Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae

Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae

The actual partition of the Byzantine Empire after the Fourth Crusade
Context	Sack of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade
Signed	1204 (1204)
Location	Constantinople, Latin Empire (now Istanbul, Turkey)
Signatories	Latin Empire  Republic of Venice

The Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae (Latin for "partition of the lands of the empire of Romania^[1] [Byzantine Empire]) was a treaty signed amongst the crusaders after the sack of the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, by the Fourth Crusade in 1204. It established the Latin Empire and arranged the nominal partition of the Byzantine territory among the participants of the Crusade, with the Republic of Venice being the greatest titular beneficiary. However, because the crusaders did not in fact control most of the Empire, with local Byzantine Greek nobles establishing the Byzantine successor kingdoms (Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond, Despot of Epirus), most of the crusaders' declared division of the Empire amongst themselves could never be implemented.

Provisions

The treaty, which was promulgated either in late September / early October 1204 or (according to Nikolaos Oikonomides) immediately after the sack in April–May 1204, was drafted by a 24-man committee consisting of 12 Venetians and 12 representatives of the other Crusader leaders. It gave the Latin Emperor direct control of one fourth of the Byzantine territory, to Venice three eighths – including three eighths of the city of Constantinople, with Hagia Sophia – and the remaining three eighths were apportioned among the other Crusader chiefs. Through this division, Venice became the chief power in Latin Romania, and the effective power behind the Latin Empire, a fact clearly illustrated by the lofty title its Doge acquired: Dominator quartae et dimidiae partis totius Romaniae ("Lord of a quarter and a half quarter of all of Romania").

Effects

The Partitio Romaniae initiated the period of the history of Greece known as Frankokratia or Latinokratia ("Frankish/Latin rule"), where Catholic West European nobles, mostly from France and Italy, established states on former Byzantine territory and ruled over the mostly Orthodox native Byzantine Greeks. The provisions of the Partitio Romaniae were not fully carried out, with most of the Byzantine realm falling into the hands not of the crusaders who had sacked the capital but of the local Byzantine Greek nobles, who established the Despotate of Epirus, Empire of Nicaea and Empire of Trebizond Byzantine successor states, as well as due to squabbles among the Crusaders themselves. The rump Latin Empire itself, consisting of the area surrounding Constantinople, Thessaloniki, and the Sea of Marmara was also drawn into a disastrous conflict with the powerful Second Bulgarian Empire.

Importance as a historical source

As the division was based on now lost documents and tax registers from the Byzantine imperial chancery, the Partitio Romaniae is a valuable document for the administrative divisions (episkepseis) and estates of the various Byzantine magnate families ca. 1203, as well as the areas still controlled by the Byzantine central government at the time.

Sources

• Alexander Kazhdan, ed. (1991). Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. pp. 1591–92. ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6. 

References

Frankish and Latin Greece History Fourth Crusade Constantinople 1203 Constantinople 1204 Partitio Romaniae Koundouros Grove Treaty of Nymphaeum Constantinople 1235 Genoese occupation of Rhodes War of the Euboeote Succession Pelagonia Constantinople 1260 Constantinople 1261 Treaty of Viterbo Prinitza Makryplagi Settepozzi Neopatras Demetrias Halmyros Manolada Chios Byzantine–Genoese War Revolt of Saint Titus Echinades 1st Ottoman–Venetian War Rhodes 1480 2nd Ottoman–Venetian War Rhodes 1522 3rd Ottoman–Venetian War 4th Ottoman–Venetian War 5th Ottoman–Venetian War Siege of Candia 6th Ottoman–Venetian War 7th Ottoman–Venetian War Major centres Cities: Constantinople Thessaloniki Glarentza Patras Athens Islands: Crete Naxos Chios Rhodes States and territories Latin Empire Kingdom of Thessalonica Principality of Achaea (Akova Arcadia Argos and Nauplia Chalandritsa Estamira Geraki Gritzena Kalavryta Karytaina Nikli Passavant Patras Veligosti and Damala Vostitsa) Duchy of Athens (Salona Marquisate of Bodonitsa) Duchy of Neopatria County palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos Triarchy of Negroponte Duchy of the Archipelago Lordship of Chios Overseas possessions of the Republic of Venice (Kingdom of Candia Ionian Islands Modon and Coron Kingdom of the Morea Lepanto Parga Preveza) Catalan Company Navarrese Company Knights Hospitaller People Latin Emperor Latin empresses Latin Patriarch of Constantinople Prince of Achaea Princess of Achaea Latin Archbishop of Patras Latin Archbishopric of Corinth Tocco family Acciaioli family Gattilusi Pallavicini family Geoffrey I of Villehardouin Marco I Sanudo Boniface I, Marquess of Montferrat Demetrius of Montferrat Pierre d'Aubusson Juan Fernández de Heredia Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam Foulques de Villaret Roger de Flor Cultural impact Chronicle of the Morea Chronicle of the Tocco Assizes of Romania Cretan School Cretan literature Roman Catholicism in Greece Monuments Argyrokastro Castle Arkadi Monastery Bourtzi (Nafplio) Castle of Chios Chlemoutsi Exomvourgo Frangokastello Fortezza of Rethymno Grand Magne Gouverneto Monastery Isova Koules Fortress New Fortress, Corfu Old Fortress, Corfu Old Navarino castle Palamidi Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes Platamon Castle Zaraka Monastery