Battle of the Echinad Islands

At the beginning of the 15th century, the Peloponnese peninsula was divided between the Byzantine Empire (southern and eastern parts), the Latin Principality of Achaeus (northern and western parts) and the Venetian Republic (the cities of Argos , Nafplion , Metoni and Koroni ). Etolia , located in the northwest of the peninsula, belonged to Carlo I Tokko , king of Epirus and Count of Kefalonia and Zakynthos . The Byzantines sought to expand their holdings at the expense of the weakening Achaea, but at the same time they were threatened by the growing Ottoman Empire ^{[2] [3]} . Carlo Tokko was also interested in the lands of Achaea. In particular, he bought from Oliverio Franco in 1421 the fortress, which he had seized from the Achaeans three years earlier ^{[4] [5]} .

In February 1423, through the mediation of the Venetians, hoping for a unification of forces of all parties against the Ottomans, a shaky truce was achieved between Tokko, Byzantines and Achaeans ^[6] . However, despite this, Byzantium continued its raids on the possessions of Achaia and Venice ^[7] . This truce was finally broken in 1426 , when Tokko’s subjects attacked and robbed the Albanian shepherds who were marching to Elis from the territory of Byzantium ^[8] .

Emperor John VIII The paleologist personally arrived at the Peloponnese and the Byzantines began a siege from the sea and from the land belonging to Tokko Glarenza. Tokko, in turn, collected ships from all his possessions, hired several ships in Marseille, and transferred the command of the flotilla to his illegitimate son, Turno. At the head of the Byzantine fleet stood Dimitri Laskaris Leontaris ^[9] .

Both fleets met near the Echinadas, near Ithaca . In the ensuing battle, the Byzantines won a decisive victory: most of the ships of Tokko were destroyed or captured, many people were killed, and more than 150 people were captured. Turno himself barely escaped captivity ^{[10] [9]} . The main source of information about the battle is the eulogy of Manuel II and his son John VIII ^[11] .

This defeat forced Carlo Tocco to abandon his ambitions in the Peloponnese , as well as from Elis and inheritance rights to Corinth and Megara . The agreement was supported by the wedding of his niece, Maddalena Tokko , and the younger brother of the Byzantine emperor - Konstantin Paleolog ^[10] . Thus, under the rule of Byzantium, a significant part of the Peloponnese turned out to be independent - only the Achaean principality and several Venetian fortresses remained independent from it ^[12] .

• Λάμπρου, Σπυρίδωνος . Παλαιολόγεια και Πελοποννησιακά, Τόμος Γ ′ . - Αθήνα : Επιτροπή Εκδόσεως Των Καταλοίπων Σπυρίδωνος Λάμπρου, 1926.
• . The Latins in the Levant, a History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566) . - New York : EP Dutton and Company, 1908. - 675 p.
• . The Despotate of Epiros 1267-1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages . - Cambridge , United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press , 1984. - 297 p. - ISBN 978-0-521-13089-9 .
• . The Papacy and the Levant (1204–1571), The Fifteenth Century . - Philadelphia , Pennsylvania : The American Philosophical Society, 1978. - Vol. II. - 512 p. - ISBN 0-87169-127-2 .