Which Byzantine autonomous region in the Peloponnese lasted until 1460?

The Byzantine autonomous region in the Peloponnese that lasted until 1460 was the Despotate of the Morea. It was also called the Despotate of Mystras, after its fortified capital near ancient Sparta.

Established in the mid-14th century, the despotate was an appanage of the Byzantine Empire, usually governed by a son or brother of the reigning emperor. Its rulers held the Byzantine title despotes, which in this context meant a high-ranking imperial governor rather than a modern political “despot.” The territory changed repeatedly but eventually covered most of the Peloponnese, known in medieval sources as the Morea.

Mystras became a major political, artistic, and intellectual centre. The late Byzantine court there supported the Palaiologan Renaissance, while the region also absorbed Greek, Latin, Albanian, and Ottoman influences. Its rulers included Constantine Palaiologos, who later became the final Byzantine emperor, and his brothers Thomas and Demetrios.

The Ottoman sultan Mehmed II conquered the despotate in 1460 after the two ruling brothers failed to maintain unity and stopped paying tribute. Some fortresses resisted until 1461, but 1460 marks the end of the Despotate of the Morea as a Byzantine state.