Kingdom of Thessalonica
| Kingdom of Thessalonica | ||||||||||
| Βασίλειον Θεσσαλονίκης | ||||||||||
| Vassal of the Latin Empire | ||||||||||
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 Kingdom of Thessalonica (1204).
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| Capital | Thessalonica | |||||||||
| Languages |
Latin officially, Greek popularly |
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| Religion |
Roman Catholic officially, Eastern Orthodox popularly |
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| Government | Monarchy | |||||||||
| King of Thessalonica | ||||||||||
| • | 1204–1207 | Boniface of Montferrat | ||||||||
| • | 1207–1224 | Demetrius of Montferrat | ||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | |||||||||
| • | Kingdom established | 1204 | ||||||||
| • | Fall of Thessalonica to Epirus | 1224 | ||||||||
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Coat of Arms
The Kingdom of Thessalonica was a short-lived Crusader State founded after the Fourth Crusade over conquered Byzantine lands in Macedonia and Thessaly.
After the fall of Constantinople to the crusaders in 1204, Boniface of Montferrat, the leader of the crusade, was expected by both the Crusaders and the defeated Byzantines to become the new emperor. However, the Venetians felt that Boniface was too closely tied to the Byzantine Empire, as his brother Conrad had married into the Byzantine royal family. The Venetians wanted an emperor whom they could control more easily, and with their influence, Baldwin of Flanders was elected as emperor of the new Latin Empire.
Boniface reluctantly accepted this, and set out to conquer Thessalonica, the second-largest Byzantine city after Constantinople. At first he had to compete with Emperor Baldwin, who also wanted the city. He then went on to capture the city later in 1204 and set up a kingdom there, subordinate to Baldwin, although the title of "king" was never officially used. Late 13th and 14th century sources suggest that Boniface based his claim to Thessalonica on the statement that his younger brother Renier had been granted Thessalonica on his marriage to Maria Komnene in 1180.
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Wikipedia