other · Greece and the Aegean

Barony of Akova

1209 CE – 1320 CE (approx.) · capital Akova

Frankish barony in the hills of western Arcadia, centred on the castle the French called Matagrifon, lost to the Byzantines in 1320.

Origins

The barony of Akova was among the twelve original baronies of the Principality of Achaea, created around 1209 and granted to Walter of Rosieres, with 24 knight's fiefs. Its castle in the mountains between Elis and Arcadia was called Matagrifon, 'kill the Greeks', reflecting its role in holding down the region.

Rule and society

The barons owed service to the prince and sat in his high court. After the Rosieres line died out, the inheritance of Margaret of Passavant to Akova was disputed in the 1270s, a famous case recorded in the Chronicle of the Morea and in the Assizes of Romania, and much of the barony passed to the princely domain.

Decline and legacy

In 1320 the Byzantine governor Andronikos Asen captured Akova along with Karytaina and other castles of central Peloponnese, bringing the barony into what became the Despotate of the Morea.

Few sources survive for this state; details are uncertain.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Barony of Akova. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/barony-of-akova
MLA
“Barony of Akova.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/barony-of-akova. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Barony of Akova.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/barony-of-akova.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Barony of Akova’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/barony-of-akova (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