Despotate of the Morea Tag

Mystras: the dwelling of the last Emperors

26.04.2018 in History

Mystras: the dwelling of the last Emperors     The fortified city of Mystras sprawled on the northern slopes of Mt. Taygetos in the vicinity of the modern city of Sparta. The early settlement was founded by the Frankish prince William II in 1249, forty-five years after the occupation of Constantinople by the Franks. The solid castle walls effectively made the Mystras town impregnable by land. However, the Byzantines captured Mystras in 1262 and in the 14th c. became the capital of the independent Despotate of the Morea (Peloponnese).   Under the Ottoman threat throughout the 15th c., the Byzantines…