Battle of Pelagonia
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Pelagonia took place in September of 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea
and the Despotate of Epirus
, Sicily
and the Principality of Achaea
. It was a decisive event in the Near East history, ensuring the Byzantine reconquest of Constantinople
and the end of the Latin Empire
in 1261, and marks the beginning of the Byzantine recovery of Greece.
The exact location remains unclear. It has been called also Battle of Kastoria because the three Byzantine sources (Pachymeres, George Akropolites, Gregoras) informs us that the Epirotic camp was firstly attacked there in a location called Boril's Wood (Βορίλλα λόγγος). However since the warfare includes also a siege of Prilep
it is justifiably called battle of Pelagonia
.
Nicaean emperor Theodore II Laskaris
died in 1258 and was succeeded by the young John IV Laskaris
, under the regency of Michael VIII Palaiologos
, who was determined to restore the Byzantine Empire
and recapture all of the territory it held before the Fourth Crusade
. In 1259, William II Villehardouin married Anna Komnena Doukaina (also known as Agnes), daughter of Michael II of Epirus, cementing an alliance between the Despotate of Epirus
and Achaea against Nicaea. They also allied with Manfred of Sicily
who sent them 400 knights.
In 1259, the Nicaeans invaded Thessaly
and in September the Achaean and Epirote army marched north to meet them. The Nicaeans were led by the sebastocrator Theodore Doukas, the brother of Michael II of Epirus. According to the French
Chronicle of Morea
, the Nicaean force consisted of the main Byzantine army, with Turkish mercenaries
, 2,000 Cumans
, 300 Germans
, 13,000 Hungarians
, and 4,000 Serbs, and some Vlachs
. There were supposedly 27 cavalry divisions, although all of these numbers are probably exaggerated. Theodore also gathered all the local peasants and their flocks and placed them on the hilltops, so that from far away they might appear to be part of the army.
Theodore then sent a false deserter to Michael II and William, exaggerating the number of Nicaean troops and chastizing Michael for attempting to attack a family member. The baron of Karytaina, one of the Frankish leaders, did not believe the deserter, and convinced the Achaeans to stay when they decided to flee. Still, Michael and his troops deserted during the night and fled; according to George Pachymeres
this is because Michael's illegitimate son John quarreled with William.
On the next day, the Frankish knights attacked the German mercenaries under the duke of Carinthia on the Nicaean side. The duke was killed in the fight. The Hungarian archers then killed all the Achaean horses, leaving the knights effectively defenceless. The Achaean foot soldiers fled and the knights surrendered; prince William fled as well and hid under a nearby haystack where he was soon captured. Theodore brought him to John Palaiologos, brother of Michael VIII, who was in command of the expedition, and William was forced to give up strategic fortresses in Achaea (including Mystras
) before he was set free.
John Palaiologos went on to capture Thebes
. The Principality of Achaea, which had become the strongest French state in Greece
in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, was now reduced to Nicaean vassalage; the Duchy of Athens
soon became the dominant French state. Michael VIII took advantage of the defeat to recapture Constantinople
in 1261.
There is a problem with the Chronicle of Morea's claim that the "duke of Carinthia" was present at the battle. The duke at the time was Ulrich III, but he ruled for many years after 1259, and was probably not at the battle; the writer of the Chronicle may have invented a fictitious duke as a counterbalance to William. Greek sources, aside from George Pachymeres, include George Akropolites, Nikephoros Gregoras, and George Sphrantzes
.
Empire of Nicaea
The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the three Byzantine Greek successor states founded by the aristocracy of the Byzantine Empire that fled after Constantinople was occupied by Western European and Venetian forces during the Fourth Crusade...
and the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
, Sicily
Kingdom of Sicily
The Kingdom of Sicily was a state that existed in the south of Italy from its founding by Roger II in 1130 until 1816. It was a successor state of the County of Sicily, which had been founded in 1071 during the Norman conquest of southern Italy...
and the Principality of Achaea
Principality of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea or of the 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 of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica...
. It was a decisive event in the Near East history, ensuring the Byzantine reconquest of Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
and the end of the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
in 1261, and marks the beginning of the Byzantine recovery of Greece.
The exact location remains unclear. It has been called also Battle of Kastoria because the three Byzantine sources (Pachymeres, George Akropolites, Gregoras) informs us that the Epirotic camp was firstly attacked there in a location called Boril's Wood (Βορίλλα λόγγος). However since the warfare includes also a siege of Prilep
Prilep
Prilep is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 citizens. Prilep is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.-Name:...
it is justifiably called battle of Pelagonia
Pelagonia
This is about the geographical plain between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia. For the political unit in Macedonia, go to Pelagonia Statistical Region....
.
