The prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). The principality witnessed various overlords during its more than two centuries of existence, initially, Achaea was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Thessalonica under Boniface I of house Montferrat, then of the Latin Empire of Constantinople under the houses of Flanders-Courtenay, which had supplanted the Byzantine Empire, and later of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples. During the Angevin period, the princes were often absent, represented in the Principality by their baillis, who governed in their name. After 1404 the principality became sovereign as the Genoese Centurione II Zaccaria bought from the Neapolitan crown the princely rights.
The principality was one of the longest-lasting of the Latin states in Greece, outliving the Latin Empire itself by 171 years. It did not come to an end until 1432, when the Byzantine prince Thomas Palaiologos inherited the last remnants of the Principality through marriage to the daughter of the last prince, Centurione Zaccaria. With the Principality gone, the title of Prince of Achaea became vacant. However, in 1453 during the great Morean revolt of 1453-1454, John Asen Zaccaria, son of Centurione revived the Principality. He was confirmed as Prince by the Kingdom of Naples, the historical overlords of the Principality since 1267 and by Venice, though in 1455 John was forced to exile.
A title of the same styling, but not to be confused with the original sovereign princely title, was created almost two centuries later to honour the descent of Antonio di Tocco. Antonio was a descendant of Thomas Palaiologos and Catherine Zaccaria from a female line, twice broken. For this and several other reasons, he did not have a legal claim to the original title. Though in 1642, he successfully petitioned the King of Spain to exchange his patrimonial titles for a titular honour in the same styling of Prince of Achaea within the Neapolitan nobility. This titular honour was carried on with a sequence of titular princes that began with Antonio di Tocco and lasted until the death of his descendant Maria Maddalena Capece Galeota in 1933, whereafter the Neapolitan title became extinct.
List of princes of Achaea, 1205–1432/54
Champlitte dynasty (1205–1209)
ImageNameBirthSuccessionTenureLength of tenureDeathRefWilliam Iof Champlitte1160sDijonKnight of the Fourth Crusade, appointed by Boniface I, King of Thessalonica after the conquest of the Peloponnese1205 – 12094 years1209Natural causes After a brief tenure as prince, William I received news that his brother Louis in Burgundy had died and decided to return home to France to claim the family lands. To govern the principality of Achaea, he left his old friend Geoffrey of Villehardouin as bailiff. William I died on his journey home in 1209. Champlitte had stipulated before his journey home that any lawful heir of his would have to claim the principality within a year and a day in the event of his death, or their claims would be forfeit. After his death, news reached Villehardouin that a cousin of William, Robert of Champlitte, was on his way to claim the principality. Wishing to claim the principality for himself, Villehardouin, with the assistance of Venice, placed various obstacles in Robert's way, including ensuring that he had to wait in Venice for two months before embarking, and once Robert reached Achaea, the time window stipulated by William had passed. Having obtained the principality through legal quibbles and fraud, Villehardouin was then proclaimed as the new Prince of Achaea.
Villehardouin dynasty (1210–1278)
ImageNameBirthSuccessionTenureLength of tenureDeathRefGeoffrey Iof Villehardouin 1169Bailiff of Achaea under William I, seized power in the aftermath of William I's death1210 – 1229 19 years 1229 (aged 60)Natural causesGeoffrey IIof Villehardouin 1195Son of Geoffrey I 1229 – 1246 17 years1246 (aged 51)Natural causesWilliam IIof Villehardouin 1211KalamataSon of Geoffrey I1246 –1 May 127832 years1 May 1278 (aged 51)Natural causes
Angevin domination (1278–1396)
House of Anjou (1278–1289)
ImageNameBirthSuccessionTenureLength of tenureDeathRefCharles Iof Anjou1226–1227King of Naples. Charles's line was designated as heirs by the sonless William II after the marriage of William's daughter Isabella of Villehardouin and Charles's son Philip of Sicily. Philip of Sicily predeceased Charles, which made Charles the heir.1 May 1278 –7 January 12856 years, 8 months and 7 days7 January 1285 (aged 57–59)IllnessCharles IIof Naples1254King of Naples and son of Charles I7 January 1285 –16 September 12894 years, 8 months and 10 days5 May 1309 (aged 55)Natural causes
Houses of Villehardouin, Avesnes and Savoy (1289–1307)
