Despotate of Epirus

The Despotate of Epirus was a former country and one of the Greek rump states of the Byzantine Empire, founded in 1205 CE after the Fourth Crusade. Established by a branch of the Angelos dynasty, it claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire. Centered on the region of Epirus, it also encompassed parts of Greek Macedonia, Thessaly, western Greece, and Albania. Its rulers briefly proclaimed themselves Emperors between 1227 and 1242, during which time it was often called the Empire of Thessalonica. The Despotate was eventually conquered by the restored Palaiologan Byzantine Empire around 1337 and finally dissolved in 1479 with the fall of its last stronghold to the Ottoman Empire.