Thomas Asen Palaiologos

Last updated February 28, 2019

Thomas Asen Palaiologos (Latin : Thomas Assanus Paleologus; Greek : Θωμάς Ασάνης Παλαιολόγος; Bulgarian : Tома Асен Палеолог; 15th century–1523?) was a prominent Byzantine exile in the Kingdom of Naples in the early 16th century. A descendant of two imperial dynasties, the Palaiologoi of Byzantium and the Asens of Bulgaria, Thomas Asen Palaiologos was active in the anti-Ottoman struggles of Greece. Before 1506, he resettled in Italy and was the donor for the construction of an Eastern Orthodox church in Naples.

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus and other parts of the Eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It has the longest documented history of any living Indo-European language, spanning more than 3000 years of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the major part of its history; other systems, such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary, were used previously. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems.

Bulgarian, is an Indo-European language and a member of the Southern branch of the Slavic language family.

The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire and Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. Both the terms "Byzantine Empire" and "Eastern Roman Empire" are historiographical exonyms; its citizens continued to refer to their empire simply as the Roman Empire, or Romania (Ῥωμανία), and to themselves as "Romans".

Biography

A papal bull of Pope Paul III from 1544 refers to him as "the former king of Corinth in the Morea" and as "the lord of Corinth". Thus, Bulgarian historian Ivan Bozhilov considers it most likely that he was a grandson of Matthew Palaiologos Asen, brother-in-law to the despot of Morea Demetrios Palaiologos (r. 1436–1460). Matthew Asen was a lord of Corinth and ruler of Acrocorinth from 1454 to 1458, when the fortress was conquered by the Ottomans.^[1]

Papal bull type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church

A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by a pope of the Roman Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) that was traditionally appended to the end in order to authenticate it.

Pope Paul III, born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope from 13 October 1534 to his death in 1549.

Corinth was a city-state (polis) on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnese to the mainland of Greece, roughly halfway between Athens and Sparta. The modern city of Corinth is located approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) northeast of the ancient ruins. Since 1896, systematic archaeological investigations of the Corinth Excavations by the American School of Classical Studies at Athens have revealed large parts of the ancient city, and recent excavations conducted by the Greek Ministry of Culture have brought to light important new facets of antiquity.

Thomas Asen Palaiologos organized an anti-Ottoman rebellion in Greece at an unknown time and place. The failure of the rebellion was likely the concrete reason to resettle to Italy, and he was resident in Calabria by 1506. There, he was economically active and had received privileges from the King of Naples, Ferdinand III.^[2]

Calabria, known in antiquity as Bruttium, is a region in Southern Italy.

Ferdinand II, called the Catholic, was King of Aragon from 1479 until his death. His marriage in 1469 to Isabella, the future queen of Castile, was the marital and political "cornerstone in the foundation of the Spanish monarchy." As a consequence of his marriage to Isabella I, he was de jure uxoris King of Castile as Ferdinand V from 1474 until her death in 1504. At Isabella's death the crown of Castile passed to their daughter Joanna, by the terms of their prenuptial agreement and her last will and testament. Following the death of Joanna's husband Philip I of Spain, and her alleged mental illness, Ferdinand was recognized as regent of Castile from 1508 until his own death. In 1504, after a war with France, he became King of Naples as Ferdinand III, reuniting Naples with Sicily permanently and for the first time since 1458. In 1512, he became King of Navarre by conquest. In 1506 he married Germaine of Foix of France, but Ferdinand's only son and child of that marriage died soon after birth; had the child survived, the personal union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile would have ceased.

In Naples, Thomas Asen Palaiologos was the main donor ( ktetor ) for the construction of the city's first Eastern Orthodox church, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul of the Greeks (Chiesa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo dei Greci).^[2] The church, which was commonly referred to as the "Palaiologian chapel", was an important hub of the community of Byzantine exiles in Naples.^[2] The church lies on a high point in the neighbourhood of San Giuseppe and is the sole survivor of the neighbourhood's former "Alley of the Greeks". Built in 1518 and reconstructed multiple times, it is one of the oldest churches of the Byzantine diaspora in the West after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.^[3]^[4]

Naples is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest municipality in Italy after Rome and Milan. In 2017, around 967,069 people lived within the city's administrative limits while its province-level municipality has a population of 3,115,320 residents. Its continuously built-up metropolitan area is the second or third largest metropolitan area in Italy and one of the most densely populated cities in Europe.

Ktetor or ktitor, meaning "founder", was a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Orthodox church or monastery, for the addition of icons, frescos, and other works of art. It was used in the Byzantine sphere. A Catholic equivalent of the term is a donator. As part of founding the ktetor often issued typika, and was illustrated on frescoes. The female form is ktetorissa or ktitoritsa.

San Giuseppe is a neighbourhood of Naples, southern Italy, that includes many of the items of interest on the western side of the historic center of Naples, including the square and church of Gesù Nuovo, the buildings along via Benedetto Croce and the square, Piazza San Domeico Maggiore.

The date of Thomas Asen Palaiologos' death is unclear, though 1523 is given in one source. There are indications that he had no children, as the rights to the church were inherited by his niece Maria Asanina Palaiologina (Bulgarian : Мария Асенина Палеологина),^[2] daughter of his brother George Asen (Bulgarian : Георги Асен), wife of Rali (Raul), mother of Pietro Rali (?-1558, Napoli) and grandmother of neapolitan noblewoman Victoria Rali Asen (Bulgarian : Виктория Ралина Асенина).^[5]

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References

↑ Божилов, Иван (1994). Фамилията на Асеневци (1186–1460). Генеалогия и просопография[The Family of the Asens (1186–1460). Genealogy and Prosopography] (in Bulgarian). София: Издателство на Българската академия на науките. p. 422. ISBN 954-430-264-6.
1 2 3 4 Божилов, p. 423.
↑ Korinthios, Jannis (20 May 2014). "Itinerario sulle tracce della diaspora greca a Napoli" (in Italian). Comunità Ellenica di Napoli e Campania. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
↑ Monter, William (2006). "The Greek diaspora: Italian port cities and London". Cultural Exchange in Early Modern Europe: Cities and Cultural Exchange in Europe, 1400–1700. 2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 69–70. ISBN 9780521845472.
↑ Божилов, p. 424.

Genealogy tree - Георги Кантакузин Асен
Genealogy tree - Асенина Закария
Genealogy tree - баща на Срацимир
Genealogy tree - Асен Палеолог

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[bozhilov422-1] Божилов, Иван (1994). Фамилията на Асеневци (1186–1460). Генеалогия и просопография[The Family of the Asens (1186–1460). Genealogy and Prosopography] (in Bulgarian). София: Издателство на Българската академия на науките. p. 422. ISBN 954-430-264-6.

[bozhilov423-2] 1 2 3 4 Божилов, p. 423.

[korinthios-3] Korinthios, Jannis (20 May 2014). "Itinerario sulle tracce della diaspora greca a Napoli" (in Italian). Comunità Ellenica di Napoli e Campania. Retrieved 21 June 2015.

[monter-4] Monter, William (2006). "The Greek diaspora: Italian port cities and London". Cultural Exchange in Early Modern Europe: Cities and Cultural Exchange in Europe, 1400–1700. 2. Cambridge University Press. pp. 69–70. ISBN 9780521845472.

[bozhilov424-5] Божилов, p. 424.