Battle of the Olive Grove of Kountouras

Battle of the Olive Grove of Kountouras
Part of the Fourth Crusade
An olive grove in Greece
Date summer 1205 Location Messenia, Peloponnese Result Decisive Frankish victory Territorial changes Franks found the Principality of Achaea
Belligerents
Frankish Crusaders	local Greeks and Melingoi
Commanders and leaders
William of Champlitte Geoffrey I of Villehardouin	Michael I Komnenos Doukas
Strength
500 or 700 foot and horse	c. 4,000 or 5,000 foot and horse
Casualties and losses
Light	Heavy

The Battle of the Olive Grove of Kountouras took place in the summer of 1205, in Messenia in the Morea peninsula, between the Frankish Crusaders and the local Byzantine Greeks, resulting in a victory of the Franks and the collapse of the local resistance.

In 1204, Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire was taken by the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade and the Republic of Venice. This led to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the establishment of the Latin Empire and other Crusader states in Greece.

Meanwhile, a Crusader force of between 500 and 700 knights and infantry under the command of William of Champlitte and Geoffrey I of Villehardouin advanced into the Morea to deal with Byzantine resistance. In the olive grove of Kountouras in Messenia, they confronted an army of around 4,000–5,000 local Greeks and Slavs under the command of a certain Michael, sometimes identified with Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the founder of the Despotate of Epirus. In the ensuing battle, the Crusaders emerged victorious, forcing the Byzantines to retreat and crushing resistance in the Morea. This battle paved the way for the foundation of the Principality of Achaea.