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Duchy of Neopatras
1319–1390
Coat of arms of the Duchy of Neopatras Argent, a saltire gules between four crosses couped of the second
Status	Under the suzerainty of the Kingdom of Sicily, after itself part of Crown of Aragon
Capital	Neopatras
Common languages	Greek popularly
Religion	Roman Catholic officially, Greek Orthodox popularly
Government	Feudal duchy
Historical era	Middle Ages
• Sicilian capture of Neopatras by Frederick Alfonso of Sicily	1319
• Neopatras conquered by Nerio I Acciaioli	1390
Preceded by Succeeded by John II Doukas Serbian Empire Nerio I Acciaioli

The Duchy of Neopatras (Catalan: Ducat de Neopàtria; Sicilian: Ducatu di Neopatria; Greek: Δουκάτο Νέων Πατρών; Latin: Ducatus Neopatriae) was a principality in southern Thessaly, established in 1319. Officially part of the Kingdom of Sicily, itself part of the Crown of Aragon, the duchy was governed in conjunction with the neighbouring Duchy of Athens, it enjoyed a large degree of self-government. From the mid-14th century, the duchies entered a period of decline: most of the Thessalian possessions were lost to the Serbian Empire, internal dissensions arose, along with the menace of Turkish piracy in the Aegean and the onset of Ottoman expansion in the Balkans. Enfeebled, the Catalan possessions were taken over by the Florentine adventurer Nerio I Acciaioli in 1385–1390. The title of Duke of Neopatras was held by the heir of the King of Sicily.

History

When the Greek ruler of Thessaly, John II Doukas, died in 1318 without an heir, his domains fell into chaos. The Almogavars of the Catalan Company, who had recently conquered most of the Duchy of Athens to the south of Thessaly, took advantage of the situation to push north. Led by Alfonso Fadrique, the Catalans took Neopatras in 1319, and by 1325 had also conquered Zetounion, Loidoriki, Siderokastron and Vitrinitsa, as well as—apparently briefly—Domokos, Gardiki and Pharsalus. The central and northern part of Thessaly remained in Greek hands under a series of local magnates, some of whom recognized Byzantine suzerainty, like Stephen Gabrielopoulos of Trikala; others, however, like the Maliasenos family around Volos, turned to the Catalans for support.

The Greek rulers of Thessaly had long, but erroneously, been known as "Dukes of Neopatras" by Western European contemporaries from their capital, modern Ypati; this was a result of confusion from the family name of Doukas, which Western Europeans mistook as the title of "duke". As a result, the territory conquered by the Catalans in Thessaly was organized as the "Duchy of Neopatras" and was divided into five captaincies. The Catalans selected the infant Manfred, son of King Frederick III of Sicily, as their duke, but actual power was wielded by the Duke's local representative, the vicar-general, as well as by the marshal (mariscalus exercitus ducatuum) as the elected head of the Company members.

Most of the Duchy's possessions in Thessaly were lost when the region was conquered by the Serbs of Stefan Dushan in 1348, but Neopatras and the region around it remained in Catalan hands. In 1377, the title of Duke of Athens and Neopatras was assumed by Peter IV of Aragon. It was preserved among the subsidiary titles of his successors, and was regularly included in the full title of the Spanish monarchs at least until the takeover of the Spanish crown by the House of Bourbon.

In 1378–79, the Aragonese lost most of their possessions in Boeotia to the Navarrese Company, while from the south the ambitious Florentine adventurer Nerio Acciaioli, lord of Corinth, took over Megara in 1374 and began applying pressure on Athens. By 1380, the Catalans were left only with the two capitals of Athens and Neopatras, as well as the County of Salona. Athens fell to Acciaioli in 1388, and in 1390 he captured Neopatras as well. Acciaioli could boast in the title "Lord of Corinth and of the Duchy of Athens and Neopatras", but his triumph was short-lived: in 1393/4 the Ottoman Turks conquered Neopatras and the entire Spercheios River valley.

Ecclesiastically, Neopatras largely corresponded to the Latin Archbishopric of Neopatras (L'Arquebisbat de la pàtria), which had one suffragan: Zetounion (Lamia). Among the Catalan archbishops was Ferrer d'Abella, who tried to have himself transferred to a west European see.

