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Gattilusio
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 (present-day in Greece) from 1355 to 1462 and Lords of Aenus (present-day in Turkey) from 1376 to 1456. History The Gattilusi family was founded by two brothers, Francesco and Niccolò Gattilusi, who were the nephew of Oberto Gattilusi. The name of their father is not known, although based on the heraldic evidence of their inscriptions, Anthony Luttrell argues that their mother was a member of the Doria family. Fran ...
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Ottoman Conquest Of Lesbos
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. In the mid-14th century, the Gattilusio family had established an autonomous lordship under Byzantine suzerainty on Lesbos. By 1453, the Gattilusio domains had come to include most of the islands in the northeastern Aegean. In the aftermath of the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453, however, Mehmed II began reducing the Gattilusio holdings. By the end of 1456, only Lesbos remained in Gattilusio hands, in exchange for an annual tribute to the Sultan. In 1458 Niccolò Gattilusio seized control of the island from his bro ...
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Francesco I Of Lesbos
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. Freebooter 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. 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 ...
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Domenico Of Lesbos
Domenico Gattilusio (died 1458) was the fifth Gattilusio lord of Lesbos from 1455 to 1458. He was a son of Dorino I Gattilusio and Orietta Doria. Life Domenico served as regent for his father after the latter became bed-ridden in 1449. He succeeded his father on the latter's death, at a time of growing Ottoman hegemony; when the Turkish admiral, on his way to Rhodes, anchored off Lesbos in June 1455, Domenico sent his official, 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. Not long after this visit Domenico's father died; Domenico made himself lord over his father's territories—at this point comprising the islands of Lesbos, Thasos, Lemnos and the mainland town of Phocaea—while ap ...
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Niccolò Gattilusio
Niccolò Gattilusio (died 1462) was the sixth and last Gattilusio lord of Lesbos (1458–1462). He was a younger son of Dorino I Gattilusio and Orietta Doria. He deposed his elder brother Domenico Gattilusio, threw him in prison, and had him strangled. The Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ... used this crime as his pretext to invade Lesbos. According to Franz Babinger, Mehmed's true motivation was that Niccolò had sheltered Catalan people, Catalan pirates in return for a considerable share of their loot; these pirates were preying on the nearby Anatolian coast, kidnapping their inhabitants and selling them as slaves. In 1462, Mehmed marched from Constantinople at the head of a detachment of Janissaries across Anatolia to Assos (near the mode ...
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Niccolò Gattilusio, Lord Of Ainos
Niccolò Gattilusio (died 1409) was the first member of the Gattilusio family to rule the city of Aenus (modern Enez in Turkey). The Gattilusio family came from the Republic of Genoa. The parents of Niccolò and his brother Francesco I Gattilusio 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.Luttrell"John V's Daughters: A Palaiologan Puzzle" ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'', 40 (1986), p. 110 He accompanied his brother in his adventures. As the former was rewarded by the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos with the island of Lesbos, so Niccolò received the coastal city of Ainos, which he took title to at some point between 1376 and 1379. From 1384 to 1387 he served as regent for his nephew Francesco II Gattilusio until the two fell out in an argument between them. When his nephew died in an unusual accident, Niccolò served once more as regent, this time for Francesco's son Jacopo Ja ...
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Castle Of Mytilene
The Castle of Mytilene, also Fortress of Mytilene, is located in Mytilene on the Greek island of Lesbos, North Aegean. It is maintained in good condition and is one of the largest castles in the Mediterranean covering an area of 60 acres. The first castle on the site may have been erected during the time of Justinian I (ruled 527–565). The 6th-century castle may have been built on top of an already existent fortress. In the late Middle ages, the castle was the residence of Francesco I Gattilusio and his successors, especially the tower known today as the Queen's Tower. There is also strong evidence that the original acropolis on the site may have included a sanctuary to Demeter, Kore and Cybele. History of the castle The Mytilene castle fortress sits on a hill between the city’s northern and southern ports. From the writing of Homer, the island of Lesbos has been an organized city since 1054 BC. The early harbor of Mytilene was united during ancient times with a channel 7 ...