Nicaean emperor Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris was emperor of Nicaea, 1254–1258.-Life:Theodore II Doukas Laskaris was the only son of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Eirene Laskarina, the daughter of Emperor Theodore I Laskaris and Anna Angelina, a daughter of Emperor Alexios III Angelos and...
died in 1258 and was succeeded by the young John IV Laskaris
John IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris was emperor of Nicaea from August 18, 1258 to December 25, 1261...
, under the regency of Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
, who was determined to restore the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and recapture all of the territory it held before the Fourth Crusade
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...
. In 1259, William II Villehardouin married Anna Komnena Doukaina (also known as Agnes), daughter of Michael II of Epirus, cementing an alliance between the Despotate of Epirus
Despotate of Epirus
The Despotate or Principality of Epirus was one of the Byzantine Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire that emerged in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire, along with the Empire of Nicaea, and the Empire of Trebizond...
and Achaea against Nicaea. They also allied with Manfred of Sicily
Manfred of Sicily
Manfred was the King of Sicily from 1258 to 1266. He was a natural son of the emperor Frederick II of Hohenstaufen but his mother, Bianca Lancia , is reported by Matthew of Paris to have been married to the emperor while on her deathbed.-Background:Manfred was born in Venosa...
who sent them 400 knights.
In 1259, the Nicaeans invaded Thessaly
Thessaly
Thessaly is a traditional geographical region and an administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thessaly was known as Aeolia, and appears thus in Homer's Odyssey....
and in September the Achaean and Epirote army marched north to meet them. The Nicaeans were led by the sebastocrator Theodore Doukas, the brother of Michael II of Epirus. According to the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
Chronicle of Morea
Chronicle of Morea
The Chronicle of the Morea is a long 14th-century history text, of which four versions are extant: in French, Greek , Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the Chronicle narrates events of the Franks' establishment of feudalism in mainland Greece. West European Crusaders settled in...
, the Nicaean force consisted of the main Byzantine army, with Turkish mercenaries
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, 2,000 Cumans
Cumans
The Cumans were Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman-Kipchak confederation. After Mongol invasion , they decided to seek asylum in Hungary, and subsequently to Bulgaria...
, 300 Germans
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
, 13,000 Hungarians
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
, and 4,000 Serbs, and some Vlachs
Vlachs
Vlach is a blanket term covering several modern Latin peoples descending from the Latinised population in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. English variations on the name include: Walla, Wlachs, Wallachs, Vlahs, Olahs or Ulahs...
. There were supposedly 27 cavalry divisions, although all of these numbers are probably exaggerated. Theodore also gathered all the local peasants and their flocks and placed them on the hilltops, so that from far away they might appear to be part of the army.
Theodore then sent a false deserter to Michael II and William, exaggerating the number of Nicaean troops and chastizing Michael for attempting to attack a family member. The baron of Karytaina, one of the Frankish leaders, did not believe the deserter, and convinced the Achaeans to stay when they decided to flee. Still, Michael and his troops deserted during the night and fled; according to George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres
Georgius Pachymeres , a Byzantine Greek historian and miscellaneous writer, was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, where his father had taken refuge after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204...
this is because Michael's illegitimate son John quarreled with William.
On the next day, the Frankish knights attacked the German mercenaries under the duke of Carinthia on the Nicaean side. The duke was killed in the fight. The Hungarian archers then killed all the Achaean horses, leaving the knights effectively defenceless. The Achaean foot soldiers fled and the knights surrendered; prince William fled as well and hid under a nearby haystack where he was soon captured. Theodore brought him to John Palaiologos, brother of Michael VIII, who was in command of the expedition, and William was forced to give up strategic fortresses in Achaea (including Mystras
Mystras
Mystras is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Sparti, of which it is a municipal unit. Situated on Mt...
) before he was set free.
John Palaiologos went on to capture Thebes
Thebes, Greece
Thebes is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range, which divides Boeotia from Attica, and on the southern edge of the Boeotian plain. It played an important role in Greek myth, as the site of the stories of Cadmus, Oedipus, Dionysus and others...
. The Principality of Achaea, which had become the strongest French state in Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, was now reduced to Nicaean vassalage; the Duchy of Athens
Duchy of Athens
The Duchy of Athens was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade, encompassing the regions of Attica and Boeotia, and surviving until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century....
soon became the dominant French state. Michael VIII took advantage of the defeat to recapture Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in 1261.
There is a problem with the Chronicle of Morea's claim that the "duke of Carinthia" was present at the battle. The duke at the time was Ulrich III, but he ruled for many years after 1259, and was probably not at the battle; the writer of the Chronicle may have invented a fictitious duke as a counterbalance to William. Greek sources, aside from George Pachymeres, include George Akropolites, Nikephoros Gregoras, and George Sphrantzes
George Sphrantzes
George Sphrantzes, also Phrantzes or Phrantza was a late Byzantine Greek historian. He was born in Constantinople. At an early age he became secretary to Manuel II Palaiologos; in 1432 protovestiarites; in 1446 prefect of Mistras, and subsequently great logothete...
.