James of Baux or James of Les Baux [1] (died 7 July 1383) was the Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1374 to 1383. He was the last Latin emperor to govern any imperial territory.
James belonged to the noble House of Baux, specifically the branch settled in the Kingdom of Naples. He was the son of Francis, Duke of Andria, and Margaret, daughter of Prince Philip I of Taranto and his second wife, the Empress Catherine II, Princess of Achaea. His mother's brother was Prince Philip II of Taranto. In 1373, the childless Philip declared his nephew his universal heir. He thus stood to inherit the Principality of Taranto in the Neapolitan kingdom, and the Principality of Achaea in Greece, as well as a claim on the Latin Empire. [2]
On the death of Philip II of Taranto in 1374, most of the barons in the principality of Achaea recognized as his heir Queen Joanna I of Naples. She in turn confiscated all the Italian possessions of Francis and James of Baux and banished them from the kingdom. James took refuge in Corfu, while his father fled to Papal Avignon. [2]
In 1376 or 1377, Joanna leased the principality of Achaea to the Knights Hospitaller for five years at four thousands ducats a year. Philip II's relatives put forward a rival candidate in James of Baux. James met with some success in 1380 but did not have complete control until Joanna's death in 1382, when he became the only legitimate claimant to Achaea. In his attempt to reclaim his inheritance, James hired the services of the Navarrese Company, which had originally been hired by the Hospitallers, with whom James was at war. James was now taking the titles "Despot of Romania" and "Prince of Taranto and Achaea". The Navarrese conquered much of Messenia and the towns of Androusa and Kalamata for James, but he did not enjoy this principality long. [3]
Early in 1382, James married Agnes, the widow of Cansignorio della Scala, lord of Verona. She was a daughter of Duke Charles of Durazzo and older sister of Margaret, the wife of Charles III of Naples. She was also (from her mother's side) a niece of Queen Joanna I of Naples. Her marriage to James was intended to solidify his alliance with Charles III. It was childless. [2] James died on 7 July 1383. [4]
Year 1383 (MCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar.
The Principality of Achaea or Principality of Morea was one of the vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica was captured by Epirus in 1224. After this, Achaea became the dominant power in Greece, lasting continuously for 227 years and cumulatively for 229.
Philip I of Taranto, of the Angevin house, was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople by right of his wife Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Despot of Romania, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto.
Philip II of the Angevin house, was Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople from 1364 to his death in 1373.
The Prince of Achaea was the ruler of the Principality of Achaea, one of the crusader states founded in Greece in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade (1202–1204). The principality witnessed various overlords during its more than two centuries of existence, initially, Achaea was a vassal state of the Kingdom of Thessalonica under Boniface I of house Montferrat, then of the Latin Empire of Constantinople under the houses of Flanders-Courtenay, which had supplanted the Byzantine Empire, and later of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples. During the Angevin period, the princes were often absent, represented in the Principality by their baillis, who governed in their name. After 1404 the principality became sovereign as the Genoese Centurione II Zaccaria bought from the Neapolitan crown the princely rights.
The Principality of Taranto was a state in southern Italy created in 1088 for Bohemond I, eldest son of Robert Guiscard, as part of the peace between him and his younger brother Roger Borsa after a dispute over the succession to the Duchy of Apulia.
Raimondo Orsini del Balzo was a nobleman from the Kingdom of Naples. He was Count of Soleto (1382), Prince of Taranto (1399–1406), Duke of Bari, Grand Constable of the Kingdom of Naples, Gonfalonier of the Holy Roman Church. He was a member of the influential Orsini family of Rome. Although he is considered one of the most important people in the history of southern Italy, relatively little is known about his life.
Robert II of Taranto, of the Angevin family, Prince of Taranto (1331–1346), King of Albania (1331–1332), Prince of Achaea (1332–1346), and titular Latin Emperor.
