Demetrius or Demetrios of Montferrat (Italian: Demetrio di Monferrato; Greek: Δημήτριος, Dēmētrios), (1205–1230), king of Thessalonica from 1207 to 1224. The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade. ...

Demetrius was the son of Marquis Boniface of Montferrat by Margaret of Hungary, the widow of Emperor Isaac II Angelos. In the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade Boniface had secured for himself the kingdom of Thessalonica in the division of the spoils. Marrying the former Byzantine empress, he found it easier to attract support from the members of the Byzantine aristocracy. When Boniface's son was born in 1205, he was named after Saint Demetrius, the patron saint of Thessalonica. Boniface of Montferrat (c. ... Margaret of Hungary, born 1175, died 1223, was the daughter of king Bela III of Hungary. ... The Byzantine Empire (Greek name: - Basileia tōn Romaiōn) is the term conventionally used since the 19th century to describe the Greek-speaking Roman Empire of the Middle Ages, centered around its capital of Constantinople. ... Isaac II Angelos or Angelus (Greek: Ισαάκιος Β’ Άγγελος, Isaakios II Angelos) (September 1156 - January, 1204) was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204. ... 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. ... Thessalonica in the Middle Ages Political History After the Fourth Crusade Thessalonica (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη, Thessalonikē) became the capital of the Kingdom of Thessalonica created for Boniface of Montferrat. ... 12th-century mosaic depicting St Demetrios, from the Golden-Roofed Monastery in Kiev. ...

Boniface was killed in a battle against the Bulgarians in 1207, and Kaloyan of Bulgaria promptly besieged Thessalonica. The siege ended with Kaloyan's murder, but Demetrius' rule was not secure. The most influential magnates of the kingdom conspired against him, plotting to replace the infant ruler with his half-brother, Marquis William VI of Montferrat. The Latin Emperor Henry of Flanders determined to stem this movement and advanced on Thessalonica in December 1208. The barons, led by Count Umberto II of Biandrate, shut the gates of the city before the emperor and issued several unreasonable demands. The emperor pretended to accept Biandrate's terms (provided that Margaret accepted them) long enough to gain entrance into the city. Margaret was instructed to overrule the terms and Henry crowned young Demetrius king on January 6, 1209 and extracted oaths of homage from the Lombard barons. The emperor's actions were confirmed by Pope Innocent III. Kaloyan Asen, Kalojan, Johannizza, John, The Romankiller (c. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ... Henry (c. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events Albigensian Crusade against Cathars (1209-1218) the Franciscans are founded. ... Innocent III, born Lotario de Conti di Segni (Gavignano, near Anagni, ca. ...

The rights of the young king were still threatened by Biandrate's Lombard garrisons of important fortresses like Serres and Kavala. Henry took Serres but Kavala held out. Hoping to reach a reconciliation, the emperor summoned the nobility of the Kingdom of Thessalonica to a parliament at Ravennika, but many lords did not submit. After further military action, Henry obtained the submission of Biandrate and the remaining Lombard lords. He defeated the Epirote attack on Thessalonica in 1210 and left his younger brother Eustace as regent for King Demetrius. The situation changed again on Henry's death in 1216. Serres (Greek: Σέρρες, older form: Σέρραι, Turkish: Serez or Siroz, Slavic: Серез/Serez, Сяр/Syar or Сер/Ser) is a city in the Greek region of Macedonia. ... Kavala (also seen as Kavála, Kavalla, (Greek) (2001 pop. ... The Despotate of Epirus was one of the medieval Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire, founded in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. ...

The new Latin Emperor, Peter of Courtenay, was won over by the Lombard lords and invested William of Montferrat with the kingdom before leaving Italy. The Queen Mother Margaret fled to Hungary, but Demetrius apparently remained in place, while the Emperor Peter was captured and eventually executed by Theodore Komnenos Doukas in Epirus. Peter of Courtenay (d. ... Theodore Komnenos Doukas or Theodore Comnenus Ducas (Greek: Θεόδωρος Κομνηνός Δούκας, Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas), ruler of Epirus from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica from 1224 to 1230, died c. ...

The ruler of Epirus exploited the dissention among the nobility in Thessalonica to gradually conquer the kingdom's fortified towns one after another. Although William of Montferrat proved unwilling to dispossess his half-brother, he agreed to lead a crusade to the relief of Thessalonica in 1222, and prepared to set out, sending ahead Umberto of Biandrate. Before the main force of this crusade reached Thessalonica, Theodore Komnenos Doukas forced the surrender of the city in December 1224. Together with the Latin archbishop, King Demetrius fled to the court of Emperor Frederick II in Italy. He participated in Frederick's crusade to the Levant, and died in 1230 at Amalfi, after ceding his rights to Thessalonica to Frederick II. Frederick II (December 26, 1194 – December 13, 1250), of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was a pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. ... The Levant Levant is an imprecise geographical term historically referring to a large area in the Middle East south of the Taurus Mountains, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea on the west, and by the northern Arabian Desert and Upper Mesopotamia to the east. ...

Boniface of Montferrat (c. ... The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade. ... Events Stephen Langton consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury June 17 by Pope Innocent III Births September 8 - King Sancho II of Portugal October 1 - King Henry III of England (d. ... // Events Foundation of the University of Naples Livonian Brothers of the Sword conquers Latgallians Last of Arabs expelled from Sicily Births Deaths Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht (born 1153) Hojo Yoshitoki, regent of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan (born 1163) Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon... Theodore Komnenos Doukas or Theodore Comnenus Ducas (Greek: Θεόδωρος Κομνηνός Δούκας, Theodōros Komnēnos Doukas), ruler of Epirus from 1215 to 1230 and of Thessalonica from 1224 to 1230, died c. ... The Despotate of Epirus was one of the medieval Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire, founded in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. ... The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade. ... // Events Foundation of the University of Naples Livonian Brothers of the Sword conquers Latgallians Last of Arabs expelled from Sicily Births Deaths Cathal Crobdearg Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht (born 1153) Hojo Yoshitoki, regent of the Kamakura shogunate of Japan (born 1163) Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon... Events Kingdom of Leon unites with the Kingdom of Castile. ... Frederick II (December 26, 1194 – December 13, 1250), of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was a pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215. ...

References

• Peter Lock, The Franks in the Aegean 1204–1500, New York, 1995.
• Nicholas Cheetham, Mediaeval Greece, Yale University Press, 1981.