Michael I Angelus Comnenus Ducas was the founder and first ruler of the Despotate of Epirus from 1205 until his death in 1215. The Despotate of Epirus was one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire, founded in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. ... Events January 6 - Philip of Swabia becomes King of the Romans April 14 - Battle of Adrianople (1205) between Bulgars and Latins August 20 - Following certain news of Baldwin Is death, Henry of Flanders is crowned Emperor of the Latin Empire Births Deaths July 13 Hubert Walter Archbishop of Canterbury... // Events A certified copy of the Magna Carta June 15 - King John of England forced to put his seal to the Magna Carta, outlining the rights of landowning men (nobles and knights) and restricting the kings power. ...

He was the son of the sebastocrator John Angelus Comnenus. He was a first cousin of the emperors Isaac II Angelus and Alexius III Angelus. Before 1204 he was governor of the Theme of Peloponnese. He led the only serious resistance against the Franks in the Peloponnese, fighting at the Battle of the Olive Grove of Koundouros. He lost the battle and fled to Epirus. There he founded the Despotate of Epirus, with his capital in Arta, in the area of the old Theme of Nicopolis. Epirus became the new home of many Greek refugees from Constantinople, Thessaly, and the Peloponnese, and Michael was described as a second Noah, rescuing men from the Latin flood. John Camaterus, the Patriarch of Constantinople, did not consider Michael a legitimate successor and instead accompanied Theodore I Lascaris to Nicaea; Michael instead recognized the authority of Pope Innocent III over Epirus, cutting ties to the Orthodox Church. The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy. ... Isaac II Angelus (or Isaakios Angelos) (September 1156-1204), was the Byzantine emperor from 1185-1195, and again 1203-1204. ... Alexius III Angelus, Byzantine emperor, was the second son of Andronicus Angelus, nephew of Alexius I. In 1195, while his brother Isaac II was away hunting in Thrace, he was proclaimed emperor by the troops; he captured Isaac at Stagira in Macedonia, put out his eyes, and kept him henceforth... // Events February - Byzantine emperor Alexius IV is overthrown in a revolution, and Alexius V is proclaimed emperor. ... Themes (singular thema) were administrative units of land in the Byzantine Empire. ... Though Peloponnese is used to refer to the entire peninsula, the periphery with that name includes only part of that landmass. ... The Franks or the Frankish people were one of several west Germanic federations. ... Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípeiros; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is a province or periphery in northwestern Greece, bounded by West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, by the province of Sterea Ellada (Central Greece) to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and... Arta may refer to: Djibouti Arta District Arta, Djibouti Greece Arta Prefecture Arta, Greece Italy Piano dArta Ancient People Arta Kamuia or Arta Kamuio This is a disambiguation page, a list of pages that otherwise might share the same title. ... Nicopolis (meaning in Greek: city of victory; see also List of traditional Greek place names) or Actia Nicopolis was an ancient city of Epirus, founded 31 BC by Octavian in memory of his victory over Antony and Cleopatra at Actium. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Thessaly (Θεσσαλια; modern Greek Thessalía; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. ... Noah or Nóach (circa 2104 BCE according to the chronology of the Hebrew Bible/Tanakh) (Rest, Standard Hebrew נוֹחַ (Nóaḥ), Tiberian Hebrew (); Arabic نوح ()), is a Biblical figure who, according to Genesis, built an ark to save his family and each species of the worlds animals from the Deluge... John X Camaterus was the Patriarch of Constantinople from 1198 to 1206. ... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ... Iznik (formerly Nicaea) is a city in Anatolia (now part of Turkey) which is known primarily as the site of two major meetings (or Ecumenical councils) in the early history of the Christian church. ... Innocent III, né Lotario de Conti (Gavignano, near Anagni, ca. ... ...

In Epirus Michael revolted against Boniface of Montferrat, King of Thessalonica. Henry of Flanders demanded that Michael submit to the Latin Empire, which he did, at least nominally, by allowing his daughter to marry Henry's brother Eustace in 1209. Michael did not honour this alliance, assuming that mountainous Epirus would be mostly impenetrable by any Latins with whom he made and broke alliances. Meanwhile Boniface's relatives from Montferrat made claims to Epirus as well, and in 1210 Michael allied with the Venetians and attacked Boniface. Michael was excessively cruel to his prisoners, in some cases crucifying Latin priests. Innocent III excommunicated him in response. Henry relieved the city later that year and forced Michael into a renewed nominal alliance. Boniface of Montferrat (c. ... The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade. ... Henry (c. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ... Events Albigensian Crusade against Cathars (1209-1218) the Franciscans are founded. ... Montferrat was a marquisate in Lombardy during the Middle Ages. ... Epirus (Greek Ήπειρος, Ípeiros; see also List of traditional Greek place names), is a province or periphery in northwestern Greece, bounded by West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, by the province of Sterea Ellada (Central Greece) to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and... Events End of the reign of Emperor Tsuchimikado, emperor of Japan Emperor Juntoku ascends to the throne of Japan Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for invading southern Italy in 1210 Gottfried von Strassburg writes his epic poem Tristan about 1210 Beginning of Delhi Sultanate Births... Location within Italy Venice (Italian: Venezia, Venessia in the local dialect), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′N 12°19′E, population 271,663 (census estimate January 1, 2004). ... Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, where the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross (Latin: crux) and left to hang there until dead. ...

Michael however turned his attention to capturing other strategically important Latin-held towns, Larissa, Dyrrhachium and Ohrid in particular, and ensuring he had control of the Via Egnatia, the main route to Constantinople. He also took control of the ports on the Gulf of Corinth. In 1214 he captured Corcyra from Venice. Larissa (Greek: Λάρισα, Lárisa, (Turkish: Yenişehr-i Fenar) is the capital city of the Thessaly periphery of Greece, and capital of the Larissa Prefecture. ... Durrës (Italian: Durazzo; see also different names) is the most ancient and one of the most economically important important cities of Albania. ... Ohrid (see also different names) is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in western Republic of Macedonia. ... Ancient Via Egnatia route Via Egnatia (Greek: Εγνατία Οδός) was a road constructed by the Romans around 146 BC. It was named after Gnaeus Egnatius, proconsul of Macedonia, who ordered its construction. ... The Gulf of Corinth or the Corinthian Gulf is a deep inlet of the Ionian Sea separating the Peloponnese from western mainland Greece. ... Events Simon Apulia becomes Bishop of Exeter. ... (This article is about the Greek island known in English as Corfu. ...

He was assassinated by one of his servants in 1215 and was succeeded by his half-brother Theodore. // Events A certified copy of the Magna Carta June 15 - King John of England forced to put his seal to the Magna Carta, outlining the rights of landowning men (nobles and knights) and restricting the kings power. ...