When Constantinople fell to the Fourth Crusade in 1204, the "partitio Romaniae" assigned Epirus to Venice, but the Venetians were largely unable to effectively establish their authority, except over Dyrrhachium (the "Duchy of Durazzo"). The Greek noble Michael Komnenos Doukas, who had married the daughter of a local magnate, took advantage of this, and within a few years consolidated his control over most of Epirus, first as a Venetian vassal and eventually as an independent ruler. By the time of his death in 1214/5, Michael had established a strong state, the Despotate of Epirus, with the former theme of Nicopolis at its core and Arta as its capital. Epirus, and the city of Ioannina in particular, became a haven for Greek refugees from the Latin Empire of Constantinople for the next half-century.