Duchy of Philippopolis

The Duchy of Philippopolis was a short-lived duchy of the Latin Empire founded after the collapse and partition of the Byzantine Empire by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It included the city of Philippopolis (modern Plovdiv) and the surrounding region.

History

From 1204 to 1205 it was ruled by Renier of Trit. It was captured for a short time by Emperor Kaloyan of Bulgaria in 1207 but was lost by his successor Boril following his defeat at the Battle of Philippopolis in 1208.

In ca. 1223/24, the then lord of Philippopolis, Gerard of Estreux (otherwise known as Gerard or Girard of Stroim,^[1] perhaps a form of Estrœung^[2] - Étrœungt - or Estreux^[3]) declared himself prepared to acknowledge the suzerainty of the Republic of Venice over a part of his possessions.^[4]

In the draft treaty concluded in December 1228 between John of Brienne and the regents of the Latin Empire, it was agreed that after his death, John's heirs would either take possession of the duchy (among other European territories) or of the Latin possessions in Asia Minor. However, in the treaty finally ratified in April 1229 (or 1230, according to Buchon), the rights of Gerard of Stroim over the duchy were confirmed.^[5]

The territory of the duchy finally joined the Bulgarian Empire in 1230, in the aftermath of Tsar Ivan Asen II's victory over the Empire of Thessalonica at the Battle of Klokotnitsa.^[6]

Dukes of Philippopolis

• Renier of Trit (1204-1208?)
• Gérard de Stroim, first attested in the Latin Empire in 1219,^[7] until an unknown date.

References

1. J. A. Buchon, Éclaircissements historiques, généalogiques et numismatiques sur la principauté française de Morée et ses douze pairies, pp. 23 and 62 (on line)
2. J.J. de Smet, Mémoire sur Baudoin IX p.60
3. Filip Van Tricht, The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium: The Empire of Constantinople (1204-1228) p.282
4. Filip Van Tricht, The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium: The Empire of Constantinople (1204-1228) p.160 on line
5. Buchon, Histoire des Conquêtes et de l'établissement des Français dans les états de l'ancienne Grèce sous les Ville-Hardoin à la suite de la quatrième Croisade, Volume 1, p.218 ()
6. Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. University of Michigan Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-472-08260-5.
7. Filip Van Tricht, The Latin Renovatio of Byzantium: The Empire of Constantinople (1204-1228) p.284