principality · Greece and the Aegean
Lordship of Leo Sgouros
Origins
Leo Sgouros inherited power as archon of Nauplia from his father around 1198, as Byzantine authority weakened. He seized Argos and Corinth, attacked Athens and Thebes, and married Eudokia, daughter of the deposed emperor Alexios III, gaining a measure of legitimacy as Constantinople fell to the Fourth Crusade in 1204.
Rule and society
Sgouros ruled as an independent strongman from fortresses rather than through any formal state, using force and reputed cruelty, and dominating the Argolid, the Corinthia and the Isthmus. He tried to block Boniface of Montferrat at Thermopylae in 1204 but retreated to the near-impregnable citadel of Acrocorinth.
Decline and legacy
Besieged by the Franks, Sgouros died around 1208, reportedly riding his horse off the cliffs of Acrocorinth. Its garrison held out until about 1210, and Argos and Nauplia until 1212, when they fell to the Principality of Achaea and became the Lordship of Argos and Nauplia.
Lineage
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- Lordship of Leo Sgouros was conquered by Principality of Achaea1212 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Lordship of Leo Sgouros. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-leo-sgouros
- MLA
- “Lordship of Leo Sgouros.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-leo-sgouros. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Lordship of Leo Sgouros.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-leo-sgouros.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Lordship of Leo Sgouros’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/lordship-of-leo-sgouros (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