Catherine II, also Catherine of Valois or Catherine of Taranto, was the recognised Latin Empress of Constantinople from 1307–1346, although she lived in exile and only had authority over Crusader States in Greece. She was Queen consort of Albania. As well as Princess consort of Achaea and Taranto, and also regent of Achaea from 1332–1341, and Governor of Cephalonia from 1341–1346.
The Navarrese Company was a company of mercenaries, mostly from Navarre and Gascony that fought in Albania and Greece during the late 14th and early 15th centuries, in the twilight of Frankish power in the dwindling remnant of the Latin Empire. "Navarrese Company" is a modern informal term for the soldiers and is thus somewhat inaccurate.
Nerio I Acciaioli or Acciajuoli was the de facto Duke of Athens from 1385 to 1388, after which he reigned uncontested until his death in 1394. Born to a family of Florentine bankers, he became the principal agent of his influential kinsman, Niccolò Acciaioli, in Frankish Greece in 1360. He purchased large domains in the Principality of Achaea and administered them independently of the absent princes. He hired mercenaries and conquered Megara, a strategically important fortress in the Duchy of Athens, in 1374 or 1375. His troops again invaded the duchy in 1385. The Catalans who remained loyal to King Peter IV of Aragon could only keep the Acropolis of Athens, but they were also forced into surrender in 1388.
Pedro de San Superano was one of the captains of the Navarrese Company in the Morea from 1379 until he was made Prince of Achaea in 1396, a post he held to his death.
Antonia of Baux, was an Italian noblewoman member of the French House of Baux and by marriage Queen consort of Sicily, Duchess consort of Athens and Neopatras.
The Capetian House of Anjou, or House of Anjou-Sicily, or House of Anjou-Naples was a royal house and cadet branch of the Capetian dynasty. It is one of three separate royal houses referred to as Angevin, meaning "from Anjou" in France. Founded by Charles I of Anjou, the youngest son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century. The War of the Sicilian Vespers later forced him out of the island of Sicily, which left him with the southern half of the Italian Peninsula, the Kingdom of Naples. The house and its various branches would go on to influence much of the history of Southern and Central Europe during the Middle Ages until it became extinct in 1435.
Marie of Bourbon was the sovereign baroness of Vostitsa in 1359-1370. She was princess consort of Achaea and titular Latin empress consort by marriage to Robert of Taranto, Prince of Achaea and titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople. Upon the death of Robert in 1364, she became princess regnant of Achaea until her death.
Maria of Calabria, Countess of Alba, was a Neapolitan princess of the Capetian House of Anjou whose descendants inherited the crown of Naples following the death of her older sister, Queen Joanna I.
Agnes of Durazzo was the wife of James of Baux, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople. She was the last woman to claim the title of empress of the Latin Empire.
This is a list of the princess consorts of Achaea, the consorts of the Princes of Achaea.
Centurione I Zaccaria was one of the most powerful nobles of the Principality of Achaea in the 14th century. He was the firstborn son of Martino Zaccaria and Jackqueline de la Roche, last representant of the prestigious Burgundian house of the Duchy of Athens. In 1334 Centurione succeeded his brother, Bartolomeo Zaccaria as baron of Damala. After the death of Martino he rose as lord of one half of the Barony of Chalandritsa, and in 1359 he acquired the other half. In about 1370 he was named Grand Constable of Achaea and received also the Barony of Estamira. He also thrice held the post of bailli (viceroy) for the principality's Angevin rulers.
Francis of Baux was the first Duke of Andria, Count of Montescaglioso and Squillace, and Lord of Berre, Mison, and Tiano. He was the son of Bertrand III of Baux, Count of Andria and Montescaglioso and his second wife, Marguerite d'Aulnay. Francis's father was a Senator of Rome, Captain General of Tuscany, and Justiciar of Naples. The half-royal Baux family was one of the greatest families of the kingdom after the Duke's marriage to Marguerite of Taranto in 1348.