Pantaleone Barbo was a distinguished diplomat of the

Venetian Republic 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 ...

. He was the Venetian ambassador to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

, and became the first bailo of Corfu in 1389. Amongst his other diplomatic appointments, he served as ''Provveditore'' of

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, ...

in 1363, captain of Crete in 1389, and duke of Crete in 1395. He also served as bailo and captain of Negroponte.

Diplomatic career

Barbo was sent as Venetian ambassador to Constantinople on the occasion of the death of

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōánnēs Palaiológos''; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. Biography John V was the son of E ...

"to express the Republic's distress 'at the death of our true and perfect friend'" and to liaise with John V's successor

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 ...

. In 1386 Barbo accompanied Venetian diplomat

Lorenzo de Monacis Lorenzo de Monacis was a diplomat serving the Republic of Venice. He was also an influential historian whose chronicles were relied upon by Flavio Biondo and Marcantonio Sabellico. Diplomatic career In 1386 Lorenzo de Monacis accompanied Vene ...

to Hungary representing Venice's interests during a crisis involving the succession to the Hungarian throne. The diplomatic mission was successful as described in a report by de Monacis to the Venetian government. In 1389, Barbo accompanied de Monacis again on another diplomatic mission to Hungary when they fell victims to robbery. The two diplomats, having lost all their belongings during the incident, received 60

gold ducat The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained w ...

s as compensation by the ''

Maggior Consiglio The Great Council or Major Council ( it, Maggior Consiglio; vec, Mazor Consegio) was a political organ of the Republic of Venice between 1172 and 1797. It was the chief political assembly, responsible for electing many of the other political off ...

'' of Venice.

Sentence

Barbo participated in a diplomatic proposal by the

Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 ...

Antonio Venier Tomb of Doge Antonio Venier Antonio Venier (c. 1330 – 23 November 1400) was a Doge of Venice, member of the House of Venier, reigning from October 1382 to his death. He was interred in the Basilica di San Giovanni e Paolo, a traditional bu ...

involving giving the island of

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of it is the third l ...

instead of destroying it according to the Venetian plan "factum ruynationis Tenedi". According to the Doge, "it would be offensive to God and to all mankind to disperse the Greek population of Tenedos and to destroy everything on the island". The doge also wanted to keep the island as an aid to maritime

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

and argued that the Ottoman Turks could rebuild it even if the Venetians destroyed it. However the proposal of the Doge did not succeed due to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

n and Venetian opposition. In the aftermath of the diplomatic crisis, Barbo was sentenced on 17 April 1383 to "deprivation of all offices of state for ten years". Additional sentence proposals included imprisonment of between six months to a year "in one of the lower prisons" and exile from Venice and the

Veneto it, Veneto (man) it, Veneta (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = ...

for five years. These proposals were rejected by the Senate. Eventually the sentence was reduced after the Tenedos controversy had subsided. His sentence was reduced "as too severe for a man who has committed his life to the service of the Signoria, with exemplary loyalty". On 8 March 1392 Barbo was sent to Constantinople as Venetian ambassador during John V Palaiologos's funeral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbo, Pantaleone Ambassadors of the Republic of Venice Baili History of Corfu 14th-century Venetian people Pantaleone Dukes of Crete Baili of Negroponte Ambassadors to the Byzantine Empire