George Doukas Philanthropenos ( el, Γεώργιος Δούκας Φιλανθρωπηνός; died before 1452) was a close confidant of

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 Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...

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 ...

(r. 1425–1448) and served briefly as ''

mesazon The ( gr, μεσάζων, mesazōn, intermediary) was a high dignitary and official during the last centuries of the Byzantine Empire, who acted as the chief minister and principal aide of the Byzantine emperor. History and functions The term's ...

'' (chief minister) of 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 ...

in 1438–1439. He first appears in 1429. John VIII entrusted him with the symbolically important diplomatic missions of conferring the insignia of Despot to the Serbian rulers

Đurađ Branković Đurađ Branković (; sr-cyr, Ђурађ Бранковић; hu, Brankovics György; 1377 – 24 December 1456) was the Serbian Despot from 1427 to 1456. He was one of the last Serbian medieval rulers. He was a participant in the battle of Anka ...

(in 1429 or 1435) and

Lazar Branković Lazar Branković ( sr-cyr, Лазар Бранковић; c. 1421 – 20 February 1458) was a Serbian despot, prince of Rascia from 1456 to 1458. He was the third son of Đurađ Branković and his wife Eirene Kantakouzene. He was succeeded by his ...

(in 1446). In 1438–1439 he accompanied John VIII to the

Council of Ferrara The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...

, and was appointed joint ''mesazon'' along with Manuel Iagaris Palaiologos. In this capacity he played an important role, putting pressure on the Byzantine delegation to accept the Union of the Churches. He was a relative of the

Patriarch of Constantinople The ecumenical patriarch ( el, Οἰκουμενικός Πατριάρχης, translit=Oikoumenikós Patriárchēs) is the archbishop of Constantinople (Istanbul), New Rome and '' primus inter pares'' (first among equals) among the heads of th ...

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

, who died in 1439 during the Council. George left an endowment to the church of

Santa Maria Novella Santa Maria Novella is a church in Florence, Italy, situated opposite, and lending its name to, the city's main railway station. Chronologically, it is the first great basilica in Florence, and is the city's principal Dominican church. The chu ...

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 ...

, where Joseph was buried, for an annual mass in his memory.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Philanthropenos, George Doukas 15th-century deaths 15th-century Byzantine people Byzantine officials George Doukas Year of birth unknown Ambassadors to Serbia