ImageNameBirthSuccessionTenureLength of tenureDeathRefIsabellaof Villehardouin1260–1263AchaeaDaughter of William II of Villehardouin. Conferred the principality by Charles II, together with her husband Florent of Hainaut, upon their marriage in 1289.16 September 1289 –130718 years23 January 1312 (aged 49/52)Natural causesFlorentof Hainaut–(with Isabella)– 1255HainautHusband of Isabella of Villehardouin16 September 1289 –23 January 12977 years, 4 months and 8 days23 January 1297 (aged 42)Died during a military campaignPhilip Iof Savoy–(with Isabella)–1278PiedmontHusband of Isabella of Villehardouin, invested as Prince of Achaea by Charles II upon their marriage in 13001300 – 13077 years25 September 1334 (aged 56)Natural causes In 1307, Charles II revoked the position of Isabella and Philip I, on the grounds that their marriage having happened without his consent (despite having recognized Philip earlier) and Philip's refusal to assist Charles II in the king's campaigns against the Despotate of Epirus. Isabella and Florent had been granted the principality in 1289 on the condition that Isabella did not remarry without Charles II's consent in the event of Florent's death and Philip's refusal to aid Charles II constituted a gross breach of the feudal code. Isabella's eldest daughter, Matilda of Hainaut, may have unsuccessfully attempted to claim the principality in the immediate aftermath of her parents' deposition but was blocked from doing so by the local nobility, who awaited orders from Naples. Instead of seizing Achaea for himself once more, Charles bestowed it on his favorite son, Philip of Taranto, who soon after arrived in Achaea and received the allegiance of the local barons. To ensure that Isabella and Philip did not attempt to reclaim Achaea, their claims were also purchased and the couple were promised to County of Alba on the shores of the Fucine Lake as compensation.
House of Anjou (1307–1313)
ImageNameBirthSuccessionTenureLength of tenureDeathRefPhilip IIof Taranto10 November 1278NaplesSon of Charles II, invested as Prince of Achaea by his father1307 –July 13136 years1331–1332 (aged 53/54)Natural causes In 1313, Philip II married Catherine of Valois, the titular Latin Empress, who had up until their marriage arrangements been betrothed to Hugh V, Duke of Burgundy. In order to compensate the House of Burgundy, it was arranged that Louis of Burgundy, Hugh V's younger brother, would marry Matilda of Hainaut, the eldest daughter of Isabella of Villehardouin, and that the two would then be granted the Principality of Achaea. After marriage, however, Louis and Matilda delayed in travelling to Greece and in the meantime, the usurper Ferdinand of Majorca seized control of the principality.
House of Barcelona (1315–1316)
ImageNameBirthSuccessionTenureLength of tenureDeathRefFerdinandof Majorca1278PerpignanMarried Isabella of Sabran, granddaughter of William II of Villehardouin, took control of the principality using a band of Italian and Aragonese mercenariesJune/July 1315 –5 July 13161 year5 July 1316 (aged 38)Killed at the Battle of Manolada
Houses of Avesnes and Bourbon (1316–1321)
ImageNameBirthSuccessionTenureLength of tenureDeathRefMatildaof Hainaut29 November 1293AchaeaDaughter of Isabella of Villehardouin and Florent of Hainaut, granted Achaea in 1313 but only took control in 1316.5 July 1316 –13215 years1331 (aged 38)Died in custodyLouisof Burgundy–(with Matilda)–1297BurgundyHusband of Matilda, conferred the principality by Philip II together with his wife5 July 1316 –2 August 131629 days2 August 1316 (aged 19)Possibly poisoned
After she was widowed in 1316, King Robert of Naples ruled that Matilda should marry his younger brother, John of Gravina, as part of a scheme to once more return the principality to the House of Anjou. Matilda however refused, and there was also protest from Odo IV of Burgundy, the brother and designated heir of Louis. Matilda was however brought to Naples by force and in 1318 compelled to go through with the marriage ceremony to John. Still defiant, the princess was brought before Pope John XXII at Avignon and there ordered to obey. Even when forced to marry by the pope, Matilda refused and replied that she had already married the Burgundian knight Hugh de La Palice, whom she was very attached to. This secret marriage gave Robert the excuse to revoke her position as Princess of Achaea, as she had not been allowed to marry without his consent per the agreements that preceded her elevation to the position. After a brief forced marriage to John, Matilda was imprisoned and the principality was simply bestowed upon John directly. Odo sold his claims to Louis I of Bourbon before Philip II of Taranto paid off Louis I with the same amount of money and a marriage between his son Philip and Louis' daughter Beatrice.
House of Anjou (1318–1381)