ABSTRACT
The internal situation of the Morea was serious. The local, fiercely independent, barons nourished a resentment toward overlords appointed by Constantinople, who treated the natives with snobbery and arrogance. In addition, the ethnic make-up of the Morea lacked cohesion. The offensive to place a unified Morea under the control of one Byzantine lord ironically facilitated the peninsula's fall to the Turks. Constantine and Thomas assumed control of considerable territories in the Morea mainly through marriage arrangements. The Palaeologan campaigns in the Morea minimized the Latin presence. Conversely, they rendered the peninsula an easier prey for the Turks. Thus, the campaigns of the Greek despot facilitated the Porte's future policy of expansion, a fact that was probably noted with satisfaction by Murad's staff when Sphrantzes claimed that Constantine had taken over Patras in order to demonstrate his loyalty to the Porte.