Dukes of Neopatras

• William (1319–1338)
• John (1338–1348)
• Frederick I (1348–1355)
• Frederick II (1355–1377)
• Maria (1377–1379)
• Peter (1379–1387)

Vicars-general

The vicars-general acted as local representatives of the dukes and were the governors of the twin duchy, originally for the Crown of Sicily, and after 1379 for the Crown of Aragon:

• Alfonso Fadrique (1319 – c. 1330)
• Odo of Novelles, possibly appointed pro tempore to lead the war against Walter VI of Brienne in 1331
• Nicholas Lancia (c. 1331–1335)
• Raymond Bernardi (1354–1356)
• Gonsalvo Ximénez of Arenós (1359)
• Matthew of Moncada (1359–1361)
• Peter de Pou (1361–1362)
• Roger de Llúria (1362–1369/70), de facto and unrecognized until 1366
• Gonsalvo Ximénez of Arenós (1362–1363), uncertain
• Matthew of Moncada (1363–1366), only de jure
• Matthew of Peralta (1370–1374)
• Louis Fadrique (1375–1381)
• Philip Dalmau, Viscount of Rocaberti (1379–1386, de facto only during his stay in Greece 1381–1382)
  • Raymond de Vilanova (1382–1386), deputy of Philip Dalmau after his departure from Greece
• Bernard of Cornellà (1386–1387), never actually went to Greece
• Philip Dalmau, Viscount of Rocaberti (1387–1388)
  • Peter of Pau (1386–1388), deputy of Bernard of Cornellà and then of Philip Dalmau in Greece until the fall of Athens to Nerio Acciaioli

References

1. Nardi, Carlo (1747). De' titoli del Re delle Due Sicilie (PDF) (in Italian).
2. ^ Nicol 1984, pp. 80, 101.
3. ^ Fine 1994, p. 243.
4. ^ Koder & Hild 1976, p. 74.
5. Fine 1994, p. 246.
6. Polemis 1968, p. 97, esp. note 2.
7. The actual title borne by the rulers of Thessaly was that of sebastokrator. Properly speaking this was not hereditary, but had to be conferred anew by the reigning Byzantine emperor to each bearer. Polemis 1968, pp. 97–98
8. Fine 1994, p. 398.
9. ^ Koder & Hild 1976, p. 76.
10. Setton 1975b, p. 187.
11. Fine 1994, pp. 401–402.
12. Koder & Hild 1976, pp. 76–77.
13. Fine 1994, p. 404.
14. Setton 1975b, pp. 173, 188–189.
15. ^ Setton 1975b, pp. 190, 197.
16. Setton 1975b, pp. 197–198.
17. ^ Setton 1975b, p. 198.
18. Setton 1975b, pp. 198–199.
19. ^ Setton 1975b, p. 199.
20. Setton 1975b, pp. 220–223, 235, 238, 240–241.
21. Setton 1975b, pp. 235, 238, 240–242.
22. Setton 1975b, pp. 241–242.
23. Setton 1975b, pp. 243–244.
24. Setton 1975b, pp. 241–245.

Sources

• Fine, John V. A. Jr. (1994) . The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 0-472-08260-4.
• Koder, Johannes; Hild, Friedrich (1976). Tabula Imperii Byzantini, Band 1: Hellas und Thessalia (in German). Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 978-3-7001-0182-6.
• Miller, William (1908). The Latins in the Levant: A History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566). London: John Murray. OCLC 563022439.
• Nicol, Donald M. (1984). The Despotate of Epiros, 1267–1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-13089-9.
• Polemis, Demetrios I. (1968). The Doukai: A Contribution to Byzantine Prosopography. London: The Athlone Press. OCLC 299868377.
• Setton, Kenneth M. (1975). Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1388, Revised Edition. London: Variorum. ISBN 0-902089-77-3.
• Setton, Kenneth M. (1975). "The Catalans in Greece, 1311–1388". In Setton, Kenneth M.; Hazard, Harry W. (eds.). A History of the Crusades, Volume III: The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Madison and London: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 167–224. ISBN 0-299-06670-3.

