Alexios G. K. Savvides. <i>Late Byzantine and Early Ottoman Thessaly. The Semi-Autonomous Byzantine State of the Central Hellas Until Its Final Turkish Conquest (Early 13th to Second Half of the 15th Century); Raids and Settlements of Latins, Albania

The medieval history of Greece has witnessed increased research interest over the past few years. The regions of Thessaly and Central Greece, in particular, have been the focus of a number of historical and archaeological studies. The present book seeks a place among these works. It includes an extensive prologue, and six chapters bookended by an appendix on Thessaly under Ottoman rule, a catalogue of abbreviations, an abstract in English, an index, and five maps.The Prologue provides an overview of all the main works on the history and historical geography of Thessaly and acknowledges the wider composite works of historians and local amateur researchers, of which there are many. Worthy of particular note is the author’s contribution to the use of the term “semi-autonomous state,” which became popular among modern researchers of the region.In the first chapter, the author describes all the political and military developments in the first half of the thirteenth century and discusses the role played by the first lord of Thessaly, John I Angelos Doukas Komnenos, at the battle of Pelagonia (1259). He places emphasis on the names of local rulers who established the state of Epirus, the so-called Despotate, after 1204, incorporating Thessaly into its domains from 1212/3 onward. The author examines earlier and recent literature in his effort to investigate the use of the surname “Angelos” by these lords and convincingly asserts that the first two lords of Epirus used the specific surname.The second chapter focuses on prosopography, a field in which the author has distinguished himself. This is rounded out by a useful table with the names of families that lived in the region from the eleventh century onward. The following chapter provides a narrative of the historical developments in the region from 1267/8 onward. In that year, John I Angelos Doukas Komnenos, son of Michael II, the “despot” of Epirus, came to power in Thessaly and established a semi-autonomous political entity that managed to survive until the early fourteenth century. The author presents John’s interactions with his neighbors (Epirus, Byzantium, Duchy of Athens) and discusses a number of crucial events together with the debate on their dating. He finally comments on the titles of John’s successors and the relevant literature.In the fourth chapter, the author examines the presence of foreign overlords in Thessaly and the surrounding regions, the Catalans, Albanians, and Serbs, in particular. He provides an exhaustive overview of the literature on the movements of these peoples. He thus sheds light on the arrival of the Catalans in Thessaly and their take-over of the Duchy of Athens in the wake of their victory at the battle of Almyros (1311). He also discusses the Albanian settlers of Thessaly, who began to appear there in the first decades of the fourteenth century and notices the Byzantine interests in the region. Then he focuses on the period of Serbian conquest and control, from 1348 to 1380/1. The flourishing monasticism in the region, perhaps best exemplified by the founding of the monastic community at Meteora in 1335, is attributed to this period.The fifth chapter describes the arrival of the Ottomans in Thessaly, after the fall of Thessaloniki to a force led by Hayreddin Pasha in 1387. Larisa fell a short few years later (1392/3), as did other cities such as Demetrias, Almyros, etc. The author disagrees with the dominant position, according to which Thessaly was conquered in 1393/4 (Ferjančić). Instead, he asserts that the conquest was a gradual, complex process that spanned from 1386/7 to 1470, in support of which he mentions all the Ottoman generals who were active in the region, such as Evrenos Bey and others. Concurrently, he provides information on the local administration up to the complete incorporation of the region into the Ottoman state (1470).A crucial figure in this was the warlord Turahan Bey, who ruled Thessaly from 1422 to 1456. The author dedicates the sixth chapter to him and his sons, in order to demonstrate the impact they had on social developments both during and after their time. This includes the delineation of the first timars, the establishment of the security forces of the Armatoloi, and the movements of various ethnic groups and their cohabitation within a society comprised largely of minor owner-operators.All in all, the book is a vital contribution to our knowledge of late Byzantine and early Ottoman Thessaly. Through his focus on historical figures, his emphasis on the issues faced by contemporary research and his evaluation of its findings by virtue of his command of the (earlier and recent) literature, and with respect for both older and modern historians and local amateurs who have studied Thessaly, Alexios Savvides has created an invaluable tool for researchers, university students, and scholars alike, all of whom will no doubt find something valuable within on particular aspects of Thessalian history.