Fall of the Byzantine Successor States (1470s Balkans)

Timeline

1. 1471–1474Southern Greece and Crimea · GreeceBy 1471 the Despotate of Morea (fell 1460) and the Empire of Trebizond (fell 1461) had already perished, but the Principality of Theodoro on Crimea's southern coast (a Gothic remnant polity) and Arta under Leonardo III Tocco of Epirus remained independent. These states inherited the Byzantine double-headed eagle emblem and Greek Orthodox tradition, and were the last carriers of the empire's political legacy.
2. 1475Theodoro (Mangup) · CrimeaOttoman general Gedik Ahmed Pasha led forces to capture Mangup, capital of the Principality of Theodoro on Crimea's southern coast; the last grand duke David II was captured or killed. Though on the Black Sea's northern shore, the principality claimed to be heir to Byzantine and Gothic legacies, and its fall symbolized the further extinction of Byzantine-style small polities.
3. 1477–1480Arta and Epirus · GreeceAfter Leonardo III Tocco's death, civil strife broke out in the Despotate of Epirus, and the Ottomans seized the opportunity to annex Arta and other places. By 1480 no independent Byzantine successor state remained on the Greek mainland, with only Venice holding a few islands and coastal strongholds. Though the Byzantine political entity was gone, the Greek Orthodox patriarchate and cultural traditions continued under the Ottoman millet system.