Marquisate of Bodonitsa
The Margraviate Boudonitza was a Feudalterritorium in medieval Greece. It was founded as a result of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by the West European- Latin crusaders and thus represents one of the Crusader states
The capital of Mark is today Mendenitsa, which belongs to the municipality in the district of Molo Fthiotida in the administrative region of Central Greece.
The Mark Boudonitza was founded in 1204 by Boniface of Montferrat as a fief of his kingdom Thessaloniki by he delivered his Italian henchman Guido Pallavicini the rule in Boudonitza and commissioned him at the same time with the guarding of the strategically important bottleneck of Thermopylae. About the village built Pallavicini in the following years, a castle, which became the headquarters of his descendants. The territory of the Margraviate also included the city of Lamia, in a Latin bishopric was installed. The Mark Boudonitza survived 1224 the capture of Thessaloniki by the Byzantine despot of Epirus, which they henceforth represented the northernmost Latin territory in Greece and across from the Latin neighbors bordering south, the Duchy of Athens, in fact the role of a boundary mark against the Byzantine Epirus hostile and Thessaloniki took over. Lehnsrechtlich Boudonitza came in the middle of the 13th century, under the rule of the principality of Achaia.
The Margraviate also survived the conquest of Athens by the Catalan company in 1311, but lost Lamia on it and had to pay them tribute. Through the succession of the Zorzi family Boudonitza came first under the influence of Venice, 1393, it had to pay tribute to the Ottoman Sultan. On June 20, 1414 Boudonitza was finally conquered by the Ottomans, the title of marquis was continued by descendants of the Zorzi family for some time.