it would leave Epirus open to attack by Boniface. Loenertz does however consider that Michael may indeed have led another expedition into the Peloponnese a few years later, in 1207–09 (see below). Ruler of Epirus From his base at Arta, Michael proceeded to expand his control over most of the region of Epirus, including much of modern Albania, quickly establishing an independent domain encompassing the lands between Dyrrhachium (Durazzo) in the north and Naupactus in the south, bordering the Latin Kingdom of Thessalonica in the east, the possessions of the Republic of Venice to the north and west, and the Bulgarians and Serbs to the north and east. He maintained good relations with the Albanian and Vlach chieftains in the area, and their men provided able troops for his army. The state Michael established is commonly known in historiography as the "Despotate of Epirus", and it was long thought that Michael was the first Epirote ruler to claim the title of despotes, it being surmised that he was granted the title by the deposed emperor Alexios III after his ransoming (see below). In reality, as modern research has shown, neither Michael nor his half-brother and successor, Theodore Komnenos Doukas, bore the title. It was Michael's bastard son, Michael II Komnenos Doukas, who became the first ruler of Epirus to be titled a despotes in the 1230s, while the designation of the Epirote state as a "despotate" first appears in Western, rather than Byzantine, sources in the 14th century. Rapprochement with the Latin powers Along with the other major Greek successor state, the Empire of Nicaea in western Asia Minor, Epirus became the main Greek centre resisting Latin rule. Michael's chief preoccupation therefore was the threat posed by the Latin Crusader states and the Republic of Venice. In the treaty of partition of the Byzantine Empire among the Crusaders, Epirus had been allotted to Venice, but although it had occupied in 1205 Dyrrhachium, the chief port for the Albanian hinterland, and the island of Corfu in 1207, the maritime-minded Republic had shown little interest in the rest of its mainland. To insure himself against a Latin attack, Michael began negotiations with Pope Innocent III, hinting at a possible union of the Orthodox Church of his domains with the Roman Catholic Church. The relationship was not untroubled–in a letter of 17 August 1209, the Pope asked of "Michael Komnenos of Romania" that,