 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 northern Epirote-Albanian hinterland and the island of Corfu in 1207, the maritime-minded Republic had shown little interest in the rest of its mainland.