Kingdom of Thessalonica

Short-lived Crusader State in Thessaly and Macedon

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Kingdom of Thessalonica

Regnum Thessalonicae (Latin)

1204–1224

Coat of Arms per The Lord Marshal's Roll (1295)

The Kingdom of Thessalonica in 1204 as a vassal of the Latin Empire

Status| Vassal of the Latin Empire
Capital| Thessalonica
Common languages| Latin (official)
Greek (popular)
Religion

| Roman Catholic (official)
Eastern Orthodox (popular)
Government| Feudal Monarchy
King of Thessalonica|

• 1205–1207

| Boniface

• 1207–1224

| Demetrius
Historical era| Middle 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 (Greek: Βασίλειον τῆς Θεσσαλονίκης, romanized: Vasílion tis Thessaloníkis) was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over conquered Byzantine lands in today's territory of Northern Greece and Thessaly.

## History

[edit]

### Background

[edit]

After the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders in 1204, Boniface of Montferrat, the leader of the crusade, was expected by both the Crusaders and the defeated Byzantines to become the new emperor. However, the Venetians felt that Boniface was too closely tied to the Byzantine Empire, as his brother Conrad had married into the Byzantine imperial family. The Venetians wanted an emperor whom they could control more easily, and with their influence, Baldwin of Flanders was elected as emperor of the new Latin Empire.

### Establishment

[edit]

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 Thessaly, Boeotia, Euboea, and Attica. The boundaries of the actual Kingdom of Thessalonica seem to have extended only up to Domokos, Pharsalus, and Velestino: southern Thessaly, with the towns of 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

[edit]

Boniface's rule lasted less than two years before he was ambushed by Tsar Kaloyan of Bulgaria and killed on September 4, 1207. The kingdom passed to Boniface's son Demetrius, who was still a baby, so actual power was held by various minor nobles of Lombard origin. These nobles, under the regent Oberto, began plotting to place 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

[edit]

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

[edit]

The kingdom was claimed by titular kings of the house of Montferrat until 1284 and also by the dukes of Burgundy; Baldwin II of Constantinople had promised the title to Hugh IV should he regain the Latin Empire.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ E.g. 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. ^ Anne Van Arsdall, Helen Moody (7 December 2018). The Old French Chronicle of Morea: An Account of Frankish Greece after the Fourth Crusade. Routledge. ISBN 9781134797462.

## Bibliography

[edit]

* Haberstumpf, Walter (1995), Dinastie europee nel Mediterraneo orientale. I Monferrato e i Savoia nei secoli XII–XV, Torino`{{citation}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
* Miller, William (1908). The Latins in the Levant: A History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566). London: John Murray. OCLC 563022439.
* Runciman, Steven (1951–1954). A History of the Crusades (3 vols.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
* Van Tricht, Filip (2011). The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium: The Empire of Constantinople (1204–1228). Leiden: Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-20323-5.

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Crusader states

List of Crusader states

Levant|

* Kingdom of Jerusalem
* vassals
* Principality of Antioch
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Greece|

* Latin Empire of Constantinople
* Duchy of Philippopolis
* Kingdom of Thessalonica
* Principality of Achaea
* Duchy of Athens
* Duchy of Neopatras
* Duchy of the Archipelago
* Triarchy of Negroponte
* County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos
* Lordship of Argos and Nauplia
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* Knights Hospitaller
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Prussia
and Livonia|

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Successors of the Byzantine Empire after the Fourth Crusade

Greek states|

* Empire of Nicaea (1204)
* Empire of Trebizond (1204)
* Despotate of Epirus (1205)

Latin states|

* Latin Empire (1204)
* Kingdom of Thessalonica (1205)
* Principality of Achaea (1205)
* Duchy of Athens (1205)
* Triarchy of Negroponte (1205)
* Duchy of the Archipelago (1207)

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Frankokratia (1204–1797)

History|

* Fourth Crusade
* Constantinople 1203
* Constantinople 1204
* Partitio Romaniae
* Kountouras Grove
* Treaty of Nymphaeum
* Constantinople 1235
* Genoese occupation of Rhodes
* War of the Euboeote Succession
* Pelagonia
* Constantinople 1260
* Constantinople 1261
* Treaty of Viterbo
* Prinitza
* Makryplagi
* Settepozzi
* Neopatras
* Demetrias
* Revolt of Alexios Kallergis
* Hospitaller conquest of Rhodes
* Halmyros
* Manolada
* Byzantine–Genoese War
* Revolt of Saint Titus
* Echinades
* Rhodes 1444
* Vlastos' conspiracy
* 1st Ottoman–Venetian War
* Rhodes 1480
* 2nd Ottoman–Venetian War
* Rhodes 1522
* 3rd Ottoman–Venetian War
* 4th Ottoman–Venetian War
* 5th Ottoman–Venetian War
* Siege of Candia
* 6th Ottoman–Venetian War
* 7th Ottoman–Venetian War
* Fall of the Republic of Venice
* Treaty of Campo Formio

Major centres|

| Cities|

* Constantinople
* Thessaloniki
* Glarentza
* Patras
* Athens

|

Islands|

* Crete
* Chios
* Lesbos
* Rhodes
* Naxos

States and territories|

* Latin Empire
* Kingdom of Thessalonica
* Principality of Achaea
* Akova
* Arcadia
* Argos and Nauplia
* Bodonitsa
* Chalandritsa
* Estamira
* Geraki
* Gritzena
* Kalavryta
* Karytaina
* Nikli
* Passavant
* Patras
* Veligosti and Damala
* Vostitsa
* Duchy of Athens
* Salona
* Duchy of Neopatras
* County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos
* Lordship of Chios
* Maona of Chios and Phocaea
* Catalan Company
* Navarrese Company
* Hospitaller Rhodes
* Triarchy of Negroponte
* Duchy of the Archipelago
* Stato da Màr of the Republic of Venice
* Crete
* Durazzo
* Ionian Islands
* Modon and Coron
* Kingdom of the Morea
* Lepanto
* Parga
* Preveza
* Kingdom of Albania

