John I Orsini (Italian: Giovanni Orsini) was the count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from 1303 or 1304 to his death in 1317. Married to an Epirote princess, John spent a decade at the Epirote court before succeeding his father, Richard Orsini, as count palatine. As a vassal of the Principality of Achaea, he was involved in its domestic affairs and especially the dynastic dispute between the infanteFerdinand of Majorca and Princess Matilda of Hainaut in 1315–16, and participated in a number of Latin campaigns against Epirus, which he aspired to rule. A year after his death, his son and heir Nicholas Orsini seized Epirus and brought it under the Orsini family's rule.
In 1292, he was wed to Maria, the daughter of DespotNikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, ruler of Epirus. Maria had been sent as a hostage to Cephalonia to ensure Nikephoros' loyalty to the Latin princes when Richard and forces from the Principality of Achaea campaigned in Epirus to help raise the Byzantine siege of Ioannina. After the Byzantines were repelled, Richard, without consulting Nikephoros, arranged for John's marriage to Maria. This aroused the indignation of Nikephoros, who was not mollified until 1295, when the young couple came to live at his court. There John won his father-in-law's affection, to the extent that he granted him possession of the island of Leucas—Richard had promised to, but probably never did, cede the nearby island of Ithaca to the couple as well. John and Maria remained at the Epirote court until the accidental death of Count Richard in 1303 or 1304.[3][4]
After Richard's death, John was immediately engaged in a legal battle with his stepmother, Richard's second wife Margaret of Villehardouin, over his inheritance: Margaret claimed the fief of Katochi in Epirus, as well as mobile property to the sum of 100,000 gold hyperpyra from Richard's possessions. Initially, John's suzerain, the Prince of Achaea Philip of Savoy, found in his favour, especially after John paid him a "gift" of 3,656 pounds when he swore fealty to him on 7 April 1304. Margaret then sought the assistance of the powerful Marshal of Achaea, Nicholas III of Saint Omer, who was always ready to oppose the authoritarian government of Philip. In the end, after a violent quarrel between Nicholas and the Prince's supporters, a compromise was reached whereby John paid Margaret the sum of 20,000 hyperpyra.[5][6] The Chronicle of the Morea also reports another episode of quarrel between Saint Omer and John: Saint Omer was married to John's sister, Guillerme, but neglected her and kept her confined to her castle, until John arranged for one of his relatives, William Orsini, to abduct her by night and bring her to Cephalonia.[7]
Soon after his accession, in summer 1304, John and Philip of Savoy were ordered by King Charles II of Naples to attack Epirus, where the Byzantine princess Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene, mother and regent of the under-age Despot Thomas I Komnenos Doukas, had refused to re-affirm Epirote vassalage to Naples and made common cause with the Byzantine Empire. John campaigned in Epirus alongside a large Achaean contingent, but their siege of the Epirote capital, Arta, failed and the allies withdrew. While Charles II remained determined to repeat the offensive next year, Anna managed to bribe Philip into staying in the Morea. Philip refused to campaign on the pretext of holding a grand parliament at Corinth, where all the barons and vassals of the Principality, including John, were assembled.[8][9] As a result, Charles II deposed Philip of Savoy and transferred the Principality directly to his own son, Philip of Taranto. The new Prince launched another invasion of Epirus in 1307, which failed due to the outbreak of a disease among the Latin troops, but managed to wring some territorial concessions from Anna. According to the Aragonese version of the Chronicle of the Morea, John not only participated in this second expedition but actively instigated it, perhaps in hopes of replacing Thomas as ruler of Epirus.[10][11]
In 1315, the infanteFerdinand of Majorca invaded the Morea and tried to seize the vacant princely throne in right of his wife, Isabella of Sabran. Like most of the barons and vassals of Achaea, John supported him at first but switched back to the legitimate heir, Princess Matilda of Hainaut, and her husband Louis of Burgundy, when they arrived in the Morea in early 1316. In the decisive Battle of Manolada on 5 July 1316, John led the first line of the loyalist army. Driven by rage over John's betrayal as well as his past mistreatment of Margaret of Villehardouin—Ferdinand's mother-in-law—the infante launched a furious assault that broke through John's line, but was held by the second line under Louis. In the resulting mêlée, Ferdinand was killed and his supporters routed.[12][13] Barely a month later, Louis of Burgundy died at the age of 18, apparently of a disease. However, a pro-Catalan source asserts that Louis was poisoned by John.[14][15][16]
John died in 1317, and was succeeded by his eldest son Nicholas, who in the very next year managed to turn his father's Epirote ambitions a reality: he murdered his uncle, the Despot Thomas, and assumed his place, bringing Epirus under Orsini rule.[17]
The Despotate of Epirus was one of the Greek successor states of the Byzantine Empire established in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade in 1204 by a branch of the Angelos dynasty. It claimed to be the legitimate successor of the Byzantine Empire during the subsequent struggle for Constantinople, along with the Empire of Nicaea and the Empire of Trebizond; its rulers briefly proclaiming themselves as Emperors in 1227–1242. The term "Despotate of Epirus" is, like "Byzantine Empire" itself, a modern historiographic convention and not a name in use at the time.
The Battle of Pelagonia or Battle of Kastoria took place in early summer or autumn 1259, between the Empire of Nicaea and an anti-Nicaean alliance comprising Despotate of Epirus, Kingdom of Sicily and the Principality of Achaea. It was a decisive event in the history of the Eastern Mediterranean, ensuring the eventual reconquest of Constantinople and the end of the Latin Empire in 1261.
