Francesco II Gattilusio

Francesco II. Gattilusio (actually Jacopo Gattilusio ) (* around 1370 - † October 26, 1403 , according to other sources 1404 ) was Archon ( regent or lord) of Lesbos since 1384 .

He came from the respected Genoese patrician family Gattilusio and was the son of Archon Francesco I Gattilusio of Lesbos, and his wife, Princess Maria Palaiologina of Byzantium . On August 6, 1384, his father and his two brothers Andronico and Domenico were killed in an earthquake on Lesbos. Although his mother was the heiress of Lesbos at first, Jacopo succeeded his father as Archon. He took the name Francesco II and was supported in his reign until 1387 by the brother of his father Niccolo I Gattilusio , lord of Ainos . In 1388 and 1391 Francesco II Gattilusio took part in the Christian campaigns against the Ottomans . After the defeat of the Christians at the Battle of Nicopolis in 1396, Francesco II granted asylum to survivors of the battle on Lesbos. In 1403 Francesco II Gattilusio took part in the Orient campaign of the French Marshal Boucicaut .

Like his father, Francesco II Gattilusio had close political and family ties to the emperors of Byzantium. He himself was married to a daughter of the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos , unknown by name , with whom he had three sons and three daughters. His daughter Irene married the Byzantine Emperor John VII Palaiologos in 1397 . The daughter Helena was married to Stefan Lazarević , the despot of Serbia , and the daughter Catarina to the baron Pietro Grimaldi . His sons Jacopo and Dorino succeeded him as Archon of Lesbos. The son Palamede succeeded his uncle Niccolo I. Gattilusio as lord of Ainos.

predecessor	Office	successor
Francesco I. Gattilusio	Archon of Lesbos 1384-1403 or 1404	Jacopo Gattilusio

personal data
SURNAME	Gattilusio, Francesco II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Gattilusio, Jacopo (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Lord of Lesbos
DATE OF BIRTH	around 1370
DATE OF DEATH	October 26, 1403