 Demetrius' marriage with Komnena did not rule out the risk of Serbian expansion toward the Albanian domains.However, in 1204, the most serious threat came from the Venetian Duchy of Dyrrhachium, a Latin entity formed after the Fourth Crusade in the former territories of the Byzantine Empire.In search for allies, Demetrius signed a treaty with the Republic of Ragusa in 1209 and began negotiations with Pope Innocent III regarding his and his subjects' conversion to Catholicism.