Epirus. Doukas exploited the dissension among the nobility in Thessalonica to gradually conquer the kingdom's fortified towns one after another. Although William of Montferrat proved unwilling to dispossess his half-brother, he agreed to lead a crusade to the relief of Thessalonica in 1222, and prepared to set out, sending ahead Umberto of Biandrate. Before the main force of this crusade reached Thessalonica, however, Theodore forced the surrender of the city in December 1224. Together with the Latin archbishop, King Demetrius fled to the court of Emperor Frederick II in Italy. He participated in Frederick's crusade to the Levant, and died in 1230 at Amalfi, after ceding his rights to Thessalonica to Frederick II. References Peter Lock, The Franks in the Aegean 1204–1500, New York, 1995. Nicolas Cheetham, Mediaeval Greece, Yale University Press, 1981. 1205 births 1230 deaths Kings of Thessalonica Christians of the Sixth Crusade Aleramici People from Thessaloniki Medieval child monarchs