Duchy of the Archipelago

Duchy of the Archipelago
Ducato dell'arcipelago
Client state*
1207–1579
Coat of Arms of the Duchy of the Archipelago
Duchy of Naxos, 1450, highlighted within the Aegean Sea
Capital		Naxos
Languages		Venetian officially, Greek popularly
Religion		Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox popularly
Government		Duchy
Duke
•	1207–27	Marco I Sanudo
•	1383–97	Francesco I Crispo
•	1564–66	Giacomo IV Crispo
•	1566–79	Joseph Nasi
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Fourth Crusade	1201–03
•	Duchy established	1207
•	Crispo coup d'état	1383
•	Ottoman suzerainty	1537
•	Expropriated by Selim II	1579
Preceded by Succeeded by Byzantine Empire Sanjak of Nakşa Berre
* The duchy was a client state of, in order, the Latin Emperors at Constantinople, the Villehardouin dynasty of princes of Achaea, the Angevins of the Kingdom of Naples and (after 1418) the Republic of Venice. From 1566–79, the duchy was administered as a part of the Ottoman Empire before total annexation.

Coat of Arms of the Duchy of the Archipelago

The Duchy of the Archipelago (Italian: Ducato dell'arcipelago, Modern Greek: Δουκάτο του Αρχιπελάγους), or also Duchy of Naxos (Italian: Ducato di Nasso, Modern Greek: Δουκάτο της Νάξου) or Duchy of the Aegean (Italian: Ducato dell'Egeo, Modern Greek: Δουκάτο του Αιγαίου), was a maritime state created by Venetian interests in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea, in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, centered on the islands of Naxos and Paros. It included all the Cyclades (except Mykonos and Tinos). In 1537 it became a tributary of the Ottoman Empire, and was annexed by the Ottomans in 1579; however, Christian rule survived in islands such as Siphnos (conquered by the Ottomans in 1617) and Tinos (conquered only in 1714).