Establishment According to the division of Byzantine territory (the
Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae), Euboea was awarded to
Boniface of Montferrat,
King of Thessalonica. Boniface in turn ceded the island as a fief to the Flemish noble
Jacques II of Avesnes, who fortified the capital
Chalkis. After his death in mid-1205 however, the island was ceded to three
Veronese barons:
Ravano dalle Carceri, Giberto dalle Carceri and Pecoraro da Mercanuovo. They divided the island into three triarchies (
terzieri, "thirds"): the northern, based at
Oreos (), the southern, ruled from
Karystos () and the central portion, ruled from Chalkis (). The city of Chalkis or Negroponte (''città de' Lombardi'', "city of the Lombards") however was not under the latter's control, but served as overall capital of the island and joint residence of the Lombard rulers and their families. By 1209 however, Ravano had established himself as sole master of Euboea, styling himself as
dominus insulae Nigropontis. Having allied himself with an unsuccessful Lombard rebellion against the
Latin Emperor,
Henry of Flanders, Ravano was eager to find a powerful protector. Thus, in March 1209, he signed an alliance with Venice, which recognized Venetian overlordship and gave the Venetians significant commercial privileges. In May, however, in an act of political balancing, Ravano also acknowledged his
vassalage to the Latin Empire.
Succession disputes However, already after the death of Ravano in 1216, his heirs disagreed over the succession, allowing the
Venetian bailo to intervene as a mediator. He partitioned the three baronies in two, creating thus six hexarchies (
sestieri). The northern triarchy of Oreos was divided between Ravano's nephews,
Marino I and
Rizzardo; the southern triarchy of Karystos was divided between his widow, Isabella, and his daughter,
Bertha; and the central triarchy was divided between Giberto's heirs,
Guglielmo I and
Alberto. Provisions were also made that in the case someone among the
sestieri died, his inheritor would be the other
sestiere of the respective triarchy, and not his children. In fact, most
sestieri were succeeded by their brothers, sons or nephews, keeping the baronies within the tight circle of the original Lombard families. In 1255 however, the death of
Carintana dalle Carceri, hexarch of Oreos, led to the so-called "
War of the Euboeote Succession", which involved the
Principality of Achaea and Venice.
William II of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea and nominal overlord of Negroponte, asserted his authority as overlord, while the Lombard barons were unwilling to concede it. On 14 June 1256, Guglielmo of Verona and
Narzotto dalle Carceri, the other two triarchs, repudiated their allegiance to William and pledged themselves to Venice. William responded by capturing Chalkis, which the Venetians retook in early 1258. The war ended in the
battle of Karydi in May/June 1258, where William defeated the
Duke of Athens,
Guy I de la Roche, who had allied himself with the rebellious triarchs. Finally, in 1259,
Doge Reniero Zeno negotiated a peace, followed by a treaty in 1262, which recognized William's suzerainty over the island.
Byzantine interlude By that time, however, the
Empire of Nicaea had established itself as the foremost power in the area of the former Byzantine Empire, reconquering several territories from the Latins. Its successes culminated in the recapture of Constantinople in 1261 and the reestablishment of the Byzantine Empire, whose energetic ruler,
Michael VIII Palaeologus, sought to reconquer the remaining Latin principalities in southern Greece. To this end, he accepted the services of
Licario, an Italian renegade, who had his base near
Karystos. Under Licario's command, Byzantine troops soon conquered most of Euboea, except Chalkis. After the departure of Licario sometime after 1280 however, with Venetian aid, the island gradually returned to Latin control. By 1296,
Boniface of Verona had completely expelled the Byzantines from Euboea.
Later history In 1317 however, Karystos fell to the
Catalan Company of Don
Alfonso Fadrique, royal vicar-general (governor) of the
Duchy of Athens and illegitimate son of
Frederick III of Sicily. In 1319, a peace treaty was signed between Venice and Don Alfonso, whereby he retained Karystos, which the Venetians acquired in 1365. When the last triarchs,
Nicholas III dalle Carceri and
Giorgio III Ghisi, died in 1383 and 1390 respectively, they left their territories to Venice, which thus established complete predominance over the island. Nevertheless, the triarchic system was maintained, with Venetian families appointed to the positions of
terzieri, while the Venetian
podestà (magistrate) resided at Chalkis. Venice's rule lasted until 1470, when, during the
Ottoman–Venetian War of 1463–1479, Sultan
Mehmed II campaigned against Chalkis. With the fall of the city on 12 July, the whole island came under
Ottoman control. The city's fall is the subject of the
Rossini opera
Maometto II. == List of rulers of Negroponte ==