Eastern Europe, Mid-13th Century

Abstract

By the mid-13th century, the Latin Empire was in its death throes. Undermined internally by divisive western feudal rivalries and battered externally by the constant pressures of the three primary contenders for the former Orthodox Byzantine Empire — Nicaea, Bulgaria, and Epiros — the Latin Empire, under its last ruler, Emperor Baldwin II (1228–61), consisted of little more than the European and Anatolian environs of Constantinople. The Duchy of Athens and the Principality of Achaia still remained in Latin hands. Venice retained its hold on Crete, most of the Aegean islands, and various enclaves along the Balkan Adriatic coast, including Dubrovnik.