Battle of Prinitza

Last updated
Battle of Prinitza
Part of the Byzantine-Latin Wars
Peloponnese Middle Ages map-en.svg
Map of the Peloponnese (Morea) in the Middle Ages.
Date1263
Location
Prinitza, Elis, Greece
Result Decisive Achaean victory
Belligerents
Byzantine Empire Principality of Achaea
Commanders and leaders
Constantine Palaiologos John of Katavas
Strength
15–20,000 (Chronicle of the Morea)
few thousand (modern estimates)		 300 or 312 men
Casualties and losses
Heavy Light

The Battle of Prinitza was fought in 1263 between the forces of the Byzantine Empire, marching to capture Andravida, the capital of the Latin Principality of Achaea, and a small Achaean force. The Achaeans launched a surprise attack on the greatly superior and overconfident Byzantine force, defeated and scattered it, saving the principality from conquest.

Contents

Background

At the Battle of Pelagonia (1259), the forces of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282) killed or captured most of the Latin nobles of the Principality of Achaea, including the Prince William II of Villehardouin (r. 1246–1278). In exchange for his freedom, William agreed to hand over a number of fortresses in the southeastern part of the Morea peninsula. He also swore an oath of allegiance to Michael, becoming his vassal and being honoured by becoming godfather to one of Michael's sons and receiving the title and position of grand domestic . In early 1262, William was released, and the forts of Monemvasia and Mystras, as well as the district of Mani, were handed over to the Byzantines. [1] [2] [3]

The agreement was bound to be of short duration, however: the establishment of a small province in the Morea was for Palaiologos but the first step towards reclaiming all of the peninsula, and William likewise was involved in the Latin efforts to counter the emperor and regain Constantinople. Consequently, soon after his return to the Morea, William settled his differences with the Venetians over Negroponte, and negotiated with them and the Pope for joint action against Palaiologos. In July, Pope Urban IV nullified William's oaths to the emperor, and appealed to the Western princes for aid against the "schismatic" Byzantines. [3] [4] [5]

In late 1262, William visited the region of Laconia accompanied by an armed retinue. Despite his concessions to the Byzantines, he still retained control of most of Laconia, in particular the city of Lacedaemon (Sparta) and the baronies of Passavant (Passavas) and Geraki. This display of armed strength worried the Byzantine garrisons, and the local governor, Michael Kantakouzenos, sent to Emperor Michael to ask for aid. [5] [6]

Sources

The subsequent events, including the battle, are described only in the Greek and Aragonese versions of the Chronicle of the Morea ; Byzantine sources (chiefly George Pachymeres) are mostly uninterested in events in the Morea and mention them cursorily, and of the Western historians, only the Venetian Marino Sanudo Torsello mentions a battle at "Brenizza", but conflates it with the Makryplagi campaign of the next year. [7] Written by and for the Frankish nobility of the Morea, as a source it is very biased against the Byzantines, who are stereotypically "depicted as effeminate, devious and cowardly", while the Franks are portrayed as "virtuous and almost suicidal in their courage". [8] This hostility is particularly pronounced in the Greek version, which along with the French one are the closest to the early 14th-century original text; the Aragonese version is more even-handed, although still biased. [9] This bias, as well as outright errors and the huge discrepancy between the forces reported for the two sides have led scholars to challenge the veracity of the account, both in details and as a whole. [10] [11]

Byzantine landings and campaign in Laconia

This first major Byzantine expedition to the Morea is traditionally considered to have comprised two waves, one in autumn 1262 and one in the following spring. [12] Michael VIII initially sent the parakoimomenos John Makrenos to the Morea with 1,500 Turkish mercenaries and about 2,000 Anatolian Greeks, as well as with grants of privileges for the local potentates of Laconia, with the names localeft blank for Makrenos to fill. Upon his landing, people from Tsakonia, the district of Kinsterna, and the Slavs of Mount Taygetos all flocked to enlist with the Byzantine commander. [13] Makrenos reported back on the favourable conditions he found, and told Michael VIII that the entire peninsula was ripe for the taking with a few more men. The Emperor then sent his half-brother, the sebastokrator Constantine Palaiologos, at the head of a further 1,000 men, and with more money, to the Morea. [14] As part of their treaty with Michael, and their traditional rivalry with the Venetians, the Genoese provided ships and crews to transport the Byzantines to the Morea, while the small Byzantine fleet was sent to harass the Latin island holdings in Euboea and the Cyclades. [1] [15] [14]

After arriving at Monemvasia, the sebastokrator Constantine proceeded to cement and expand imperial authority in Laconia: he erected a number of forts to keep the Slavs of Taygetos in check, and then laid siege to Lacedaemon, while the imperial fleet seized the southern coasts of Laconia. [15] The Chronicle does not report on these events apart from the siege of Lacedaemon, but Pachymeres, Nikephoros Gregoras, and Sanudo record that "daily clashes" took place with the Franks, and that several strongholds fell to the imperial troops; these are not named, but must have included the castles of Passavant, Geraki, and Beaufort (Leuktron). By 1264, only Lacedaemon appears to have remained in Frankish hands in the region. [16] In the meantime, William travelled to Corinth to request the assistance of the other Latin princes of Greece. They, however, proved unwilling to come to his aid, all the while many of William's Greek subjects openly sided with the Byzantines. Constantine Palaiologos saw this as an opportunity to conquer William's principality outright. Abandoning the fruitless siege of Lacedaemon, he marched his army up the rivers Eurotas and Alfeios towards the Achaean capital, Andravida, on the northwestern coast of the Morea. [1] [5] [15]

The battle

During William's absence, Andravida had been left in the charge of John of Katavas, a man known for his bravery but now old and suffering from gout. Although the general outline of the subsequent events is confirmed from the report of the Venetian historian Marino Sanudo, the only detailed account available is the narrative of the Chronicle of the Morea , whose accuracy has been questioned. [10] According to the Chronicle, upon learning of the approach of the imperial army, Katavas took the 300 or 312 men available and marched out to meet the Byzantines, whose numbers are variously given in the Chronicle as fifteen, eighteen, or twenty thousand. It is certain that these figures are greatly inflated, and the Byzantine army must have numbered a few thousand at most. Either way, it considerably outnumbered the Latin force. [17] [10]

The Byzantines were confident of their own strength, and were reportedly dancing and singing. At a narrow defile at Prinitza (near Ancient Olympia), Katavas attacked the Byzantine army and inflicted a resounding defeat upon it: many Byzantine soldiers were killed, while the remainder scattered and sought refuge in the surrounding woods. The sebastokrator Constantine himself barely escaped with his life, and fled with the remainder of his troops to the safety of Mystras. Having won a major victory, Katavas prudently refused to pursue the Byzantines and returned to Andravida. [18] [10] [19]

Aftermath

Constantine Palaiologos regrouped his forces, and in the next year launched another campaign to conquer Achaea. His efforts, however, were thwarted, and the Turkish mercenaries, complaining of lack of pay, defected to the Achaeans. William II then attacked the weakened Byzantines and achieved a major victory at the Battle of Makryplagi. [18] [20] [21] The two battles of Prinitza and Makryplagi thus put an end to Michael Palaiologos's efforts to recover the entirety of the Morea, and secured Latin rule over the Morea for over a generation. [3] [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1263</span> Calendar year

Year 1263 (MCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael VIII Palaiologos</span> Byzantine emperor from 1261 to 1282

Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282, and previously as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. He recovered Constantinople from the Latin Empire in 1261 and transformed the Empire of Nicaea into a restored Byzantine Empire. His reign saw considerable recovery of Byzantine power, including the enlargement of the Byzantine army and navy. It also included the reconstruction of the city of Constantinople, and the increase of its population. His re-establishment of the University of Constantinople contributed to the Palaeologan Renaissance, a cultural flowering between the 13th and 15th centuries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mystras</span> Fortified town in Peloponnese, Greece

