Jean II (Monaco)

Jean II of Monaco (called "The Magnificent") (* 1468 ; † October 11, 1505 in Monaco ) from the Grimaldi family was lord of Monaco from 1494 until his death .

Jean II was the eldest of eight sons of Lambert von Monaco and Claudine Grimaldi . At the age of 26 he succeeded his father as Lord of Monaco in 1494.

In his political actions Jean followed the example of his ancestors. He supported the French kings marching against Italy with the aim of conquering it. Monaco is in the limelight because of its location. Jean II becomes chamberlain to the king and commander-in-chief of the French fleets.

Jean promoted the arts and artists, he had his castles in Monaco and Menton magnificently decorated. One of the artists who received special support was the painter Louis Bréa .

However, because of their whims, the people did not agree with their ruler very much. In Ventimiglia he narrowly escaped an assassination attempt. He collected the “Gabella tax” from the ships for the transport of grain and salt, for which he was brought to court in Aix-en-Provence. Jean denied jurisdiction in Aix-en-Provence, as he was the prince of an independent state and only the Pope could decide, which he succeeded in doing in this case.

On the night of October 10th to 11th, 1505, Jean was stabbed to death in the Palace of Monaco by his younger brother Lucien, allegedly in self-defense. This eventually became his successor.

predecessor	Office	successor
Lambert	Mr. Monaco 1494 - 1505	Lucien