Dorino Gattilusio (died 30 June 1455) was the fourth Gattilusio Lord of Lesbos from 1428 until his death. He ruled Lesbos at a time of increasing Ottoman power, and his last years were preoccupied with maintaining some measure of independence.
Dorino Gattilusio (died 30 June 1455) was the fourth Gattilusio Lord of Lesbos from 1428 until his death. He ruled Lesbos at a time of increasing Ottoman power, and his last years were preoccupied with maintaining some measure of independence.
He was the second son of Francesco II Gattilusio and Valentina Doria. Dorino succeeded his older brother Jacopo Gattilusio in 1428. Prior to that he had been governor of Phocaea for several years, at least as early as 1423-4. [1] Soon after he assumed control of Lesbos, he informed Genoa that he wished to be part of their 1428 treaty with Alfonso V of Aragon. This led to his participation in the Genoese war with Venice over the next few years. [2]
Around 1438, apparently through the efforts of the Byzantine Empress Maria, Dorino's daughter Maria was married to Alexander of Trebizond, the exiled despotes of Trebziond, thus pulling Dorino into the politics of that Pontic state. [3] According to Pero Tafur who met the exile at Mytilene on his homeward journey, Alexander "was preparing ships to set out for Trebizond against his brother." Tafur shared with him the news to Alexander that John had concluded an alliance with "the Turk", which had been sealed with John's marriage to "a daughter of a Turk", and that it would be detrimental to all to make war. [4] Genoese archives contain a copy of a letter written on 10 March 1438 to Dorino Gattilusio, in which they urge him to do what he could to bring peace between Alexander and his brother, and containing an offer of a pension to Alexander if he dropped his plans which would allow him to live where ever he wanted to, Mytilene, or Constantinople. The Republic of Genoa had business interests in Trebizond that might be harmed in a civil war between the brothers. [5]
During his tenure as lord of Lesbos, the castle of Kokkinos on Lemnos and the island of Thasos came under his control. [6] However, Dorino was bed-ridden from 1449 onwards and his son Domenico handled the business of his realm in his name. [7]
Following the Fall of Constantinople, Ottoman hegemony in the Aegean increased unchecked. When the Turkish admiral Hamza anchored off Lesbos in June 1455, on his way to Rhodes, his son Domenico thought it a wise diplomatic move to send his factor, the historian Doukas, to the dignitary with handsome gifts of "garments of silk, 8 woven wool garments, 6,000 minted silver coins, 20 oxen, 50 sheep, more than 800 measures of wine, 2 measures of biscuits, one measure of bread, more than 1000 litres of cheese, and fruit without measure", as well as gifts to the members of the admiral's staff. [8] Dorino died not long after this visit.
Dorino married Orietta Doria. Orietta won fame in 1450 when she led the inhabitants of Mithymna on Lesbos to beat back a Turkish attack on Lesbos. [9] The couple had six known children:
Andronikos III Palaiologos, commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed co-emperor in his youth, before 1313, and in April 1321 he rebelled against his grandfather, Andronikos II Palaiologos. He was formally crowned co-emperor in February 1325, before ousting his grandfather outright and becoming sole emperor on 24 May 1328.
The House of Gattilusio was a powerful Genoese family who controlled a number of possessions in the northern Aegean from 1355 until the mid 15th century. Anthony Luttrell has pointed out that this family had developed close connections to the Byzantine ruling house of the Palaiologos—"four successive generations of Gattilusio married into the Palaiologos family, two to emperors' daughters, one to an emperor, and one to a despot who later became an emperor"—which could explain their repeated involvement in Byzantine affairs. The Gattilusi were Lords of Lesbos from 1355 to 1462 and Lords of Aenus from 1376 to 1456.
Niccolò Gattilusio was the sixth and last Gattilusio lord of Lesbos, from 1458 to 1462. He was a younger son of Dorino I Gattilusio and Orietta Doria.
Alexios IV Megas Komnenos or Alexius IV, Emperor of Trebizond from 5 March 1417 to 26 April 1429. He was the son of Emperor Manuel III and Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia.
Enez is a town in Edirne Province, in East Thrace, Turkey. The ancient name of the town was Ainos, Latinised as Aenus. It is the seat of Enez District. Its population is 4,301 (2022). The mayor is Özkan Günenç (CHP).
John IV Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from 1429 until his death. He was a son of Emperor Alexios IV of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene.
Leonard of Chios was a Greek scholar of the Dominican Order and Latin Archbishop of Mytilene, best known for his eye-witness account of the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, which is one of the main sources for the event.
Francesco I Gattilusio was the first member of the Gattilusio family to rule the Aegean island of Lesbos as a vassal of the Byzantine emperor.
Francesco II Gattilusio was the second Gattilusio lord of Lesbos, from 1384 to his death. He was the third son of Francesco I Gattilusio and Maria Palaiologina, the sister of the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos.
Jacopo Gattilusio was the third Lord of Lesbos. He was the eldest son of Francesco II of Lesbos, whom he succeeded as lord of the island on 26 October 1404.
Domenico Gattilusio was the fifth Gattilusio lord of Lesbos from 1455 to 1458. He was a son of Dorino I Gattilusio and Orietta Doria.
Maria Megale Komnene, known as Maria of Trebizond, was Byzantine Empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiologos. She was the last Byzantine empress.
Caterina Gattilusio was the second wife of Constantine XI, the last Byzantine emperor, while he was still Despot of the Morea.
Doukas or Dukas was a Byzantine Greek historian who flourished under Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Byzantine Emperor. He is one of the most important sources for the last decades and eventual fall of the Byzantine Empire to the Ottomans.
Giacomo II Crispo was the thirteenth Duke of the Archipelago, etc., from 1433 to 1447.
Palamede Gattilusio was the Lord of Ainos from 1409 to his death, succeeding his great-uncle Niccolò. He was a younger son of Francesco II of Lesbos.
Francesco III Gattilusio was a Lord of Thasos. He was a son of Dorino I of Lesbos and wife Orietta Doria.
The siege of Trebizond was the successful siege of the city of Trebizond, capital of the Empire of Trebizond, by the Ottomans under Sultan Mehmed II, which ended on 15 August 1461. The siege culminated a lengthy campaign on the Ottoman side, which involved coordinated but independent manoeuvres by a large army and navy. The Trapezuntine defenders had relied on a network of alliances, which would provide them with support and a workforce when the Ottomans began their siege. Still, it failed when Emperor David Megas Komnenos most needed it.
Alexander Megas Komnenos, also recorded as Skantarios, was co-emperor of the Empire of Trebizond alongside his elder brother John IV Megas Komnenos c. 1451–1459. Alexander was the second son of the Trapezuntine emperor Alexios IV Megas Komnenos. John was exiled after a failed rebellion against their father in c. 1426, and Alexios made Alexander the designated heir. John returned to Trebizond in early 1429 and seized the throne, killing Alexios and forcing Alexander into exile.
The Ottoman conquest of Lesbos took place in September 1462. The Ottoman Empire, under Sultan Mehmed II, laid siege to the island's capital, Mytilene. After its surrender, the other forts of the island surrendered as well. The event put an end to the semi-independent Genoese lordship that the Gattilusio family had established in the northeastern Aegean since the mid-14th century, and heralded the beginning of the First Ottoman–Venetian War in the following year.