16-536: Niccolò (also spelled Nicolò or Nicola ) Orsini is the name of: Nicholas Orsini (died 1323), ruler of Cephalonia and Epirus Nicola Orsini, Count of Nola (1331–1399), senator of Rome, gonfalonier of the church Niccolò di Pitigliano (1442–1510), Italian condottiero and Captain-General of the Venetians Niccolò Orsini (bishop) (died 1653), Roman Catholic bishop [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
32-555: A compromise by which Philip of Taranto was ceded many of the fortresses that had been retaken by the Epirotes in the previous war. Epirus gravitated increasingly into the Byzantine orbit until a private dispute between Epirote and Byzantine commanders sparked off a new conflict in 1315. The Byzantines raided as far as Arta , and Thomas imprisoned his wife and entered into negotiations with Philip of Taranto. But before Epirus could enter into
48-526: A niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos . In 1290 he was conferred the court dignity of despotes by his mother's cousin, Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos . Thomas' succession to his father's principality was endangered by the marriage of his sister Thamar Angelina Komnene to Philip I of Taranto , a son of King Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary in 1294. Although Philip had been promised to inherit Epirus in his wife's right, when Nikephoros died between September 1296 and July 1298, Anna secured
64-416: A part in instigating these attacks, apparently aiming to become the new ruler of Epirus. Nicholas succeeded to the county on his father's death in 1317, and like his father also set his sights on Epirus. In 1318 he surprised and murdered his childless uncle, Thomas I Komnenos Doukas of Epirus, and easily subdued the entire southern portion of the principality around Arta. To solidify his position among
80-501: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Nicholas Orsini Nicholas Orsini ( Italian : Nicolò Orsini ; Greek : Νικόλαος Ορσίνι , romanized : Nikolaos Orsini ) was a Greek –Italian nobleman who was count palatine of Cephalonia from 1317 to 1323 and ruler of southern Epirus around Arta from 1318 to 1323. The son of Count John I Orsini and Maria , an Epirote princess, he succeeded his father upon
96-545: The Byzantine Empire and the marriage of young Thomas to Anna Palaiologina , the daughter of the co-Emperor Michael IX Palaiologos . The actual marriage took place in 1307 or 1313. In the meantime Charles II sent troops into Epirus, but they were repulsed and the Epirotes advanced into the Angevin lands in the western Balkans , recovering Butrinto and Naupaktos in 1304–1305. A new Angevin invasion in 1307 ended with
112-562: The Epirote to his north. Within a short time, he was besieging Ioannina. He was aided by the Venetians, who under the command of Giovanni Michiel opportunistically attacked the port of Valona . Nevertheless, both attacks were repulsed by the Byzantine garrisons. In Ioannina in particular, the local citizens eagerly participated in the defence of both their city and the extensive privileges granted to them by Andronikos II. Shortly after, in 1323, he
128-450: The emperor agreed to award him the title of despot (in 1319/20) in exchange for Nicholas' pledge to recognize the loss of Ioannina. In the meantime, Nicholas tried to form an alliance with the Republic of Venice , which had wide-ranging commercial and political interests in the area. In May 1320 he sent ambassadors to Venice, offering to acknowledge Venetian overlordship and hand over either
144-427: The latter's death, and in the next year murdered his uncle, Thomas Komnenos Doukas , and usurped his rule of Epirus. While able to secure his control over southern Epirus, however, the north with the city of Ioannina were taken over by the Byzantine Empire . Nicholas' attempts to ally with the Republic of Venice and recover Ioannina failed, and he was in turn killed by his brother John II Orsini in 1323. Nicholas
160-812: The local population, Nicholas espoused Eastern Orthodoxy , used the Greek language, and married his uncle's widow, Anna Palaiologina , daughter of the Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos and granddaughter of Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos . Although Anna was his aunt, the Church appears to have acquiesced to their marriage. The historian Donald Nicol suggests that Anna may have been involved in Thomas' murder, as he had mistreated her. The Angevins did not entirely welcome Nicholas' actions, as they clashed with their own claims over Epirus. While Nicholas had sworn allegiance to
176-555: The lucrative fishing grounds of Lake Butrint , or the sugarcane plantations of Parga . Not wishing to alienate the Byzantines, the Venetians politely refused. Nevertheless, already in 1320, Nicholas began harassing the Byzantine domains in Epirus, and his ties to the Byzantine court ended when his wife Anna died in the same year. Following the outbreak of a Byzantine civil war shortly after, Nicholas saw an excellent opportunity to recover
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#1733093417527192-507: The new Prince of Achaea , John of Gravina in 1318 as the latter's feudal vassal, in the next year, when prompted to render homage as ruler of Epirus as well, he refused. At the same time, the Byzantines took advantage of Nicholas' lack of legitimacy to occupy the northern part of the Epirote realm, including Ioannina , which declared itself for the Byzantine emperor as soon as the murder of Thomas became known. When Nicholas sent to Emperor Andronikos to seek recognition of his new status,
208-408: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Niccolò_Orsini&oldid=1216225517 " Category : Human name disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
224-408: The succession of her son Thomas and assumed the regency. This isolated Epirus from its strongest ally and left it practically without outside support. Charles II of Naples demanded that Epirus be turned over to Philip and Thamar, but Anna refused, claiming that the arrangement had been broken when Thamar had been forced to abandon her Orthodox faith. To remedy this, Anna arranged for an alliance with
240-456: Was killed—either by murder or as a result of a brief conflict—by his brother John II Orsini . Thomas I Komnenos Doukas Thomas I Komnenos Doukas ( Latinized as Comnenus Ducas ) ( Greek : Θωμάς Α΄ Κομνηνός Δούκας , romanized : Thōmas I Komnēnos Doukas ) (c. 1285–1318) ruler of Epirus from c. 1297 until his death in 1318. Thomas was the son of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas and Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene ,
256-610: Was the son of Count John I Orsini of Cephalonia by Maria , a daughter of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas of Epirus by Maria Laskaris. His father governed Cephalonia as a vassal of King Charles II of Naples , and had acquired Leukas as his wife's dowry. John had a close relationship with his father-in-law, and with his wife lived at the Epirote court at Arta until 1303, when John succeeded his father, Richard Orsini . John nevertheless joined in attacks on Epirus ordered by his Angevin suzerains, King Charles II of Naples and Philip of Taranto in 1304 and 1306. John appears to have played
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