Morea (Greek: Μορέας or Μοριάς) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία It also referred to a Byzantine province in the region, known as the Despotate of Morea. The Despotate of Morea ( Δεσποτάτο του Μορέως) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid- 14th and mid-

Origins of the name

There is some uncertainty over the origin of the name "Morea", which is first recorded in the 10th century in Byzantine chronicles. As with many other things in the Balkans, part of the uncertainty stems from the political implications behind each suggested origin of the name.

Popular belief in Greece today is that the name originates from the word moria, meaning mulberry, a common plant in the region, used in the production of silk for which the Peloponnese was famous. In Greece it is also believed that it is of Frankish origin.

In 1830, the Austrian historian Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer (1790–1861) published the first of his volumes Geschichte der Halbinsel Morea während des Mittelalters ("History of the Morea Peninsula during the Middle Ages"). For the game see 1830 (board game. Year 1830 ( MDCCCXXX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display Jakob Philipp Fallmerayer ( 10 December 1790 &ndash 26 April 1861) was an Tyrolean traveller journalist politician and historian Based on his analysis of the spread of Slavic place names in mainland Greece, Fallmerayer proposed that the 19th century Greeks had almost no linear cultural connection to the ancients but a large one to the Slavic tribes who had invaded during the 6th and 7th centuries. The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar The 6th century is the period from 501 to 600 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. The 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian / Common Era. To support his thesis, Fallmerayer proposed that the word comes from the Slavic word more, meaning sea. The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages) a group of closely related Languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages Fallmerayer did not find any conclusive evidence as there was no evidence other than several scattered village names to suggest this.

History

The Morea and surrounding states carved from the Byzantine Empire, as they were in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911)

After the conquest of Constantinople by the forces of the Fourth Crusade (1204), two groups of Franks undertook the occupation of the Morea. The Fourth Crusade (1202&ndash1204 was originally designed to conquer Muslim Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group They created the Principality of Achaea, a largely Greek-inhabited statelet ruled by a Latin (Western) autocrat. The Principality of Achaea or of the Morea was one of the three Vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire In referring to the Peloponnese, they followed local practice and used the name "Morea".

The most important prince in the Morea was Guillaume II de Villehardouin (1246–1278), who fortified Mistra (Mystras) near the site of Sparta in 1249. William II of Villehardouin, (Guillaume II de Villehardouin (died May 1, 1278) was the last Villehardouin prince of Achaea and ruled the principality Mystras (also Mistra, Mystra and Mistras Greek: Μυστράς Μυζηθράς Mizithras or Myzithras in the The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη After losing the Battle of Pelagonia (1259) against the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaeologus, Guillaume was forced to ransom himself by giving up most of the eastern part of Morea and his newly built strongholds. The Battle of Pelagonia took place in September of 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and the Despotate of Epirus, Sicily and the Principality This is a list of the Emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire, commonly known as the Byzantine Empire by modern historians Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( Greek: Μιχαήλ Η΄ Παλαιολόγος Mikhaēl VIII Palaiologos) (1223 &ndash December 11

In the mid-14th century, the later Byzantine Emperor John VI Cantacuzenus reorganized Morea into the Despotate of Morea, usually ruled from Mistra by the current heirs of the emperor. John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( Greek: Ιωάννης ΣΤ΄ Καντακουζηνός Iōannēs VI Kantakouzēnos) (c The Despotate of Morea ( Δεσποτάτο του Μορέως) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid- 14th and mid- The Byzantines eventually recovered the remainder of the Frankish part of Morea, but in 1460 the peninsula was overrun and conquered by the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire (1299–1923 ( Old Ottoman Turkish: دولتْ علیّه عثمانیّه Devlet-i Âliye-yi Osmâniyye, Late Ottoman and Modern Turkish

The peninsula was captured for the Republic of Venice by Francesco Morosini during the Morean War. The Most Serene Republic of Venice ((Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta or Repùblica de Venesia Serenissima Repubblica Francesco Morosini (1619 &ndash 1694 was the Doge of Venice from 1688 to 1694 at the height of the Great Turkish War. The Morean War ( La guerra di Morea) was a campaign fought during the Great Turkish War between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire Venetian rule proved unpopular, and the Ottomans recaptured the Morea in a lightning campaign in 1714. Year 1714 ( MDCCXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Under renewed Ottoman rule, centered at Tripolitsa, the region enjoyed relative prosperity, but the latter 18th century was marked by renewed dissatisfaction. Tripoli (Τρίπολη Trípoli, formerly Τρίπολις Trípolis; rarely Tripolitsa, Tripolitza and Tripolizza The brutal repression of the Orlov Revolt did not hinder the emergence of the armed bands of the klephts, which waged a virtual guerrilla war with the Turks, aided both by the decay of Ottoman power and the re-emergence of Greek national consciousness. The Orlov Revolt ( 1770) was a precursor to the Greek War of Independence ( 1821) which saw a Greek uprising in the Peloponnese at Klephts ( Greek κλέφτης, pl κλέφτες - kleftis, kleftes, which originally meant just "thieves" Guerrilla warfare is the unconventional warfare and combat with which a small group of combatants use mobile tactics (ambushes raids etc Ultimately, the Moreas would form the cradle and centre of the Greek Revolution. The Greek War of Independence (1821–1829 also commonly known as the Greek Revolution (Ελληνική Επανάσταση Elliniki Epanastasi; Ottoman

Chronicle of Morea

The anonymous 14th century Chronicle of Morea in more than 9,000 lines of political verse, relates events of the establishment of feudalism in mainland Greece by the Franks following the Fourth Crusade. The Chronicle of Morea (Το χρονικόν του Μορέως is a long 14th century text of which 4 versions are extant a French, a Greek Feudalism, a term first used in the early modern period (17th century in its most classic sense refers to a Medieval Europe Political system composed The Chronicle is famous in spite of its historical unreliability because of its lively description of life in the feudal community and because of the character of the language which reflects the rapid transition from Medieval to Modern Greek. The Chronicle, written in French, survives in two parallel Greek texts, the Ms Havniensis 57 (14th–15th century, in Copenhagen) and the Ms Parisinus graecus 2898 (15th–16th century, at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris), and the difference of about one century shows a considerable number of linguistic differences due to the rapid evolution of the Greek language. Copenhagen (ˌkəʊpənˈheɪgən ˌkəʊpənˈhɑːgən ˈkəʊpənˌheɪgən ˈkəʊpənˌhɑːgən kʰøb̥ənˈhɑʊ̯ˀn kʰøb̥m̩ˈhɑʊ̯ˀn is the capital and largest city Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city

References

• Crusaders as Conquerors: the Chronicle of Morea, translated from the Greek with notes and introduction by Harold E. Lurier, Columbia University, 1964.

See also

• List of traditional Greek place names
• Chronicle of Morea

External links

• Mystras: illustrated capsule history
• Mystra: history