Mystras or Mistras, also known in the Chronicle of the Morea as Myzethras or Myzithras (Μυζηθρᾶς), is a fortified town and a former municipality in Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece. Situated on Mt. Taygetus, above ancient Sparta, and below a Frankish castle, it served as the capital of the Byzantine Despotate of the Morea in the 14th and 15th centuries, experiencing a period of prosperity and cultural flowering during the Palaeologan Renaissance, including the teachings of Gemistos Plethon. The city also attracted artists and architects of the highest quality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Principality of Achaea</span> Crusader state in medieval Greece

The Principality of Achaea or Principality of Morea was one of the 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 was captured by Epirus in 1224. After this, Achaea became the dominant power in Greece, lasting continuously for 227 years and cumulatively for 229.

The Battle of Pelagonia or Battle of Kastoria took place in early summer or autumn 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and an anti-Nicaean alliance comprising Despotate of Epirus, Kingdom of Sicily and the Principality of Achaea. It was a decisive event in the history of the Eastern Mediterranean, ensuring the eventual reconquest of Constantinople and the end of the Latin Empire in 1261.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William of Villehardouin</span> Prince of Achaea from 1246 to 1278

William of Villehardouin was the fourth prince of Achaea in Frankish Greece, from 1246 to 1278. The younger son of Prince Geoffrey I, he held the Barony of Kalamata in fief during the reign of his elder brother Geoffrey II. William ruled Achaea as regent for his brother during Geoffrey's military campaigns against the Greeks of Nicaea, who were the principal enemies of his overlord, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II. William succeeded his childless brother in the summer of 1246. Conflicts between Nicaea and Epirus enabled him to complete the conquest of the Morea in about three years. He captured Monemvasia and built three new fortresses, forcing two previously autonomous tribes, the Tzakones and Melingoi, into submission. He participated in the unsuccessful Egyptian crusade of Louis IX of France, who rewarded him with the right to issue currency in the style of French royal coins.

The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). The principality witnessed various overlords during its more than two centuries of existence, initially, Achaea was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Thessalonica under Boniface I of house Montferrat, then of the Latin Empire of Constantinople under the houses of Flanders-Courtenay, which had supplanted the Byzantine Empire, and later of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples. During the Angevin period, the princes were often absent, represented in the Principality by their baillis, who governed in their name. After 1404 the principality became sovereign as the Genoese Centurione II Zaccaria bought from the Neapolitan crown the princely rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Despotate of the Morea</span> Province of the Byzantine Empire

The Despotate of the Morea or Despotate of Mystras was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its existence but eventually grew to include almost all the southern Greek peninsula now known as the Peloponnese, which was known as the Morea during the medieval and early modern periods. The territory was usually ruled by one or more sons of the current Byzantine emperor, who were given the title of despotes. Its capital was the fortified city of Mystras, near ancient Sparta, which became an important centre of the Palaiologan Renaissance.

Licario, called Ikarios by the Greek chroniclers, was a Byzantine admiral of Italian origin in the 13th century. At odds with the Latin barons of his native Euboea, he entered the service of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, and reconquered many of the Aegean islands for him in the 1270s. For his exploits, he was rewarded with Euboea as a fief and rose to the rank of megas konostaulos and megas doux, the first foreigner to do so.

Alexios Doukas Philanthropenos was a Byzantine nobleman and distinguished admiral, with the rank of protostrator and later megas doux, during the reign of Michael VIII Palaiologos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constantine Palaiologos (half-brother of Michael VIII)</span> Byzantine nobleman

Constantine Palaiologos or Palaeologus was a Byzantine nobleman and the younger half-brother of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Neopatras</span> 1270s battle in Greece

The Battle of Neopatras was fought in the early 1270s between a Byzantine army besieging the city of Neopatras and the forces of John I Doukas, ruler of Thessaly. The battle was a rout for the Byzantine army, which was caught by surprise and defeated by a much smaller but more disciplined force.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Demetrias</span> Sea battle in 1270s

The Battle of Demetrias was a sea engagement fought at Volos in Greece in the early 1270s between a Byzantine fleet and the assembled forces of the Latin barons of Euboea (Negroponte) and Crete. The battle was fierce, and initially in favour of the Latins, but the timely arrival of Byzantine reinforcements tipped the scale, resulting in a crushing Byzantine victory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Makryplagi</span> 1263 battle

The Battle of Makryplagi or Makry Plagi was fought between the forces of the Byzantine Empire, and the Latin Principality of Achaea. The Byzantines had been weakened and demoralized by the defection of their numerous Turkish mercenaries to the Achaeans. At Makryplagi, the Byzantines suffered a heavy defeat, which together with their defeat at the Battle of Prinitza the previous year ended their attempted reconquest of the Morea.

