Antonio II Acciaioli was the

Duke of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of th ...

from 1439 to 1445. He was a son of Francesco, Lord of Sykaminon, and Margareta Malpigli. Francesco was son of Donato; Donato was brother of Nerio I, Duke of Athens. Antonio II grew up in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

until 1413, when his father's cousin

Antonio I Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular male ...

(son of Nerio I) called him and his brother Nerio II to Greece to live at his court. When the elder Antonio died in January 1435, he left the duchy to Nerio II under the regency of his widow Maria Melissene. However, Antonio forced Nerio from the city in January 1439.

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; ...

and

Jacopo Gaddi Jacopo Gaddi (c. 1600 - after 1658) was an Italian Neo-Latin and Italian writer from Florence. Biography Born to a wealthy noble family, Gaddi was well known in Florence and was in correspondence with numerous figures outside his birthplace, incl ...

. The latter wrote a short poem: :''Nobile par fratrum, Graecos Dux rexit uterque'' ::''Non simul, alterno tempore sceptra ferens.'' :''Gesserat haec Nerius, quo pulso Antonius ardens'' ::''Rursus at extincto fratre gerit Nerius.'' :''Nimium Pollux et Castor in urbe fuissent,'' ::''Si fratrum illis gratia sanctus amor.'' Antonio ruled energetically but briefly and died in 1445, to be replaced by his deposed brother.

Family

He married Maria Zorzi and had a child: *

Francesco II Acciaioli Francesco II Acciaioli (died 1460), called Franco, was the last Duke of Athens. He was the son of Duke Antonio II Acciaioli and Maria Zorzi but had only ruled for two years (1455–1456) when the Turkish army under Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey arri ...

, Duke of Athens.

Notes

References

*Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor) ''A History of the Crusades: Volume III — The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries''. Harry W. Hazard, editor. University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, 1975. *Setton, Kenneth M. ''Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380''. Revised edition. Variorum: London, 1975. 1445 deaths Antonio 02 Dukes of Athens Year of birth unknown 15th-century monarchs in Europe 15th-century Italian nobility {{europe-noble-stub