the leaders of the Fourth Crusade in which the Byzantine Empire was conquered and Latin Empire formed. Life Henry was born in V ...

in the town of

Ravennika 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 ...

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 ...

in an attempt to resolve the rebellion of the Lombard barons of the

Kingdom of Thessalonica The Kingdom of Thessalonica () was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over conquered Byzantine lands in Macedonia and Thessaly. History Background After the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders in 1204, Bonifac ...

Background

Following the capture of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

by 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 April 1204, the establishment of the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byzanti ...

on the ruins 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 ...

and the treaty of partition of the latter's lands among the Crusader leaders, most of Greece was taken over relatively quickly by the Crusaders.

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 ( ...

established the

in northern and eastern Greece, and gave fiefs to his followers in

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

. Further south, 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 ...

was conquered by

William of Champlitte William I of Champlitte (french: Guillaume de Champlitte) (1160s-1209) was a French knight who joined the Fourth Crusade and became the first prince of Achaea (1205–1209).Longnon 1969, p. 239.Evergates 2007, p. 220. Early years and the Fourth ...

and

Geoffrey I of Villehardouin Geoffrey I of Villehardouin (french: Geoffroi Ier de Villehardouin) (''c.'' 1169 – ''c.'' 1229) was a French knight from the County of Champagne who joined the Fourth Crusade.Evergates 2007, p. 246.Setton 1976, p. 24.Longnon 1969, p. 242. He pa ...

, establishing 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 o ...

, under Thessalonica's suzerainty. Only

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...

remained in Greek hands, with

Michael I Komnenos Doukas Michael I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Comnenus Ducas ( el, Μιχαήλ Κομνηνός Δούκας, Mikhaēl Komnēnos Doukas), and in modern sources often recorded as Michael I Angelos, a name he never used, was the founder and first ruler ...

establishing a separate principality there. Boniface of Montferrat was killed fighting against the

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

in 1207, leaving his underage son

Demetrius Demetrius is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek male given name ''Dēmḗtrios'' (), meaning “Demetris” - "devoted to goddess Demeter". Alternate forms include Demetrios, Dimitrios, Dimitris, Dmytro, Dimitri, Dimitrie, Dimitar, Dumit ...

on the throne. The powerful Lombard barons however, under the regent

Oberto II of Biandrate Oberto, Uberto, or Umberto II ( en, Humbert) was the Count of Biandrate (''Blan-Dras'') in Lombardy and a participant in the Fourth Crusade. Oberto was a companion of Boniface of Montferrat on the Fourth Crusade. After Boniface' elevation to Ki ...

, opposed Demetrius and his mother

Margaret of Hungary Margaret of Hungary (''Margit'' in Hungarian; born 1175, living 1223) was a Byzantine Empress by marriage to Isaac II Angelos and Queen of Thessalonica by marriage to Boniface of Montferrat. She was regent of Thessalonica during the minority of he ...

, and preferred the throne to pass to Boniface's eldest son, William VI. They also opposed the Latin Emperor,

, and demanded sovereignty over most of the European lands of the Byzantine Empire for Thessalonica. Henry succeeded in outmanoeuvring the Lombard barons and in January crowned Demetrius king, but Biandrate and the other Lombard barons launched a rebellion across the kingdom. Henry imprisoned Biandrate in

Serres Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki. Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...

and marched south through Thessaly, overcoming the barons' opposition at

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 ...

. Henry treated the surrendered barons leniently, allowing them to keep their fiefs. But the rebellion was not yet quelled, as the barons of Central Greece and

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 ...

still opposed the emperor.

Parliament of Ravennika and aftermath

Hoping to end the conflict quickly and without further bloodshed, Henry convened a parliament in the valley of

, a town near

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 ...

, in May 1209. Of the Lombard barons, only Amédée Pofey (Amedeo Buffa) came, was pardoned and re-invested with his fief. The others persisted in their rebellion and kept to their castles. The parliament did however assemble the remainder of the Frankish nobles of southern Greece, such as Otho de la Roche, lord of Thebes and

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 ...

, and Geoffrey of Villehardouin, now Prince of Achaea. Henry received Villehardouin as his vassal, thereby subordinating Achaea directly to Constantinople rather than Thessalonica, and named him

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

of the Latin Empire. After receiving imperial recognition of his title, Villehardouin also secured his position vis-à-vis 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, ...

, by becoming its vassal in the

Treaty of Sapienza The Treaty of Sapienza was concluded in June 1209 between the Republic of Venice and the newly established Principality of Achaea, under Prince Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, concerning the partition of the Peloponnese (Morea) peninsula, conquered fol ...

in June. Henry then resumed his march south, forced the submission of Albertino of Canossa and

Ravano dalle Carceri Ravano dalle Carceri (died 1216) was a Lombard nobleman. He was one of the first triarchs of Negroponte from 1205. In 1205 Ravano was among those who led forces in the capture of the island of Euboea from the Byzantine Empire as part of the Fou ...

at Thebes, and went on to Athens. Biandrate escaped in the meantime and headed for Euboea, where Henry followed him. Biandrate tried to have the emperor assassinated, but Henry was protected by Ravano dalle Carceri, who was one of the triarchs of Negroponte. Biandrate was finally forced to capitulate, putting an end to the Lombard rebellion.

References

Sources

* * * * {{Setton-A History of the Crusades , volume = 2 , chapter = The Latin Empire of Constantinople, 1204–1261 , pages = 186–233 , last = Wolff , first = Robert Lee , chapter-url=http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/History/History-idx?type=turn&entity=History.CrusTwo.p0213&id=History.CrusTwo 1209 in Europe 13th century in Greece History of Phthiotis Latin Empire Medieval Central Greece Kingdom of Thessalonica