123: The Despotate of Epirus: Part One: Michael Komnenos Doukas

History of Modern Greece

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In this episode, we visit the rouge imperial state that popped up in the Balkans after the conquest of Constantinople. This state is called the Despotate of Epirus, as it was the rightful inheritor of the Roman Empire. Michael Komnenos Doukas was a bastard cousin of the Emperor in Constantinople... but now he had the chance to really make a name for himself and carve out a piece of the old empire to form his new kingdom. In this episode, Michael goes from a puppet of the Latins to a full-blown rebel, going to war with Latins, Albanians, and the city of Dyrrachium. When he entered the old imperial cities, he was greeted as a liberator and a hero, but when he crossed over to the Latins, he became the cruel conqueror... but maybe he was just the type of cruel conqueror the Greeks needed to deal with the Latin Crusaders now living in the midst of the old Roman Empire.
The History of Modern Greece Podcast covers the events from Ancient Greece, the Roman Empire, and the fall of Constantinople in 1453, to the years under the Ottoman Empire, and 1821 when the Greeks fought for Independance... all the way to the Modern Day.

Website: www.moderngreecepodcast.com

Music by Mark Jungerman: www.marcjungermann.com
Check out our 2nd Podcast: www.antecedors.