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. May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... Events August 26 - Ladislaus IV of Hungary and Rudolph I of Germany defeat the Bohemians in the Battle of Marchfield. ... 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 Morea and surrounding states carved from the Byzantine Empire, as they were in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911) The name Morea (Μωρέας) for Peloponnesos first appears in the 10th century in Byzantine chronicles. ...

William was the son of Geoffrey I Villehardouin. In 1236 he aided the Latin Empire against the Byzantine Empire of Nicea, and was rewarded with the overlordship of the Venetian Duchy of the Archipelago and other Venetian territories in the Aegean Sea. He came to power in Achaea in 1246 when his brother Geoffrey II Villehardouin died. Events May 6 - Roger of Wendover, Benedictine monk and chronicler of St Albanss Abbey dies. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ... The Byzantine Empire is the term conventionally used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered at its capital in Constantinople. ... The Empire of Nicaea was the largest of the states founded by refugees from the Byzantine Empire after Constantinople was conquered during the Fourth Crusade. ... Location within Italy Venice is known for its waterways and gondolas Venice (Italian Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ... The Venetian Duchy of the Archipelago (also called Egeon Pelagos) was a maritime state created in the Aegean Sea in the aftermath the Fourth Crusade. ... Greece and the Aegean Sea The Aegean sea in Greece as seen from the island of Santorini The Aegean Sea (Greek: Αιγαίον Πέλαγος, Aigaion Pelagos; Turkish: Ege Denizi) is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea, located between the Greek peninsula and Anatolia (Asia Minor, now part of Turkey). ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Go-Saga of Japan. ...

As prince he conquered the remaining territory of the Peloponnese (known at the time as Morea) and built the fortress of Mistra near Sparta. In 1249 he captured Monemvasia with help from his Euboean vassals, and later that year accompanied Louis IX of France on the Seventh Crusade, joining him in Cyprus with 400 knights and 28 ships. Louis also gave him a license to mint coins in the style of royal French money. Peloponnesos (Greek: Πελοπόννησος, sometime Latinized as Peloponnesus or Anglicized as The Peloponnese) is a large peninsula in Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Isthmus of Corinth. ... The Morea and surrounding states carved from the Byzantine Empire, as they were in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911) The name Morea (Μωρέας) for Peloponnesos first appears in the 10th century in Byzantine chronicles. ... 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 (Grk. ... 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. ... Monemvassia can be seen in the background Monemvassia (Greek: Μονεμβασία, or Monemvasia, Malvasy) is a medieval fortress with an adjacent town, located on a small peninsula off the east coast of the Peloponnese in the Greek prefecture of Laconia. ... Euboea, or Negropont (Greek: Εύβοια, modern transliteration: Evvoia, Evvia or Evia), is the largest island of the Greek archipelago. ... Only representation of Saint Louis known to be true to life - Early 14th century statue from the church of Mainneville, Eure, France King Louis IX of France or Saint Louis (April 25, 1214/1215–August 25, 1270) was King of France from 1226 until his death. ... The Seventh Crusade was a crusade led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. ... A mint is a facility which manufactures coins for currency. ...

Under William's rule the Duchy of the Archipelago, the Duchy of Athens, and the Venetian lords of Euboea recognized him as their lord. In 1255 his Venetian second wife Carintana dalle Carceri died, leading to a dispute over the inheritance of a fief in Euboea, and war broke out between Venice and Achaea (the Guerre des terciers de l'Eubée, the "War of the Terciers of Euboea," terciers being the three Venetian lords of the island). William won the war and also defeated the Duke of Athens in 1258, reaffirming his influence over the duchy. The Duchy of Athens was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade. ... Events Königsberg was founded Births Emperor Albert I of Germany, in July Deaths Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon and count of Barcelona (reigned from 1213 to 1276) Categories: 1255 ... Events= February 10 - Mongols overrun Baghdad, burning it to the ground and killing 800,000 citizens Llywelyn the Last declares himself Prince of Wales. ...

In 1259 he married Anna Comnena Ducaina, daughter of Michael II of Epirus, forming an alliance with the Byzantine Despotate of Epirus against Nicea, an alliance which also included Manfred of Sicily. In September of that year he led the Achaean forces at the Battle of Pelagonia against the Niceans, but the Epirote army deserted and William was defeated. He fled the field and hid under a haystack, where he was captured and brought to Nicea. He remained in captivity until 1262, and was forced to hand over Monemvasia and Mistra to the Byzantine Empire, which had been restored in Constantinople the previous year. Events The chronicle of Matthew Paris ends due to his death. ... The Despotate of Epirus was one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire, founded in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204. ... Manfred (c. ... The Battle of Pelagonia took place in September of 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and the Principality of Achaea. ... Events Strasbourg becomes a Free City of the Holy Roman Empire First Visconti become the lord of Iceland swear fealty to the king of Norway, bringing an end to the Icelandic Commonwealth Births Ladislaus IV of Hungary Deaths Monarchs/Presidents Aragon - James I King of Aragon and count of Barcelona... Map of Constantinople. ...

William had now lost all of his previous power, as had his former lord, Baldwin II of Constantinople, whose Latin Empire was gone with the Byzantine restoration (Baldwin's direct control had included little else than the city of Constantinople). William and Baldwin both acknowledged Charles of Anjou as lord of Achaea under the Treaty of Viterbo in 1267; Charles had earlier defeated and killed William's old ally Manfred. As a vassal of Charles, William and 400 Achaean knights fought against Conradin at the Battle of Tagliacozzo in 1268. Baldwin II (1217—1273) was the last emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Charles I (March 1227 - January 7, 1285) was the posthumous son of King Louis VIII of France, created Count of Anjou by his elder brother King Louis IX in 1246, thus founding the second Angevin dynasty. ... For broader historical context, see 1260s and 13th century. ... Portrait of Conradin from the Codex Manesse (Folio 7r). ... Events May 18 - the Principality of Antioch falls to Mameluk Sultan Baibars. ...

William and Anna had two daughters, Isabelle and Margaret; Isabelle, the elder daughter, married into Charles' family. Charles personally succeeded William in 1278, ending the Villehardouin dynasty and setting up Angevin rule, with the principality governed essentially as a province of the Kingdom of Naples. With the decreasing power and influence of Achaea, the Duchy of Athens became the most powerful state in Greece. Isabella remained childless despite her several marriages, but through Margaret, William is an ancestor of Dukes of Montferrat & latest Dukes of Lorraine and as such, most European royal families descend from him. The following is a list of monarchs of Naples and Sicily: See also: List of Counts of Apulia and Calabria Hauteville Counts of Sicily, 1071-1130 Roger I 1071-1101 Simon 1101-1105 Roger II 1105-1130 Hauteville Kings of Sicily, 1130-1198 Roger II 1130-1154 William I 1154... Montferrat was a marquisate in Lombardy during the Middle Ages. ... Capital Metz Area 23,547 km² Regional President Jean-Pierre Masseret Population  - 2005 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density 2,310,376 98/km² Arrondissements 19 Cantons 157 Communes 2,337 Départements Meurthe-et-Moselle Meuse Moselle Vosges Lorraine ( German: Lothringen) is a historical area in present-day northeast France. ...

William was also noted as a poet and troubador, and the Manuscrit du Roi, containing two of his own compositions, was written in Achaea during his reign. He was also fluent in Greek in addition to his native French. Poets are authors of poems, or of other forms of poetry such as dramatic verse. ... For the article about the night club in West Hollywood, California, see: Troubadour (nightclub). ...