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The Italian city states, especially Genoa, Pisa, and Venice, had been interested in the islands of the Aegean long before the Fourth Crusade. There were Italian trading colonies in Constantinople and Italian pirates frequently attacked settlements in the Aegean in the 12th century. After the collapse of the Byzantine Empire in 1204, in which the Venetians played a major role, Venetian interests in the Aegean could be more thoroughly realized.
The Duchy of the Archipelago was created in 1207 by Marco Sanudo, a participant in the Crusade and a nephew of the former Venetian doge Enrico Dandolo, who had led the Venetian fleet to Constantinople. This was an independent venture, without the consent of the Latin emperorThe knights of the Fourth Crusade set up a Crusader kingdom known as the Latin Empire or Romania based on Constantinople after sacking the city in 1204. They intended it to be a Roman Catholic successor of the Byzantine Empire. Baldwin IX, Count of Flande Henry of FlandersHenry (c. 1174- 1216), was the second emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople. He was a younger son of Baldwin V, Count of Hainaut (later Baldwin VIII, count of Flanders), and Margaret, sister of Philip of Alsace, count of Flanders. Having joined th. Sanudo was accompanied by Marino Dandolo and Andrea and Geremia Ghisi, as well as Ravano dalle Carceri, lord of EuboeaEuboea or Negropont is the largest island of the Greek archipelago. It is separated from the mainland of Greece by the Euboic Sea. In general outline it is long and narrow; it is about 90 miles long, and varies in breadth from 30 miles to 4. Its general d, and Philocalo Navigaioso, lord of LemnosLemnos (mod. Limnos), an island in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. The island, part of the Greek prefecture of Lesbos, is of considerable size: the area has been estimated at 150 sq. A great part is mountainous, but some very fertile valleys exist.. He arranged for the loan of eight galleys from the Venetian ArsenalThere are two football clubs widely known as Arsenal. For the most widely known club by that name, see Arsenal F. For the Argentine club of this name, see Arsenal de Sarandi. Arsenal an establishment for the construction, repair, receipt, storage and issu, and with his latter-day ArgonautsIn Greek mythology, the Argonauts were a band of heroes who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest for the Golden Fleece. They sailed the ship the Argo hence their name, which literally means "Sailors of the Argo". cast anchor in the harbor of Potamidides, in the southwest of the island, and largely captured the island. The OrthodoxEastern Orthodox Christianity (Greek Orthodox, Russian Orthodox) is the modern name primarily applied to the Christian church that claims to be the original historical church started by Christ Jesus and his Apostles 2000 years ago. They claim unbroken apo Naxiotes did not give in easily: they holed up in the inland Greek fortress of Apalyros/Apalire, which fell to Sanudo after five or six weeks' siege, despite the succor rendered to the Greeks by the Genoese, who were none too happy to be excluded from Aegean trade by a nest of such officially-sanctioned Venetian pirates.
With Naxos in hand in 1210Events End of the reign of Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan Emperor Juntoku ascends to the throne of Japan Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for invading southern Italy in 1210 Gottfried von Strassburg writes his epic poem Trist, Sanudo and his brigand adventurers soon conquered Melos and the rest of the islands of the Cyclades, and he established himself as Duke of Naxia, or Duke of the Archipelago, with his headquarters at Naxos. Sanudo rebuilt a strong fortress and divided the island into 56 provinces, which he shared out as feudal fiefs among the leaders of his men, most of whom were working on spec and apparently paid their own expenses. His companions Carceri and Navigaoiso had been granted their islands by Henry of Flanders and were technically vassals of the Latin Empire. Sanudo too recognized Henry's authority rather than making the Duchy a vassal of Venice.
The conqueror himself ruled as Duke Marcos I for twenty years ( 1207- 1227) surrounded in the Archipelago by Latin seigneurs in more than two dozen islands in the Aegean, for which some of them did homage to the Duke of Naxos, and some directly to the Latin Emperor at Constantinople. Sanudo also held in his personal possession Paros, Antiparos, Melos, Sifnos , Kithnos , Ios, Amorgos , Kimolos , Sikinos , Syros, and Pholegandros. Other islands included Andros (held by Dandolo), Tinos , Mykonos, Skyros, Skopelos , Serifos , Chios (held by the Ghisis), Thera (held by Jacopo Barozzi), Anaphe (held by Leonardo Foscolo), Kythera (held by Marco Venier), and Cerigotto (held by Jacopo Viaro).