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Lemnos
Lemnos or Limnos ( el, Λήμνος; grc, Λῆμνος) is a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos regional unit, which is part of the North Aegean region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina. At , it is the 8th-largest island of Greece. Geography Lemnos is mostly flat, but the west, and especially the northwest part, is rough and mountainous. The highest point is Mount Skopia at the altitude of 430 m. The chief towns are Myrina, on the western coast, and Moudros on the eastern shore of a large bay in the middle of the island. Myrina (also called Kastro, meaning "castle") possesses a good harbour. It is the seat of all trade carried on with the mainland. The hillsides afford pasture for sheep, and Lemnos has a strong husbandry tradition, being famous for its Kalathaki Limnou ( PDO), a cheese made from sheep and goat milk and melipasto cheese, and for ...
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Enez
Enez is a town and a district of Edirne Province, in Thrace, Turkey. The ancient name of the town was Ainos ( el, Αίνος), Latinised as Aenus. The mayor is Özkan Günenç ( CHP). The population is 10,886 as of 2018. Enez consists of an old town centre, backing on to the Meriç/Evros river forming the border with neighbouring Greece; the harbour and Pırlanta Beach, 3 km southwest across the lagoon; and Altınkum Sahili (Golden Sands Beach), another 2 km south, which has been developed as a resort strip mainly catering for domestic tourists. Despite Enez's proximity to the Greek border there is no crossing point by land here. To cross the border into Greece it is necessary to travel north to İpsala. Location The town is located on the left (eastern) bank of the river Meriç (Greek: Evros, historically the Hebrus) where its estuary broadens to flow into the Gulf of Saros (the ancient Melas Gulf) and so into the Aegean Sea. Enez occupies a ridge of rock surrounded by broad ...
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Palaiologos
The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek family that rose to nobility and produced the last and longest-ruling dynasty in the history of the Byzantine Empire. Their rule as Emperors and Autocrats of the Romans lasted almost two hundred years, from 1259 to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. The origins of the family are unclear. Their own medieval origin stories ascribed them an ancient and prestigious origin in ancient Roman Italy, descended from some of the Romans that had accompanied Constantine the Great to Constantinople upon its foundation in 330. It is more likely that they originated significantly later in Anatolia since the earliest known member of the family, possibly its founder, Nikephoros Palaiologos, served as a commander there in the second half of the 11th centur ...
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Lesbos
Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Anatolia, Asia Minor by the narrow Mytilini Strait. On the southeastern coast lies the island's capital and largest city, Mytilene, whose name is also used as a moniker for the island. The regional units of Greece, regional unit of Lesbos, with the seat in Mytilene, comprises the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Ikaria, Lemnos, and Samos. Mytilene is also the capital of the larger North Aegean region. The population of the island is 83,068, a third of whom live in the capital, while the remainder is distributed in small towns and villages. The largest are Plomari, Kalloni, the Gera Villages, Agiassos, Eresos, and Molyvos (the ancient Mythimna). According to later Greek writers, Mytilene was founded in the 11th century BC by the family Penthilidae, who arrived from T ...
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Lesbos Mytilene Fort06
Lesbos or Lesvos ( el, Λέσβος, Lésvos ) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. It has an area of with approximately of coastline, making it the third largest island in Greece. It is separated from Asia Minor by the narrow Mytilini Strait. On the southeastern coast lies the island's capital and largest city, Mytilene, whose name is also used as a moniker for the island. The regional unit of Lesbos, with the seat in Mytilene, comprises the islands of Lesbos, Chios, Ikaria, Lemnos, and Samos. Mytilene is also the capital of the larger North Aegean region. The population of the island is 83,068, a third of whom live in the capital, while the remainder is distributed in small towns and villages. The largest are Plomari, Kalloni, the Gera Villages, Agiassos, Eresos, and Molyvos (the ancient Mythimna). According to later Greek writers, Mytilene was founded in the 11th century BC by the family Penthilidae, who arrived from Thessaly and ruled the city-state unt ...
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Mytilene
Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was founded in the 11th century BC. Mytilene is one of the two municipalities on the island of Lesbos, created in 2019; the other is West Lesbos. Mytilene is built on the southeast edge of the island. It is the seat of a metropolitan bishop of the Eastern Orthodox Church. History As an ancient city, lying off the east coast, Mytilene was initially confined to a small island just offshore that later was joined to Lesbos, creating a north and south harbor. The early harbors of Mytilene were linked during ancient times by a channel 700 m long and 30 m wide. The Roman writer Longus speaks of white stone bridges linking the two sides. The Greek word εὔριπος ''eúripos'' is a commonly-used term when referring to a st ...
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