Andrea Angeli | |
---|---|
Prince of Macedonia Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo | |
Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George | |
Tenure | c. 1545–1580 |
Successor | Pietro Angeli |
Died | 1580 |
House | Angelo Flavio Comneno |
Father | Pjetër Engjëlli |
Mother | Lucia Spani |
Andrea Angeli (Latin: Andreas Angelus ; [1] [2] died 1580) was the Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George from c. 1545 to 1580. Andrea and his brother Paolo were the founders of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George and were papally recognized claimants to descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors. Andrea claimed the title "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo", and from the death of Arianitto Arianiti in 1551, also claimed the title "Prince of Macedonia".
Andrea was a son of the Albanian noble Pjetër Engjëlli. [3] Andrea's family, the Angelo Flavio Comneno, claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors. [4] In 1545, Andrea and his younger brother Paolo were officially acknowledged as descendants of the Angelos emperors by Pope Paul III (r. 1534–1549). The two brothers were also guaranteed the right to inherit territory in the former Byzantine Empire, should such territory be recovered from the Ottomans, [5] and, as recognized heirs to the Byzantine imperial title, given the right to appoint princes and even kings themselves. [6] The papacy was eager to support the two brothers and their family since a Catholic family of Byzantine claimants meant the possibility of eventually restoring the Byzantine Empire as a Catholic nation, religiously obedient to the Pope. [7]
Andrea and Paolo founded the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, [8] a chivalric order with invented Byzantine connections. [9] When exactly the order was founded is not clear, but Andrea is attested as using the title of Grand Master from Pope Paul III's acknowledgement of the brothers in 1545 and onwards. Andrea and Paolo claimed that their order was the successor of Constantine the Great's 'Labarum guard' and that it was of antique origin, founded either by Constantine himself in the 4th century or his later successor Heraclius in the 7th century, depending on the account. These claims were soon widely accepted throughout Europe. [8] In 1551, Andrea claimed the title "Prince of Macedonia", [10] after the death of the previous claimant to that title, Arianitto Arianiti, Andrea's third cousin. [11] On his death in 1580, Andrea proclaimed his nephew Pietro as his heir "by reason of primogeniture", which ensured that his titles and position of Grand Master would pass down through the Angelo Flavio Comneno family in a hereditary manner. [12]
Gjergj Arianiti (1383–1462) was an Albanian feudal lord who led several successful campaigns against the Ottoman Empire. He was the father of Donika, Skanderbeg's wife, as well as the grand-uncle of Moisi Arianit Golemi. Gjergj Arianiti was Skanderbeg's ally within the League of Lezhë before abandoning the alliance after the defeat in Berat in 1450. He later returned. Robert Elsie emphasizes that Arianiti was often Skanderbeg's rival. He allied with the Kingdom of Naples in 1446, left his alliance with Skanderbeg by 1449 and allied with Venice in 1456. However, his daughter married Skanderbeg and he remained officially part of the League of Lezhe, continuing to fight Ottomans successfully up to his death in 1462.
The Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, also historically referred to as the Imperial Constantinian Order of Saint George and the Order of the Constantinian Angelic Knights of Saint George, is a dynastic order of knighthood of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. Currently, the grand magistry of the order is disputed among the two claimants to the headship of the formerly reigning House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies as heirs of the House of Farnese, namely Prince Pedro and Prince Carlo. The order was one of the rare orders confirmed as a religious-military order in the papal bull Militantis Ecclesiae in 1718, owing to a notable success in liberating Christians in the Peloponnese. Together with the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, it is one of a small number of Catholic orders that still have this status today. It is not an order of chivalry under the patronage of the Holy See, but its membership is restricted to practising Catholics.
Constantine Cominato Arianiti also known as Constantine Komnenos Arianites, was a 15th and 16th-century Albanian nobleman, military leader, diplomat and pretender who lived most of his life in exile in Italy due to the conquest of his homeland by the Ottoman Empire. Constantine sought to establish himself as a leader among the Christian Balkan refugees in Italy and claimed lordship over various former Christian lands in Greece, using the titles Prince of Macedonia, Duke of Achaea and Despot of the Morea.
Since its fall, the issue of succession to the Byzantine Empire has been a major point of contention both geopolitically, with different states laying claim to its legacy and inheritance, and among the surviving members of the Byzantine nobility and their descendants. Historically, the most prominent claims have been those of the Ottoman Empire, which conquered Byzantium in 1453 and ruled from its former capital, Constantinople; the Russian Empire, as the most powerful state practising Eastern Orthodox Christianity; and various nobles and figures in Western Europe of increasingly spurious and questionable imperial descent.
Arianitto Arianiti, self-styled as Arianitto Comneno, was a 16th-century Italian nobleman of Albanian descent, the only son of the diplomat and pretender Constantine Arianiti. After his father's death in 1530, Arianitto continued Constantine's pretensions, styling himself as the 'Prince of Macedonia', but dropping the other titles used by his father. He served as a captain in the papal army in Rome until his death in battle in 1551, which ended the male line of the Arianiti family in Italy.
The Angelo Flavio Comneno or Angeli family were a Venetian noble family of Albanian descent who claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. In the 16th century, the family founded the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, a knightly order with invented Byzantine connections. From the 16th century onwards, the heads of the family styled themselves as "Prince of Macedonia, Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo", though other titles were also sometimes used.
