The name Morea (Greek: Μωρέας or Μωριάς) was used to refer to the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was also used to refer to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea. Though Peloponnese is used to refer to the entire peninsula, the periphery with that name includes only part of that landmass. ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Despotate of Morea was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. ...

Origins of the name

There is some uncertainty over the origin of the name "Morea", which is first recorded in the 10th century in Byzantine chronicles. As with many other things in the Balkans, part of the uncertainty stems from the political implications behind each suggested origin of the name. As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Byzantine Empire (Greek: ), is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ...

Popular belief in Greece today is that the name originates from the word moria, meaning mulberry, a common plant in the region. The use of a long 'o' (Μωρέα) is a strong argument against this explanation.

The spelling (specifically, the use of a long o, ω), and the context of the earliest references to Morea lend support to the theory that the name comes from the word moros (μωρός) meaning fool, which was also commonly used to refer to rebels or outlaws during Byzantine times. Morea, then, would be the land of the rebels, a good description of the peninsula for much of its history. This explanation, although it is the most plausible among Greek linguists, is often rejected today by the locals, as the word moros in modern Greek has retained its ancient meaning, but has lost its Byzantine connotations.

In 1830, the Austrian historian Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (1790–1861) published the first of his volumes Geschichte der Halbinsel Morea während des Mittelalters ("History of the Morea Peninsula during the Middle Ages"). Based on his analysis of the spread of Slavic placenames in mainland Greece, Fallmerayer concluded that the 19th century Greeks had almost no linear cultural connection to the ancients but a large one to the Slavic tribes who had invaded during the 6th and 7th centuries. To support his thesis, Fallmerayer proposed that the word comes from the Slavic word more, meaning sea. Fallmerayer's theory has long been discredited, and was disproved in the 1990s through extensive genetic studies. Liberty Leading the People by Eugène Delacroix commemorates the July Revolution 1830 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (10 December 1790 – 26 April 1861) was an Austrian traveller and historical investigator, best known for his now debunked theory in regard to the ethnology of the modern Greeks. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Slavic peoples are defined by their linguistic attainment of the Slavic languages. ... This Buddhist stela from China, Northern Wei period, was built in the early 6th century. ... // Overview Events The Roman-Persian Wars end. ... The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, in much of the Balkans, in parts of Central Europe, and in the northern part of Asia. ...

History

The Morea and surrounding states carved from the Byzantine Empire, as they were in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911)

After the conquest of Constantinople by the forces of the Fourth Crusade (1204), two groups of Franks undertook the occupation of the Morea. They created the Principality of Achaea, a largely Greek-inhabited statelet ruled by a Latin (Western) autocrat. In referring to the Peloponnese, they followed local practice and used the name "Morea". Download high resolution version (1144x900, 272 KB)Map, The Byzantine Empire, 1265. ... Download high resolution version (1144x900, 272 KB)Map, The Byzantine Empire, 1265. ... The Fourth Crusade (1201–1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt, instead, in 1204, invaded and conquered the Eastern Orthodox city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... // Events February - Byzantine emperor Alexius IV is overthrown in a revolution, and Alexius V is proclaimed emperor. ... For other uses, see Franks (disambiguation). ... The Principality of Achaea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. ...

The most important prince in the Morea was Guillaume II de Villehardouin (1246–1278), who fortified Mistra (Mystras) near the site of Sparta in 1249. After losing the Battle of Pelagonia (1259) against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, Guillaume was forced to ransom himself by giving up most of the eastern part of Morea and his newly built strongholds. William II Villehardouin (died May 1, 1278) was the last Villehardouin prince of Achaea (=Morea) and ruled the principality at the height of its power and influence. ... For a village in the prefecture of Ioannina, see Ioannina The Vale of Laconia seen from the battlements of Mystras Mystras (also Mistra, Mystra and Mistras Greek: Μύστρας ) was a fortified town in Morea (the Peloponnesus), on Mt. ... Sparta (Σπάρτη) was a city in ancient Greece, whose territory included, in Classical times, all Laconia and Messenia, and which was the most powerful state of the Peloponnesus. ... Events University, the first College at Oxford founded Births Emperor Kameyama of Japan Pope John XXII Frederick I, Margrave of Baden Deaths July 6 - Alexander II of Scotland (b. ... The Battle of Pelagonia took place in September of 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and the Principality of Achaea. ... For broader historical context, see 1250s and 13th century. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... The Byzantine Empire in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911) Michael VIII (1225 – December 11, 1282) was the founder of the Palaeologos dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. ...

Chronicle of Morea

The anonymous 14th century Chronicle of Morea, in more than 9,000 lines of political verse, relates events of the establishment of feudalism in mainland Greece by the Franks following the Fourth Crusade. The Chronicle is famous in spite of its historical unreliability because of its lively description of life in the feudal community and because of the character of the language which reflects the rapid transition from Medieval to Modern Greek. The Chronicle, written in French, survives in two parallel Greek texts, the Ms Havniensis 57 (14th–15th century, in Copenhagen) and the Ms Parisinus graecus 2898 (15th–16th century, at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris), and the difference of about one century shows a considerable number of linguistic differences due to the rapid evolution of the Greek language. This 14th-century statue from south India depicts the gods Shiva (on the left) and Uma (on the right). ... Roland pledges his fealty to Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a chanson de geste. ... Copenhagen ( (help· info) IPA: ) is the capital of Denmark, and the name of the municipality (Danish, kommune) in which it resides. ... The new buildings of the library. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city, with the skyscrapers of La Défense business district 3 miles behind. ...

In the mid-14th century, the later Byzantine Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus reorganized Morea into the Despotate of Morea, usually ruled from Mistra by the current heirs of the emperor. The Byzantines eventually recovered the remainder of the Frankish part of Morea, but in 1460 the peninsula was overrun and conquered by the Ottoman Empire. John VI Cantacuzenus (c. ... The Despotate of Morea was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. ... Events The first Portuguese navigators reach the coast of modern Sierra Leone. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), İstanbul (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah of the Osmanl...

Reference

• Crusaders as Conquerors: the Chronicle of Morea, translated from the Greek with notes and introd. by Harold E. Lurier, Columbia University, 1964.

See also

• List of traditional Greek place names

This is a list of traditional Greek place names. ...

External links

• Mystras: illustrated capsule history
• Mystra: history