Epirus from 1204-1226: An Unlikely Power
For much of Byzantine history, Epirus was something of a backwater. Located on the western extremity of the empire, it was a prime target for raids from foreign powers. As late as the 11th century, the entire region had nearly been subdued by Robert Guiscard. Yet, the region’s rugged hills would serve as the site of some of the most determined resistance to Latin rule. In 1204 however, Epirus was merely one power among many. In Greece, a handful of independent Greek realms had emerged after the Sack of Constantinople, and while Epirus was undoubtedly the largest geographically, it still had to contend with independent principalities based at Thessalonica, Athens, and Korinth. Luckily for Epirus, and its new ruler, the Despot Michael I, several factors allowed it to outlast its neighbors.
Perhaps most critically for Epirus is that their dynasty contained a modicum of imperial legitimacy which their neighbors lacked (aside from the hated Angeloi in Thessalonica, but at any rate that was more of a liability in their case). Michael’s father, John, had served as Sebastokrater under Isaac II Angelos, and could trace his lineage to three imperial dynasties, the Doukids, Komnenoi, and Angeloi. John’s later split with the Angeloi, and his death before the events of the Fourth Crusade ensured that his name, and that of his bastard son, Michael, were not tarnished by those events. Once Michael had enthroned himself as emperor at Arta and Despot of Epirus in 1204, the local Greek rulers began to naturally gravitate towards him. The seizure of Thessalonica by the Latins in 1205 left the Komnenoi-Doukids the only family in the region with a legitimate claim to the imperial throne.
As wealth and men began to consolidate around Arta, Michael recognized the opportunity he had to unify Greek resistance in the area. Promising to respect their suzerainty in the Peloponnese, Michael successfully convinced the Kantakouzenoi of Lakonia to recognize the authority of Arta. He likewise arranged the marriage of his younger brother to Tsar Kaloyan’s daughter, securing his northern border from any Bulgarian attacks. His frontiers secure, Michael turned his attention to the Latins, who had recently expanded their realm to the borders of Epirus. Taking advantage of Latin preoccupation with the Bulgarians, he seized Thessaly in 1206, and crucially for his legitimacy, defeated a substantial relief force at Larissa in 1207. In a few short years, Michael had transformed Epirus into the leading power in Greece, though with several caveats.
The Battle of Larissa was another stinging defeat for Baldwin I.
In the south, independent Greek states continued to persist in Attica, parts of the Peloponnese, and of course Euboea. Before Michael could hope to make true his claim to imperial rule he would have to temper the ambitions of these petty dukes. At home, Michael also ruled a realm resembling less a state, and more an amalgamation of interests held together only by hatred of the Latins, and some affinity to the Komnenoi-Doukid name. In Thessaly, governance of the region fell to Michael’s half-brother Constantine, and in Albania the most prominent duke was another of Michael’s half-brothers, Theodoros. In fact, of the leading lords of the realm, only two did not belong to the Komnenoi-Doukid clan. One, a certain Kreshnik, ruled in the highlands of Albania, and operated effectively at will from the court at Arta, and would with time lead his family to great prominence in the politics of the Adriatic seacoast. The others were of course the Kantakouzenoi in the Peloponnese, who carried on as minor potentates while still acknowledging the authority of Arta.
For a time, Michael proved to be willing to tolerate this arrangement. He had no desire to undertake reforms which could upset his momentum in southern Greece. Instead, Michael set about securing his borders, and expanding the territories recognizing him as emperor as best he could. In 1211, southern Thessaly was rested from the hands of the Duke of Attica after he refused to recognize Michael as Emperor, and in the Peloponnese, with the Duke of Euboea engaged with matters in Thrace, Michael managed to occupy Korinth with little bloodshed in 1214, though he was obliged to transfer the territory under Duke Theodoros Kantakouzenos to avoid a crisis.
His position relatively secured from foreign enemies, Michael set about securing his position domestically. Evidence suggests that it was rumors of a plot in Albania from his younger brother which led him to change his view on centralizing the realm. Whatever the reason, he resolved to tie the dukes closer to the crown, particularly those in the heartland of his nascent realm north of the Isthmus of Korinth. Importantly for the military development of Epirus, levies provided by the Dukes were standardized, as were financial obligations of the various Epirote vassals to the crown. Epirus had taken a first tentative step towards fashioning a true state.
Michael’s reforms were crucial for the growth of Epirote power.
In the meantime, Michael turned his attention north towards Baldwin’s ailing realm. Since the Latin setbacks from 1205-1207, their border with the Epirotes had been porous, and Epirote raiding parties were able to regularly move north. In 1217, Michael, taking advantage of his reforms was able to raise a significant host and marched north, investing Thessalonica and beginning the occupation of key points in Macedonia. Baldwin, distracted with an attempt to secure Thrace, did not manage to send a relief force and soon enough, after a brief rebellion of a local Greek family, the entire region had fallen into Epirote hands under a loyal duke. Small border adjustments followed in the last years of Michael’s reign, such as the annexation of Attica after Michael's brother Constantine swept into the region with his own personal forces. Constantine's foray into Attica would serve as a harbinger of the limits of Michael's reforms on tempering the power of his vassals.
Even so, by the 1220s Michael could look on his accomplishments with pride. Epirus had become a major power in the region, and along with Bulgaria, had broken Latin power in the Aegean. Moreover, Michael had managed to have a son, another Michael, securing the succession. With the rise of Nicaea as the preeminent power in Anatolia, it seemed that an imperial restoration was imminent, the question was, who would lead it? That question would hang heavy in Arta when on June 2, 1226, Michael I “The Able” of Epirus was found dead in his bed at the age of 56.