Gian Antonio Lazier, also known under his claimed official name Ioannes IX Antonius I Angelus Flavius Comnenus Lascaris Palaeologus, and various variations thereof, was an 18th-century Italian impostor and pretender. Born of lowly origins in the Aosta Valley in Italy, Lazier claimed his last name to be a corruption of the surname Laskaris, an imperial dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. Also claiming connections to the Angelos, Komnenos and Palaiologos dynasties as their supposed last legitimate descendant, Lazier claimed the style 'prince of the line of the empire of the east'. Through various noble titles, Lazier claimed to be the rightful ruler of a vast number of former territories of the Byzantine Empire as well as of a selection of other eastern lands. He also claimed to represent the legitimate Grand Master of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George, a chivalric order with invented Byzantine connections.
Don Fernando Palaiologos or Paleologo was a 15th and 16th-century nobleman of Greek descent who lived in Italy. After the death of Andreas Palaiologos in 1502, Fernando claimed the title of Despot of the Morea. Though Andreas Palaiologos is generally believed to have been childless, Fernando might have been his son, though possibly illegitimate, and through Andreas possibly a grandnephew of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor.
Demetrius Rhodocanakis was a London-based 19th-century Greek merchant, forger and pretender. Demetrius was the last great Byzantine pretender, claiming to be a prince directly descended from the Palaiologos dynasty of the Byzantine Empire from the 1860s onwards, and then the rightful Emperor of Constantinople, as Demetrios II Dukas Angelos Komnenos Palaiologos Rhodokanakis, from 1895 to his death. Though he lost support after 1895 due to his claims of Byzantine descent having been exposed as forgeries, Demetrius was at one point widely recognized as a Byzantine prince, achieving the recognition of not only the British Foreign Office, but also Pope Pius IX.
Giovanni Demetrio Angeli was an early member of the Albanian-Italian Angelo Flavio Comneno family, which claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors. His later relatives attributed him various titles, such as "Prince of Achaea and Macedonia" and "Prince of Cilicia".
Girolamo I Angeli was a joint, or rival, Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George from 1570 to 1591, together with, or against, his brother Andrea and then his nephew Pietro. Girolamo's family, the Angelo Flavio Comneno, claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors, and Girolamo also claimed the title "Prince of Thessaly".
Pietro Angelo Flavio was the Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George from 1580 to 1592. Pietro's family, the Angelo Flavio Comneno, claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors, and Pietro also claimed the titles "Prince of Cilicia and Macedonia" and "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo".
Giovanni Andrea I Angelo Flavio Comneno was the Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George from 1592 to 1623 and from 1627 to 1634. In addition to the position of grand master, Giovanni Andrea also claimed the titles "Prince of Macedonia" and "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo". Giovanni Andrea oversaw a period of internationalization of the Constantinian Order, and despite repeated challenges to his position managed to maintain the widespread recognition of his order and family.
Angelo Maria Angelo Flavio Comneno was the Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George from 1634 to 1678. Angelo Maria's family, the Angelo Flavio Comneno, claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors, and Angelo Maria also claimed the titles "Prince of Macedonia and Thessaly" and "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo".
Marco Angelo Flavio Comneno was according to the official reconstruction of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George the grand master of the order from 1678 to 1679, though the historicity of his tenure as grand master has been questioned on the basis that he might in actuality have predeceased his supposed predecessor, his older brother Angelo Maria Angeli. Marco's family, the Angelo Flavio Comneno, claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors. The modern Constantinian Order attributes Marco the titular titles previously used by his older brother; "Prince of Macedonia and Thessaly" and "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo".
Girolamo II Angelo Flavio Comneno was the Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George from 1679 to 1687. Girolamo's family, the Angelo Flavio Comneno, claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors, and Girolamo also claimed the titles "Prince of Macedonia" and "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo".
Giovanni Andrea II Angelo Flavio Comneno was the Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George from 1687 to 1698. Giovanni Andrea's family, the Angelo Flavio Comneno, claimed descent from the Angelos dynasty of Byzantine emperors, and Giovanni Andrea also claimed the titles "Prince of Macedonia" and "Duke and Count of Drivasto and Durazzo". The last male member of his family, Giovanni Andrea was the last grand master descended from the order's founder, Andrea Angeli. In 1687, Giovanni Andrea sold the position of grand master to Francesco Farnese, the Duke of Parma, and thereafter lived as a castellan in Piacenza.
John George Heracleus Basilicos was a mercenary and pretender, mainly active in Italy in the late 16th century and early 17th century. Heracleus claimed to be a descendant of the Roman emperor Heraclius and through a varying assortment of titles claimed to be the legitimate ruler of the Peloponnese, Macedonia, Moldavia, Wallachia and Albania. Until 1593, he also claimed to be the Grand Master of the Constantinian Order of Saint George, in opposition to the legitimate grand masters Andrea, Pietro and Giovanni Andrea I Angeli.
Francesca of Montferrat was a noblewoman of the Palaeologus-Montferrat family, a cadet branch of the Byzantine Palaiologos dynasty. She married Costantino Arianiti Comneno of the Arianiti family.