v t e Crusader states
List of Crusader states
Levant	Kingdom of Jerusalem vassals Principality of Antioch Antioch County of Edessa Marash County of Tripoli Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia Kingdom of Cyprus
Greece	Latin Empire of Constantinople Duchy of Philippopolis Kingdom of Thessalonica Principality of Achaea Duchy of Athens Duchy of Neopatras Duchy of the Archipelago Triarchy of Negroponte County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos Lordship of Argos and Nauplia Venetian Stato da Màr Knights Hospitaller Hospitaller Rhodes Genoese colonies
Prussia and Livonia	State of the Teutonic Order* Teutonic Order Livonian Order Livonian Brothers of the Sword* Archbishopric of Riga Bishopric of Courland Bishopric of Dorpat Bishopric of Ösel–Wiek Dobrzyń Land Order of Dobrzyń Free City of Riga
Military orders Crusading movement Crusades

v t e Frankokratia (1204–1797)
History	Fourth Crusade Constantinople 1203 Constantinople 1204 Partitio Romaniae Kountouras Grove Treaty of Nymphaeum Constantinople 1235 Genoese occupation of Rhodes War of the Euboeote Succession Pelagonia Constantinople 1260 Constantinople 1261 Treaty of Viterbo Prinitza Makryplagi Settepozzi Neopatras Demetrias Revolt of Alexios Kallergis Hospitaller conquest of Rhodes Halmyros Manolada Byzantine–Genoese War Revolt of Saint Titus Echinades Rhodes 1444 Vlastos' conspiracy 1st Ottoman–Venetian War Rhodes 1480 2nd Ottoman–Venetian War Rhodes 1522 3rd Ottoman–Venetian War 4th Ottoman–Venetian War 5th Ottoman–Venetian War Siege of Candia 6th Ottoman–Venetian War 7th Ottoman–Venetian War Fall of the Republic of Venice Treaty of Campo Formio
Major centres	Cities Constantinople Thessaloniki Glarentza Patras Athens Islands Crete Chios Lesbos Rhodes Naxos
States and territories	Latin Empire Kingdom of Thessalonica Principality of Achaea Akova Arcadia Argos and Nauplia Bodonitsa Chalandritsa Estamira Geraki Gritzena Kalavryta Karytaina Nikli Passavant Patras Veligosti and Damala Vostitsa Duchy of Athens Salona Duchy of Neopatras County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos Lordship of Chios Maona of Chios and Phocaea Catalan Company Navarrese Company Hospitaller Rhodes Triarchy of Negroponte Duchy of the Archipelago Stato da Màr of the Republic of Venice Crete Ionian Islands Modon and Coron Kingdom of the Morea Lepanto Parga Preveza
People	Latin Emperors Latin Empresses Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople Princes of Achaea Princesses of Achaea Baillis of Achaea Archbishops of Patras Archbishops of Corinth Tocco Carlo I Acciaioli Antonio I Angevins Charles I of Naples Gattilusi Pallavicini family Villehardouin family Geoffrey I William II Marco I Sanudo Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat Knights Hospitaller Pierre d'Aubusson Juan Fernández de Heredia Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam Foulques de Villaret Roger de Flor Zaccaria Benedetto I Martino Centurione II
Cultural impact	Chronicle of the Morea Chronicle of the Tocco Assizes of Romania Catholic Church in the Middle East Latin Church in the Middle East Latins Catholic Church in Greece Cretan school Cretan literature Heptanese school (painting) Cuisine of Greece
Monuments	Frankish Argyrokastro Castle Chlemoutsi Exomvourgo Fortifications of Rhodes Grand Magne Isova Old Navarino castle Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes Platamon Castle Zaraka Monastery Genoese Castle of Chios Castle of Mytilene Venetian Arkadi Monastery Bourtzi Castle Frangokastello Fortezza of Rethymno Fortifications of Chania Fortifications of Heraklion Gouverneto Monastery Koules Fortress Toplou Monastery New Fortress, Corfu Old Fortress, Corfu Palamidi

38°39′06″N 22°18′21″E / 38.6517°N 22.3059°E / 38.6517; 22.3059

• Duchy of Neopatras
• Crown of Aragon
• States of Frankish and Latin Greece
• Duchy of Athens
• Former countries in the Balkans
• History of Phocis
• History of Phthiotis
• Medieval Central Greece
• Medieval Thessaly
• States and territories established in 1319
• 1390 disestablishments in Europe
• Ypati
• Spercheios Valley