People|

* Latin Emperors
* Latin Empresses
* Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople
* Princes of Achaea
* Princesses of Achaea
* Family tree
* Baillis of Achaea
* Archbishops of Patras
* Archbishops of Corinth
* Tocco
* Carlo I
* Acciaioli
* Antonio I
* Angevins
* Charles I of Naples
* Gattilusi
* Pallavicini family
* Villehardouin family
* Geoffrey I
* William II
* Marco I Sanudo
* Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat
* Knights Hospitaller
* Pierre d'Aubusson
* Juan Fernández de Heredia
* Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
* Foulques de Villaret
* Roger de Flor
* Zaccaria
* Benedetto I
* Martino
* Centurione II

Cultural impact|

* Chronicle of the Morea
* Chronicle of the Tocco
* Assizes of Romania
* Catholic Church in the Middle East
* Latin Church in the Middle East
* Latins
* Catholic Church in Greece
* Cretan school
* Cretan literature
* Heptanese school (painting)
* Cuisine of Greece

Monuments|

| Frankish|

* Argyrokastro Castle
* Chlemoutsi
* Exomvourgo
* Fortifications of Rhodes
* Grand Magne
* Isova
* Old Navarino castle
* Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes
* Platamon Castle
* Zaraka Monastery

|

Genoese|

* Castle of Chios
* Castle of Mytilene

Venetian|

* Arkadi Monastery
* Bourtzi Castle
* Frangokastello
* Fortezza of Rethymno
* Fortifications of Chania
* Fortifications of Heraklion
* Gouverneto Monastery
* Koules Fortress
* Toplou Monastery
* New Fortress, Corfu
* Old Fortress, Corfu
* Palamidi

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Macedonia (Greece)

People|

* Ancient Macedonians
* List
* Macedonians (Greeks)
* List
* Jews of Thessaloniki
* Slavic speakers
* Macedonian Bulgarians, Ethnic Macedonians
* Aromanians
* Megleno-Romanians

History|

* Ancient Macedonia
* History
* Government
* Kings
* Wars of Alexander the Great
* Wars of the Diadochi
* Macedonian Wars
* Roman Macedonia
* Barbarian invasions
* Theme of Macedonia
* Theme of Thessalonica
* Theme of Strymon
* Sack of Thessalonica (904)
* Byzantine–Bulgarian wars
* Sack of Thessalonica (1185)
* Kingdom of Thessalonica
* Empire of Thessalonica
* Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328
* Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347
* Zealots of Thessalonica
* Byzantine–Ottoman wars
* Siege of Thessalonica (1422–1430)
* Ottoman Greece
* Rumelia Eyalet
* Greek War of Independence
* Manastir Vilayet
* Sanjak of Monastir
* Sanjak of Serfiğe
* Salonica Vilayet
* Sanjak of Drama
* Sanjak of Salonica
* Sanjak of Siroz
* Macedonian Struggle
* Balkan Wars
* Macedonian front
* Provisional Government of National Defence
* Axis occupation
* Greek Civil War
* Macedonia naming dispute
* Prespa agreement

Administration|

* Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace
* Western Macedonia
* Central Macedonia
* Eastern Macedonia and Thrace

Economy|

* Agios Dimitrios Power Plant
* Amyntaio Power Plant
* Drama coal mine
* Gerakini mine
* Olympias mine
* Piavitsa mine
* Port of Kavala
* Port of Thessaloniki
* Prinos oil field
* Ptolemaida-Florina coal mine
* Skouries mine
* Stratoni mine
* Thessaloniki International Fair

Major cities|

* Thessaloniki
* Kavala
* Kastoria
* Serres
* Veria
* Katerini
* Edessa
* Florina
* Drama
* Naousa
* Kozani
* Siatista
* Kilkis
* Other

Nature|

* Axios River
* Doiran Lake
* Falakro
* Galikos River
* Haliacmon
* Lake Kerkini
* Lake Koroneia
* Lake Orestiada
* Lake Prespa
* Small Prespa Lake
* Lake Vegoritida
* Lake Volvi
* Mount Paiko
* Nestos (river)
* Mount Olympus
* Pangaion Hills
* Pindus (Pindus National Park)
* Petralona cave
* Strymon River
* Vasilitsa
* Vermio Mountains
* Seli
* Verno
* Voras Mountains
* Islands: Thasos
* Ammouliani

Monuments|

* Agios Athanasios
* Alexandrion (Litochoro)
* Amphipolis
* Lion of Amphipolis
* Kasta Tomb
* Dion
* Archaeological Park
* Hellenistic theatre
* Mount Athos
* Mieza (Tomb of Judgement, Tomb of the Palmettes)
* Byzantine monuments of Thessaloniki
* Pella
* Philippi
* Platamon Castle
* Vergina (Aigai)
* Museums : Archaeological Museum of Amphipolis, Aiani Archaeological Museum, Archaeological Museum of Dion, Archaeological Museum of Pella, Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, Museum of Byzantine culture

Culture|

* Vergina Sun
* Flag
* Music
* Cuisine

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