Despotate of Epirus: Encyclopedia II - Despotate of Epirus - Collapse of the despotate

Despotate of Epirus - Collapse of the despotate

Anna succeeded in marrying Thomas to a daughter of Andronicus II, but Thomas was assassinated in 1318 by Nicholas Orsini, who married his widow and took control of the despotate. He was recognized as legitimate by Andronicus, but was overthrown by his brother John in 1323. John was poisoned around 1335 by his wife Anna who became regent for Nicephorus II. In 1337 Andronicus III, arriving in the area to help the Albanians fight the Ottomans, recaptured all of Epirus. However, Nicephorus II escaped to Italy where Philip of Taranto's widow Catherine of Valois put him in charge of a revolt in Epirus. The revolt was defeated and Nicephorus was married off to Maria Cantacuzenus, daughter of John VI Cantacuzenus.

The Empire soon fell into a civil war between John V Palaeologus and John VI, and Epirus fell to the Serbians. Nicephorus II was able to retake Epirus in 1356, to which he also added Thessaly. Nicephorus died putting down an Albanian revolt in 1359 and the despotate was reincorporated into the empire. It was lost again in the following decades to the Tocco family of Cephalonia, who later lost Epirus to the Ottomans.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Collapse of the despotate", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki