John II Palaeologus (5 February 1321 – 19 March 1372)''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani'', vol.LVI, Roma 2000, pp. 123-129.
/ref> was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1338.

Career

John was the son of

Theodore I of Montferrat Theodore I Palaiologos or Palaeologus (Greek: Θεόδωρος Παλαιολόγος, full name: ''Theodoros Komnenos Doukas Angelos Palaiologos'') ( – 24 April 1338) was Marquis of Montferrat from 1306 until his death. Life He was a son of Em ...

, with whom he was associated in the government from 1336. He had great fortune in extending the boundaries of the margraviate against his neighbours. With the help of his cousin Otto of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, John turned against the Angevins of Naples, who had large possessions in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

and Savoy. On 9 October 1338, he was named governor of Asti. In 1343, when Robert, King of Naples died and his young granddaughter Joanna I took the crown, John took the opportunity to expand his control in northern Italy. By 1344, he had conquered Alessandria, Asti, Tortona, Bra and Alba. On 22 April 1345, at the Battle of Gamenario, he defeated the Angevine vicar Reforza d'Angoult, who died in the battle. With the tacit support of

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...

, John occupied

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kingdom ...

Bra A bra, short for brassiere or brassière (, or ; ), is a form-fitting undergarment that is primarily used to support and cover breasts. It can serve a range of other practical and aesthetic purposes, including enhancing or reducing the appea ...

Valenza Valenza ( pms, Valensa) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about north of Alessandria. History A stronghold of the Ligures, it was conquered by the Ro ...

and, in 1348,

Cuneo Cuneo (; pms, Coni ; oc, Coni/Couni ; french: Coni ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Northern Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in ...

. His power grew in 1355 when he accompanied the

Emperor Charles IV Charles IV ( cs, Karel IV.; german: Karl IV.; la, Carolus IV; 14 May 1316 – 29 November 1378''Karl IV''. In: (1960): ''Geschichte in Gestalten'' (''History in figures''), vol. 2: ''F–K''. 38, Frankfurt 1963, p. 294), also known as Charle ...

through

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. At that time he received the cities of

Cherasco Cherasco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about northeast of Cuneo. As of 1-1-2017, it had a population of 9096 and an area of .All demographics and ot ...

Novara Novara (, Novarese: ) is the capital city of the province of Novara in the Piedmont region in northwest Italy, to the west of Milan. With 101,916 inhabitants (on 1 January 2021), it is the second most populous city in Piedmont after Turin. It i ...

and

Pavia Pavia (, , , ; la, Ticinum; Medieval Latin: ) is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy in northern Italy, south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It has a population of c. 73,086. The city was the cap ...

. By a marriage to the last titular Queen of Majorca,

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

, he lost the support of the emperor and had to fend off attacks from imperial and

Visconti Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...

troops. This conflict concluded with restitution of territory around Pavia occupied by John to the Visconti in exchange for Visconti possessions in the area of Asti. John lost many vassals to the Visconti. In his will of 1372, John left the tutelage of his children to Otto of Brunswick and Amadeus VI of Savoy. He had four sons, three of whom succeeded him in turn, and a daughter with his wife Isabella ( Secondotto, John III, Theodore II, Margaret and William). John died at

Volpiano Volpiano is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Italian region Piedmont. The city is located about 15 km north-east of Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business an ...

near Turin soon after composing his testament and was buried at

Chivasso Chivasso (; pms, Civass) is a comune in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin. Chivasso has a population of about 27,000. It is situated on the left bank of the Po river, near the inf ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* , - {{s-end 1321 births 1372 deaths 14th-century Italian nobility

John 2 John 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It contains the famous stories of the miracle of Jesus turning water into wine and Jesus expelling the money changers from the Temple. The author of ...