William of Villehardouin was the fourth prince of Achaea in Frankish Greece, from 1246 to 1278. The younger son of Prince Geoffrey I, he held the Barony of Kalamata in fief during the reign of his elder brother Geoffrey II. William ruled Achaea as regent for his brother during Geoffrey's military campaigns against the Greeks of Nicaea, who were the principal enemies of his overlord, the Latin Emperor of Constantinople Baldwin II. William succeeded his childless brother in the summer of 1246. Conflicts between Nicaea and Epirus enabled him to complete the conquest of the Morea in about three years. He captured Monemvasia and built three new fortresses, forcing two previously autonomous tribes, the Tzakones and Melingoi, into submission. He participated in the unsuccessful Egyptian crusade of Louis IX of France, who rewarded him with the right to issue currency in the style of French royal coins.
Philip II, also known as Philip I of Taranto, was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople by marriage to Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Despot of Romania, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto.
The despot of Epirus was the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The name "Despotate of Epirus" and the title "despot of Epirus" are modern historiographical names, and were not in use by the despots themselves. In the Byzantine Empire, the title of despot was a prestigious court title and did not designate rule over some specific territory. Though several of the early Greek rulers of the Epirote realm did use the title of despot, it was never in reference to the lands they governed, but instead in reference to their position in the imperial hierarchy.
Arta is a city in northwestern Greece and capital of the regional unit of Arta, which is part of Epirus region. The city was known in ancient times as Ambracia. Arta is known for the medieval bridge over the Arachthos River, as well as for its ancient sites from the era of Pyrrhus of Epirus and its well-preserved 13th-century castle. Arta's Byzantine history is reflected in its many Byzantine churches; perhaps the best known is the Panagia Paregoretissa, built about 1290 by Despot Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas.
Thamar Angelina Komnene was a princess consort of Taranto and Queen consort of Albania by marriage to Prince Philip I.
Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Nicephorus I Comnenus Ducas was ruler of Epirus from 1267/8 to his death in 1296/98.
Thomas I Komnenos Doukas ruler of Epirus from c. 1297 until his death in 1318.
Nicholas Orsini was a Greek–Italian nobleman who was count palatine of Cephalonia from 1317 to 1323 and ruler of southern Epirus around Arta from 1318 to 1323. The son of Count John I Orsini and Maria, an Epirote princess, he succeeded his father upon the latter's death, and in the next year murdered his uncle, Thomas Komnenos Doukas, and usurped his rule of Epirus. While able to secure his control over southern Epirus, however, the north with the city of Ioannina were taken over by the Byzantine Empire. Nicholas' attempts to ally with the Republic of Venice and recover Ioannina failed, and he was in turn killed by his brother John II Orsini in 1323.
John II Orsini, also John Komnenos Doukas or Comnenus Ducas, was a Greek-Italian noble man who rose to count palatine of Cephalonia from 1323 to 1324 and Despot of Epirus from 1323 to 1335.
Isabella of Villehardouin was reigning Princess of Achaea from 1289 to 1307. She was the elder daughter of Prince William II of Achaea and of his third wife, Anna Komnene Doukaina, the second daughter of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, the despot of Epiros.
Nicholas III of Saint-Omer was one of the most powerful and influential lords of Frankish Greece. He was hereditary Marshal of the Principality of Achaea, lord of one third of Akova and of one half of Thebes. He also served on three occasions as bailli of the Principality of Achaea.
The County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos existed from 1185 to 1479 as part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The title and the right to rule the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos was originally given to Margaritus of Brindisi for his services to William II, King of Sicily, in 1185.
The Frankokratia, also known as Latinokratia and, for the Venetian domains, Venetokratia or Enetokratia, was the period in Greek history after the Fourth Crusade (1204), when a number of primarily French and Italian states were established by the Partitio terrarum imperii Romaniae on the territory of the dismantled Byzantine Empire.
Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene was the niece of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, second wife of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas of Epirus and regent of Epirus upon his death around 1297.
Richard Orsini was the count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos from before 1260 to his death in 1303/4, and also Count of Gravina in 1284–91. He also served on behalf of the Angevin Kingdom of Naples as captain-general of Corfu in 1286–90 and as the bailli in the Principality of Achaea from 1297 to 1300. He assisted the Despot of Epirus in battle against the Byzantine Empire, and secured the marriage of his son, John I, to the Epirote ruler's daughter, which would lead in 1318 to the Orsini takeover of Epirus.
Margaret of Villehardouin was the daughter of William II of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, and his third wife Anna Komnene Doukaina.
Charles of Taranto was the eldest son of Philip I, Prince of Taranto and titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople, and his wife, Thamar Angelina Komnene, daughter of the Despot of Epirus, Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas.
Maria Komnene Doukaina was an Epiriot princess, daughter of Nicephorus I, and countess palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos as wife of John I Orsini.
Kiesewetter, Andreas (2006). "Preludio alla Quarta Crociata? Megareites di Brindisi, Maio di Cefalonia e la signoria sulle isole ionie (1185-1250)". In Gherardo Ortalli; Giorgio Ravegnani; Peter Schreiner (eds.). Quarta Crociata. Venezia - Bisanzio - Impero latino. Atti delle giornate di studio. Venezia, 4-8 maggio 2004 (in Italian). Venice: Istituto veneto di scienze, lettere ed arti. pp.317–358. ISBN8888143742.
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