despotate

A despotate is a political entity governed by a despot, a ruler who held a high Byzantine court title and exercised sovereign authority over a territory. The term is used by historians to describe several post-Byzantine states in the Balkans and southern Greece that were ruled by rulers bearing the title despot after the fragmentation of the Byzantine world following the Fourth Crusade. The word despotēs comes from Greek and means master or lord. In the Byzantine imperial system the title was among the highest court ranks, awarded to sons of emperors and trusted allies; as such holders sometimes established independent or semi‑independent rule over provinces, and their realms are described as despotates.

The despotate usually maintained feudal structures with a central ruler supported by aristocratic families, exercising authority over administration, military, and taxation within its territory. Capitals commonly included Ioannina (Epirus) and Mystras (Morea) among others, reflecting the geographic spread of these states in Greek lands and the western Balkans. These states emerged in the wake of the Fourth Crusade and the fragmentation of the Byzantine world, surviving amid competing claims from Latin, Bulgarian, Hungarian, and rising Ottoman powers.

Famous despotates include the Despotate of Epirus, the Despotate of Serbia, and the Despotate of the Morea. All eventually declined under increasing Ottoman pressure in the 14th–15th centuries, as centralized Ottoman control expanded and the political meaning of the term despot faded. In historiography, the term also denotes the jurisdiction or realm ruled by a despot, reflecting the Byzantine legacy embedded in medieval political nomenclature.