Nicholas II of Saint Omer was the lord of half of Thebes, Greece

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...

 from 1258 to 1294. He served as bailiff

Bailiff

A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

 of 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...

 between 1287 and 1289. He was the son of Bela of Saint Omer and the Theben heiress Bonne de la Roche.

In 1287, William I of Athens

William I de la Roche

William I de la Roche succeeded his brother, John I, as Duke of Athens in 1280. He was the first official "duke" of Athens; previous dukes had actually been "lords."...

 died and was succeeded by his son Guy II

Guy II de la Roche

Guy II de la Roche was the Duke of Athens from 1287, the last duke of his family. He succeeded as a minor on the death of his father, William I, at a time when the duchy of Athens had exceeded the Principality of Achaea in wealth, power, and importance.Guy was originally under the tutorship and...

. He had been bailiff in Achaea and that position was taken up by Nicholas. He was the second richest and most influential baron living in the Latin East

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...

 after Guy. He continued William's policy of fortification of the Messenia

Messenia

Messenia is a regional unit in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, one of 13 regions into which Greece has been divided by the Kallikratis plan, implemented 1 January 2011...

 and built the castle at Navarino. Peace and prosperity continued under his regime. The 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...

says, "He governed with nobility and wisdom, and kept the country at peace." He was succeeded in 1289 by Guy de Charpigny, baron of Vostitsa.

His first wife was Mary, daughter of Bohemund VI of Antioch

Bohemund VI of Antioch

Bohemond VI of Antioch , called the Fair , was the Prince of Antioch and Count of Tripoli from 1251 until his death. He ruled while Antioch was caught between the warring empires of the Mongols and the Egyptian Mamluks. In 1268 Antioch was captured by the Mamluks, and he was thenceforth a prince in...

, and his second was Anna, daughter of Michael II Komnenos Doukas

Michael II Komnenos Doukas

Michael II Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas , often called Michael Angelos in narrative sources, was the ruler of Epirus from 1230 until his death in 1266/68.-Life:...

.

Sources

• Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor) A History of the Crusades: Volume II — The Later Crusades, 1189 – 1311. Robert Lee Wolff and Harry W. Hazard, editors. University of Wisconsin Press: Milwaukee, 1969.