Francesco I Gattilusio (died 6 August 1384) was the first member of the Gattilusio family to rule the Aegean island of Lesbos as a vassal of the Byzantine emperor.
Francesco I Gattilusio (died 6 August 1384) was the first member of the Gattilusio family to rule the Aegean island of Lesbos as a vassal of the Byzantine emperor.
The Gattilusio family came from the Republic of Genoa. The parents of Francesco and his brother Niccolò are not known, although based on the heraldic evidence of their inscriptions, Anthony Luttrell argues that their mother was a member of the Doria family. [1]
Francesco enters the historical record as a freebooter or pirate. In 1354, Francesco and his crew landed on Tenedos. The island served at the time as residence to John V Palaiologos, one of three co-emperors to the throne of the Byzantine Empire, the others being his father-in-law John VI Kantakouzenos and brother-in-law Matthew Kantakouzenos. John V and his in-laws were in conflict at the time.
John V and Francesco entered an alliance to enable John to regain control of Constantinople. In return, he would be given the hand of Maria Palaiologina, a sister of John V, in marriage.
In early December 1354, Francesco led a fleet to Constantinople. They approached the city late at night and pretended that they needed assistance. They claimed that one of their ships was sinking and requested help in salvaging the cargo from shipwreck, and promised a share of it to the sentries of the city for their help. Seeing a chance to profit, the sentries opened a gate. Francesco then led about five hundred armed men through the gate, took command of the Walls of Constantinople, and roused the citizens from their sleep with shouts in favor of John V. Riots in favor of John V soon started. By 4 December 1354, John VI resigned his title and retired to a monastery. [2]
Francesco had managed to regain control of the capital for John V and removed his main rival from the political field. John V completed their agreement by making Francesco his brother-in-law.
On 17 July 1355, Francesco was further rewarded by the title of Archon (Lord) of Lesbos. John V had offered him the island as dowry for his sister.
In 1366, Francesco joined with Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy and Louis I of Hungary in a campaign to restore the stability of the Byzantine Empire. Together they captured Gallipoli from Murad I of the Ottoman Empire after two days of fighting. [3] In October Amadeus and Gattilusio fleet going to Black Sea coast of Bulgaria and captured several castles and coastal towns like Skafida, Sozopol, Mesembria, Emona and Anchialo.
In 1369, Francesco accompanied John V on his trip to Rome, along with Demetrios Kydones, which concluded with John V personally accepting the Catholic faith on Thursday 18 October, in an unsuccessful effort to attract Western support for the greatly weakened Empire. [4]
On 6 August 1384, an earthquake affected Lesbos. Francesco I, Maria, and their two eldest sons, Andronico and Domenico, were all killed. In a letter he wrote from Constantinople soon after the event, Kydones describes how the two dead sons' prospective brides arrived from afar and searched among the ruins for the bodies of the intended husbands they had never seen. [5] However the third son Jacopo survived and succeeded in the rule of Lesbos under the name Francesco II. [6]
Francesco and Maria Palaiologina had three 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.
John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. His long reign was marked by constant civil war, the spread of the Black Death and several military defeats to the Ottoman Turks, who rose as the dominant power of the region.
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under Andronikos III Palaiologos and regent for John V Palaiologos before reigning as Byzantine emperor in his own right from 1347 to 1354. Deposed by his former ward, he was forced to retire to a monastery under the name Joasaph Christodoulos and spent the remainder of his life as a monk and historian. At age 90 or 91 at his death, he was the longest-lived of the Roman emperors.
This is an alphabetical index of people, places, things, and concepts related to or originating from the Byzantine Empire. Feel free to add more, and create missing pages. You can track changes to the articles included in this list from here.
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.
Matthew Asen Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was Byzantine Emperor from 1353 to 1357 and later Despot of the Morea from 1380 to 1381.
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).
Demetrios Kydones, Latinized as Demetrius Cydones or Demetrius Cydonius, was a Byzantine Greek theologian, translator, author and influential statesman, who served an unprecedented three terms as Mesazon of the Byzantine Empire under three successive emperors: John VI Kantakouzenos, John V Palaiologos and Manuel II Palaiologos.
Anna of Savoy, born Giovanna (1306–1365), was a Byzantine Empress consort, as the second spouse of Andronikos III Palaiologos. She served as regent, with the titles augusta and autokratorissa, during the minority of her son John V Palaiologos from 1341 until 1347. In Byzantium, she was known as Anna Palaiologina, owing to her marriage to Andronikos.
Irene Asanina, was the empress consort of John VI Kantakouzenos of the Byzantine Empire. She is known to have participated in military issues in a degree uncommon for a Byzantine empress. She commanded the garrison of Didymoteicho during the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347, and organized the defense of Constantinople against the Genoese in 1348, and the forces of John V in 1353.
Helena Kantakouzene was the Empress consort of John V Palaiologos of the Byzantine Empire. She served as Regent during the absence of her son Manuel II in 1393.
Irene Palaiologina was the empress consort of Matthew Kantakouzenos.
Irene Gattilusio was a Byzantine empress consort by marriage to John VII Palaiologos, a Byzantine Emperor in 1390. She was a daughter of Francesco II of Lesbos and Valentina Doria.
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.
Dorino Gattilusio 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.
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.
Niccolò Gattilusio was the first member of the Gattilusio family to rule the city of Aenus.
The Byzantine civil war of 1352–1357 was an armed conflict resulting from and following the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347. The war pitted Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos against John VI Kantakouzenos and his eldest son Matthew Kantakouzenos. John V emerged victorious as the sole emperor of the Byzantine Empire, but the destruction brought about by the civil war left the Byzantine state in ruins.
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.
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