Mistras
| Department | Archive |
|---|---|
| Collection | Byzantine Research Fund |
| Reference No. | BRF/02/01/14/029 |
| Level | Item |
| Place |
Mystras |
| Dates | 1888-1890 |
| Donor/Creator |
Weir Schultz, Mr Robert Barnsley, Mr Sidney Howard |
| Scope and Content | Distant view from south-east. The photogaph is annotated in pencil at the back. See also BRF no 02/01/14/018 with old archive no: 02/05/21/01 |
| Further information | Mistras, one of the most important Medieval cities of Morea, lies four miles north-west of present-day Sparta on the summit of a Taygetos hill. The first building to be erected in the location by William II Villehardouin, the Frankish Prince of Achaea was the castle (1249). Soon, a settlement was established outside the citadel - most of the churches and chapels stand outside it too. After the recapture of Morea by the Byzantines in 1262 Mistras became the headquarters of the Byzantine general and, later, the seat of the Lakedaimonian bishopic. During the 14th c. it was the capital of the Despotate of Mistras and flourished under the Kantakouzenoi and the Palaiologoi reign until its fall to the Turks in 1460. |