Boniface III Palaeologus (10 August 1426 – 1494) was

Marquis of Montferrat The Marquises and Dukes of Montferrat were the rulers of a territory in Piedmont south of the Po and east of Turin called Montferrat. The March of Montferrat was created by Berengar II of Italy in 950 during a redistribution of power in the no ...

from 1483 until his death.

Biography

He was the son of marquis John Jacob and Joanna of Savoy. He succeeded his brother William VIII who had got involved in the

War of Ferrara The War of Ferrara (also known as the Salt War, Italian: ''Guerra del Sale'') was fought in 1482–1484 between Ercole I d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, and the Papal forces mustered by Ercole's personal nemesis, Pope Sixtus IV and his Venetian allies. ...

. When the conflict's eastern front settled, Boniface had to face the advance of the

Dukes of Savoy The titles of count, then of duke of Savoy are titles of nobility attached to the historical territory of Savoy. Since its creation, in the 11th century, the county was held by the House of Savoy. The County of Savoy was elevated to a duchy at th ...

. Boniface signed a treaty of non belligerence, and had his niece Bianca married to Duke

Charles I of Savoy Charles I (28 March 1468 Carignano, Piedmont – 13 March 1490 Pinerolo), called the Warrior, was the Duke of Savoy from 1482 to 1490 and titular king of Cyprus, Jerusalem, and Armenia from 1485 to 1490. Life Charles was son of Amadeus IX, ...

. He also conceded to the latter the title of Montferrat in case he would die without a male heir. This decision was spurred by the assassination of Scipione Palaiologos, the illegitimate son of

John IV of Montferrat John IV Palaeologus (Italian: ''Giovanni IV Paleologo'') (June 24, 1413 – January 19, 1464) was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1445 until his death. The eldest of four brothers and two sisters, he was born near Casale in the castle of Pontes ...

who tried to gain the throne, at

Casale Monferrato Casale Monferrato () is a town in the Piedmont region of Italy, in the province of Alessandria. It is situated about east of Turin on the right bank of the Po, where the river runs at the foot of the Montferrat hills. Beyond the river lies the v ...

by his relative

Ludovico II, Marquis of Saluzzo Ludovico II del Vasto (23 March 1438 in Saluzzo – 27 January 1504) was marquess of Saluzzo from 1475 until his death. Before his accession as marquis he held the title of Count of Carmagnola. Biography Ludovico was the son of Ludovico I ...

, who was also a candidate to the succession. Boniface sided the House of Savoy in the war against Saluzzo of 1486, and occupied several lands in the

Langhe The Langhe (; ''Langa'' is from old dialect Mons Langa et Bassa Langa) is a hilly area to the south and east of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo and in the province of Asti in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is famous for its wines, chees ...

belonging to Ludovico II. Boniface married three times, the first with Orvietana di Campofregoso, daughter of

Pietro Campofregoso Pietro Campofregoso (1417 – 14 September 1459) was Doge of Genoa from 1450 to 1458. Biography Family He was a grandson of Tommaso di Campofregoso, he was a vassal of the Visconti as lord of Gavi. Married to Bartolomea Grimaldi, he ha ...

doge of Genoa The Doge of Genoa ( lij, Dûxe, ; la, Januensium dux et populi defensor, "Commander of the Genoese and Defender of the People") was the ruler of the Republic of Genoa, a city-state and soon afterwards a maritime republic, from 1339 until the s ...

. His second wife was Helena of Brosse, a daughter of

John II of Brosse Jean II de Brosse, also Jehan II de Brosse (1432 – 6 August 1482), was the elder son of Marshal of France Jean I de Brosse. He would become chamberlain of the king of France in 1449. He married Nicole, Countess of Penthièvre, daughter of Ch ...

. His third wife was Maria of Serbia, daughter of despot

Stefan Branković Stefan Branković ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Бранковић; c. 1417 – 9 October 1476), also known in historiography as Stefan the Blind (Стефан Слепи), was briefly the despot (ruler) of the Serbian Despotate between 1458 and 1459, m ...

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

. He had two sons from his last marriage. At his death, Boniface was succeeded by his eldest son William IX (1486–1518), who became Marquis of Montferrat between 1494 and 1518.
His other son John George (1488–1533) became the last Marquis of Montferrat between 1530 and 1533.

References

Sources

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External links

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Boniface 03 of Montferrat 1424 births 1494 deaths Palaiologos dynasty Marquesses of Montferrat