colony · Greece and the Aegean

Venetian Morea

1688 CE – 1715 CE · capital Nauplia

The Peloponnese under Venice after Morosini's conquest in 1685-1687, a brief reform-minded colony that collapsed in the Ottoman reconquest of 1715.

Origins

In the Morean War, part of the Great Turkish War, the Venetian commander Francesco Morosini conquered the Peloponnese between 1685 and 1687; during his campaign in Attica a Venetian shell exploded the Parthenon. The Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699 confirmed Venetian possession of the Morea as the Kingdom of the Morea.

Rule and society

Venice divided the peninsula into four provinces under a provveditore generale at Nauplia, carried out a detailed census and land register, and settled colonists to revive a depopulated, war-damaged land. It favoured the Catholic church, which irritated the Orthodox majority, and built the great fortress of Palamidi above Nauplia in 1711-1714.

Decline and legacy

The Ottomans attacked in 1715 and took the whole Morea within a few months, helped by weak garrisons and the indifference of the Greeks. The Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718 confirmed the Ottoman reconquest.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Venetian Morea. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/venetian-morea
MLA
“Venetian Morea.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/venetian-morea. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Venetian Morea.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/venetian-morea.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Venetian Morea’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/venetian-morea (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