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Andronikos Palaiologos or Andronicus Palaeologus ( el, Ἀνδρόνικος Παλαιολόγος) was a
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
prince and the last Byzantine governor of
Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
with the title of despot (''despotēs''), from 1408 to 1423. Andronikos Palaiologos was a son of the
Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
Manuel II Palaiologos Manuel II Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Μανουὴλ Παλαιολόγος, Manouēl Palaiológos; 27 June 1350 – 21 July 1425) was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425. Shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk and received the n ...
and his wife
Helena Dragaš Helena Dragaš ( sr, Јелена Драгаш, ''Jelena Dragaš'', el, , ''Helénē Dragásē''; c. 1372 – 23 March 1450) was the empress consort of Byzantine emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and mother of the last two emperors, John VIII ...
. His maternal grandfather was the
Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
prince
Constantine Dragaš Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
. His brothers included emperors
John VIII Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, Iōánnēs Palaiológos; 18 December 1392 – 31 October 1448) was the penultimate Byzantine emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448. Biography John VIII was ...
and Constantine XI Palaiologos, as well as
Theodore II Palaiologos Theodore II Palaiologos or Palaeologus (Greek: Θεόδωρος Β΄ Παλαιολόγος, ''Theodōros II Palaiologos'') (c. 1396 – 21 June 1448) was Despot in the Morea from 1407 to 1443 and in Selymbria from then until his death. Life T ...
,
Demetrios Palaiologos Demetrios Palaiologos or Demetrius Palaeologus ( el, Δημήτριος Παλαιολόγος, Dēmētrios Palaiologos; 1407–1470) was Despot of the Morea together with his brother Thomas from 1449 until the fall of the despotate in 1460. Deme ...
and
Thomas Palaiologos Thomas Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Θωμᾶς Παλαιολόγος; 1409 – 12 May 1465) was Despot of the Morea from 1428 until the fall of the despotate in 1460, although he continued to claim the title until his death five years late ...
, who ruled as despots in
Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...
. In childhood Andronikos survived the sickness which killed his older brother Constantine and two sisters. He never recovered in full, remaining in poor health for the rest of his life, eventually developing leprosy. When he was only eight years old his father made him a despot (''despotēs'') and appointed him imperial representative in Thessalonica, where he succeeded his deceased cousin
John VII Palaiologos John VII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, Iōánnēs Palaiológos; 1370 – 22 September 1408) was Byzantine emperor for five months in 1390, from 14 April to 17 September. A handful of sources suggest that ...
. As he was still a minor, for the first years of his rule there, until ca. 1415/1416, he was under the tutorship of the general Demetrios Laskaris Leontares. After John VIII assumed control of the imperial government in 1421, the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
faced an increasingly hostile
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. Constantinople was attacked by the Ottomans in 1422, and Thessalonica was subject to a long blockade in 1422–1423. Under siege, and increasingly unwell, Andronikos began diplomatic initiatives for the surrender of the city to the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
. These negotiations resulted (although he did not have the support of the whole of the population, and was opposed by the church, which mistrusted the Latins), in a Venetian force entering the city in 1423. The handing over of Thessalonica to Venice contributed to the outbreak of the first in a series of wars between Venice and the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans conquered Thessalonica in 1430. His fate after the surrender of Thessalonica is obscure, with conflicting accounts in the sources. The contemporary Venetian ''
Morosini Codex Morosini is an Italian surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Morosini family *Piermario Morosini (1986–2012), Italian footballer * Sergio Rossetti Morosini (1953– ), New York author, painter, sculptor and independent filmmaker, ha ...
'' mentions a conspiracy led by Andronikos to surrender Thessalonica to the Turks. The plot was discovered in November 1423, and Andronikos and his supporters were exiled, with the Despot sent to
Nauplia Nafplio ( ell, Ναύπλιο) is a coastal city located in the Peloponnese in Greece and it is the capital of the regional unit of Argolis and an important touristic destination. Founded in antiquity, the city became an important seaport in the ...
in the
Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...
, and his supporters to
Siteia Sitia ( el, Σητεία) is a port town and a municipality in Lasithi, Crete, Greece. The town has 9,912 inhabitants (2011) and the municipality has 18,318 (2011). It lies east of Agios Nikolaos and northeast of Ierapetra. Sitia port is on the ...
in
Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
,
Andros Andros ( el, Άνδρος, ) is the northernmost island of the Greek Cyclades archipelago, about southeast of Euboea, and about north of Tinos. It is nearly long, and its greatest breadth is . It is for the most part mountainous, with many ...
, and other places. According to the Greek scholar
Apostolos Vakalopoulos Apostolos Evangelou Vakalopoulos ( el, Απόστολος Ευαγγέλου Βακαλόπουλος; 11 August 1909 – 10 July 2000) was a distinguished Greek historian, specializing in the Byzantine Empire, Ottoman Greece, and in modern G ...
, this conspiracy may be identical to the imprisonment of four leading aristocrats, led by a certain Platyskalites, for their association with the Ottomans, as reported by the Byzantine historian
Doukas The House of Doukas, Latinized as Ducas ( el, Δούκας; feminine: Doukaina/Ducaena, Δούκαινα; plural: Doukai/Ducae, Δοῦκαι), from the Latin title '' dux'' ("leader", "general", Hellenized as 'ðouks'', is the name of a Byzan ...
. The four men were exiled, first to Crete, and then to
Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
itself and
Padua Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
. The Byzantine sources do not mention Andronikos' involvement in a conspiracy, and record different fates for him:
Laonikos Chalkokondyles Laonikos Chalkokondyles, Latinized as Laonicus Chalcocondyles ( el, Λαόνικος Χαλκοκονδύλης, from λαός "people", νικᾶν "to be victorious", an anagram of Nikolaos which bears the same meaning; c. 1430 – c. 1470; ...
records that he went to
Mantineia Mantineia (also Mantinea ; el, Μαντίνεια; also Koine Greek ''Antigoneia'') was a city in ancient Arcadia, Greece, which was the site of two significant battles in Classical Greek history. In modern times it is a former municipality in ...
in the Morea, where he died;
Theodore Spandounes Theodore Spandounes ( el, Θεόδωρος Σπανδούνης, it, Teodoro Spandugino) was an early 16th-century Greek historian of noble Byzantine extraction, the son of exiles fleeing the Ottoman conquest of Byzantium who had settled in Venice ...
writes that he sailed for Venice but died during the journey; Sphrantzes claims that he became a monk in the
Pantokrator Monastery '' '' tr, Zeyrek Camii'' , image = Molla Zeyrek Camii.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption =The mosque viewed from north east. From left to right, one can see the apses of the ''Church of Christ Pantocrato ...
in Constantinople, where he died in 1429 and was buried next to his father; a number of other sources, including Pseudo-Sphrantzes, claim that he became a monk in Mount Athos, specifically the
Vatopedi Monastery The Holy and Great Monastery of Vatopedi ( el, Βατοπέδι, ) is an Eastern Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos, Greece. The monastery was expanded several times during its history, particularly during the Byzantine period and in the 18th an ...
, where he died.


Ancestry


References


Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palaiologos, Andronikos 1400 births 1429 deaths Andronikos Byzantine governors of Thessalonica Eastern Orthodox monks Despots (court title) Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars Sons of Byzantine emperors