Polity Principality of Arbanon

This article is about the specific polity Principality of Arbanon and therefore only includes events related to its territory and not to its possessions or colonies. If you are interested in the possession, this is the link to the article about the nation which includes all possessions as well as all the different incarnations of the nation.

If you are looking for the page with the statistics about this polity you can find it here: All Statistics

In 1204, Arbanon (Albania) attained full, though temporary, political independence, taking advantage of the weakening of Constantinople following its pillage during the Fourth Crusade. It was the first Albanian state to emerge in recorded history.

Establishment

  • January 1205: In 1204, Arbanon, led by Prince Progon, attained political independence from Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade. The territory went to the Principality of Arbanon, marking a temporary period of autonomy.

Chronology

Interactive Chronologies with maps are available in the section Changes Navigation

1. Crusades

The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the Medieval period. The best known of these military expeditions are those to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291.

1.1. Fourth Crusade

Was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem. However, the Western Crusaders sacked Constantinople in 1204 and partitioned the Byzantine Empire.

  • January 1205: In 1204, Arbanon, led by Prince Progon, attained political independence from Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade. The territory went to the Principality of Arbanon, marking a temporary period of autonomy.

Disestablishment

  • January 1217: Arbanon lost its autonomy ca. 1216, when the ruler of Epirus, Michael I Komnenos Doukas, started an invasion northward into Albania and Macedonia, taking Kruja and ending the independence of the principality.