The Battle of the Olive Grove of Kountouras took place in the summer of 1205, in Messenia in the Morea peninsula, between the Frankish Crusaders and the local Byzantine Greeks, resulting in a victory of the Franks and the collapse of the local resistance. In 1204, Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire was taken by the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade and the Republic of Venice. This led to the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the establishment of the Latin Empire and other Crusader states in Greece. Meanwhile, a Crusader force of between 500 and 700 knights and infantry under the command of William of Champlitte and Geoffrey I of Villehardouin advanced into the Morea to deal with Byzantine resistance. In the olive grove of Kountouras in Messenia, they confronted an army of around 4,000–5,000 local Greeks and Slavs under the command of a certain Michael, sometimes identified with Michael I Komnenos Doukas, the founder of the Despotate of Epirus. In the ensuing battle, the Crusaders emerged victorious, forcing the Byzantines to retreat and crushing resistance in the Morea. This battle paved the way for the foundation of the Principality of Achaea. Background The army of the Fourth Crusade conquered Constantinople on 12 April 1204. One of the main leaders of the crusade, Boniface of Montferrat, having lost the opportunity to become the new Latin emperor of Constantinople, went on to found the Kingdom of Thessalonica. That autumn, Boniface campaigned south into Greece, where he defeated the local magnate Leo Sgouros and drove him back to his strongholds of Nauplia and Acrocorinth in the northeastern Morea (Peloponnese), which were besieged by the Crusaders. During the siege of Nauplia, Boniface was met by Geoffrey I of Villehardouin, who persuaded him to launch the conquest of the rest of the Morea. Eager to share in the spoils of the Fourth Crusade, Villehardouin had left the Holy Land and sailed for Constantinople. His ship was blown off course, and he landed at Modon (Methoni) on the southwestern tip of the Morea peninsula. There Villehardouin had entered the service of a local Greek magnate against his rivals, and had gained the impression that the country was easy to take. When the magnate died, his son broke off the alliance with him, but Villehardouin, learning that the Crusaders under Boniface were besieging Nauplia, set out to seek his aid. Boniface sought to