Background
The recapture of Constantinople by the Greeks in 1261 had sent Baldwin, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople, always impoverished, to seek aid in Western Europe for a crusade to recapture the throne of the Latin Empire for him. For some time, he had expected aid from Manfred of Sicily, who hoped (like his father, Emperor Frederick II) that a crusade might put him in better standing with the Papacy; but Manfred was ousted from Sicily in 1266 by Charles, acting for Pope Clement IV, severely discomfiting Baldwin. Baldwin was residing at the Papal court in Viterbo in 1267 when Clement arranged to reconcile the Emperor and the newly-seated King. As the principal vassal of what remained of Baldwin's empire, William was keen to gain an overlord who might be the giver rather than the recipient of subsidy, and who could help defend the Principality against the Despotate of Epirus, which had worsted him in 1259 at the Battle of Pelagonia. His chancellor, Leonardo of Veruli, was sent to Viterbo to negotiate the treaty.
Read more about this topic: Treaty Of Viterbo
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