 Epirote rule continued until it was occupied by the Empire of Nicaea (and after 1261 by the restored Byzantine Empire) following the Battle of Pelagonia, but it probably was more often under the control or influence of the autonomous Greek rulers of Neopatras.When the Catalans occupied Neopatras in 1319, in 1322 the "castrum Phtelei" was taken over by the Republic of Venice, with the agreement of the Byzantines and the inhabitants.The Republic installed a rector (governor) and a castellan, and administered the fortress as part of its colony of Negroponte.