Alexios Philes was a Byzantine nobleman and general of the 13th century.

Geoffrey of Briel, in older literature Geoffrey of Bruyères, was a French knight and the third lord of the Barony of Karytaina in the Principality of Achaea, in Frankish Greece. He led a colourful and turbulent life, narrated in detail in the Chronicle of the Morea. Accounted the finest knight in the Principality, he fought in the wars against the Byzantine Greeks, was captured in the Battle of Pelagonia in 1259, and was sent back to Achaea bearing the Byzantine terms in 1261. Geoffrey was twice deprived of his barony, once for rebelling against his uncle, the Prince of Achaea William II of Villehardouin, and then for abandoning the Principality without leave in order to spend time with a mistress, the wife of one of his feudatories, in Italy. He was pardoned both times, but henceforth held his title as a gift of the Prince. He died childless in 1275, and the Barony of Karytaina was split up.

Michael Kantakouzenos was megas konostaulos of the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.

John of Katavas was a feudal lord and regent in the Principality of Achaea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1268</span> Temporary peace treaty

In 1268, the Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Venice agreed to temporarily end hostilities which had erupted after the Byzantine recovery of Constantinople by Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261.

The Byzantine–Venetian treaty of 1277 was an agreement between the Byzantine Empire and the Republic of Venice that renegotiated and extended for two years the previous 1268 treaty between the two powers. The agreement was beneficial for both sides: Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos kept the Venetians and their fleet from participating in the attempts of Charles of Anjou to organize an anti-Byzantine crusade, while the Venetians were able to retain their access to the Byzantine market, and even augment their trading privileges by gaining direct access to the Black Sea and the right to their own quarters in Constantinople and Thessalonica. Furthermore, they were able to stop the Byzantine reconquest of Venetian-aligned territories in the Aegean, although the treaty explicitly allowed both sides to continue fighting for control of the island of Euboea (Negroponte). Nevertheless, the agreement's short duration made clear that for both parties, it was a temporary expedient. After the treaty expired, the Venetians allied with Charles of Anjou, but their plans were thwarted by the outbreak of the War of the Sicilian Vespers in 1282, forcing Venice once more to renew the peace with the Byzantines in 1285.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Bartusis 1997, p. 49.
  2. ↑ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 154–155.
  3. 1 2 3 Nicol 1993, p. 47.
  4. ↑ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 155–156.
  5. 1 2 3 Longnon 1969, p. 253.
  6. ↑ Geanakoplos 1959, p. 157.
  7. ↑ Wilskman 2012, p. 169.
  8. ↑ Wilskman 2012, pp. 169–170.
  9. ↑ Wilskman 2012, pp. 170–171.
  10. 1 2 3 4 Geanakoplos 1959, p. 159.
  11. ↑ Wilskman 2012, pp. 167–168, 171.
  12. ↑ Wilskman 2012, p. 176.
  13. ↑ Wilskman 2012, p. 174.
  14. 1 2 Wilskman 2012, p. 175.
  15. 1 2 3 Geanakoplos 1959, p. 158.
  16. ↑ Wilskman 2012, pp. 176–177.
  17. ↑ Bartusis 1997, p. 263.
  18. 1 2 Bartusis 1997, p. 50.
  19. ↑ Longnon 1969, pp. 253–254.
  20. ↑ Geanakoplos 1959, pp. 171–174.
  21. ↑ Longnon 1969, p. 254.
  22. ↑ Hooper & Bennett 1996, p. 104.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.