Conquest of The Peloponnese
At Modon, Geoffrey entered into an alliance with a Greek archon (nobleman) from Messenia to conquer as much of the western Peloponnese as they could. Almost immediately afterward, however, the Greek died, and his son broke of the alliance. It was at this point that Geoffrey learned of the appearance of King Boniface I of Thessalonica (1204–1207) with his army before Nauplia (now Nafplion, Greece). He determined to seek aid and rode up early in 1205 to join the king. He was well received by Boniface I who would have retained Geoffrey in his service. But in the camp at Nauplia Geoffrey found his good friend William of Champlitte and offered to the latter to share the conquest of the Peloponnese. His friend accepted the offer and the two also received royal permission for their expedition.
They set out with 100 knights and 400 mounted men-at-arms upon their campaign in the spring of 1205. They took Patras and Pondikos by assault, and Andravida opened its gates. The people of the countryside came to make their submission and were confirmed in their property and local customs. Only in Arcadia were the crusaders resisted. This opposition was led by landlords from Arcadia and Laconia, particularly the Chamaretos family, allied to the Slavic Melingoi tribe. The resistance was soon joined by a certain Michael identified by most scholars with Michael I Komnenos Doukas (1204–1215) who was then creating his own principality in Epiros. Michael advanced into the Peloponnese with 5,000 men, but the little crusader army defeated him at Koundouros in northeast Messenia. Then the crusaders completed the conquest of the region and advanced into the interior of the country, occupying the entire peninsula with the exception of Arcadia and Laconia.
William of Champlitte thus became master of the Peloponnese with the title prince of Achaea (1205–1209) under the suzerainty of the king of Thessalonica. Geoffrey received Kalamata and Messenia as a fief from the new prince. However, the Republic of Venice proceeded to make good her claims that the leaders of the Fourth Crusade had guaranteed it by the partition treaty of 1204 to the important way stations along the sea route to Constantinople. Thus the Venetians armed a fleet which took Modon and Coron (now Koroni, Greece) in 1206. But William of Champlitte compensated Geoffrey by assigning Arcadia to him.
Read more about this topic: Geoffrey I Of Villehardouin
Famous quotes containing the words conquest of and/or conquest:
“While I am in favor of the Government promptly enforcing the laws for the present, defending the forts and collecting the revenue, I am not in favor of a war policy with a view to the conquest of any of the slave States; except such as are needed to give us a good boundary. If Maryland attempts to go off, suppress her in order to save the Potomac and the District of Columbia. Cut a piece off of western Virginia and keep Missouri and all the Territories.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“Marriage is like a war. There are moments of chivalry and gallantry that attend the victorious advances and strategic retreats, the birth or death of children, the momentary conquest of loneliness, the sacrifice that ennobles him who makes it. But mostly there are the long dull sieges, the waiting, the terror and boredom. Women understand this better than men; they are better able to survive attrition.”
—Helen Hayes (1900–1993)