Carlo I Tocco was the hereditary

Count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos The County Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos existed from 1185 to 1479 as part of the Kingdom of Sicily. The title and the right to rule the Ionian islands of Cephalonia and Zakynthos was originally given to Margaritus of Brindisi for his serv ...

from 1376, and ruled as the

Despot of Epirus The despot of Epirus was the ruler of the Despotate of Epirus, one of the successor states of the Byzantine Empire in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade. The name "Despotate of Epirus" and the title "despot of Epirus" are modern historiographical ...

from 1411 until his death on July 4, 1429.

Life

Carlo I was the son of Count Leonardo I Tocco of Cephalonia and

Leukas Lefkada ( el, Λευκάδα, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Gr ...

by Maddalena de' Buondelmonti, sister of

Esau de' Buondelmonti Esau de' Buondelmonti ( gr, Ησαύ Μπουοντελμόντ) was the ruler of Ioannina and its surrounding area (central Epirus) from 1385 until his death in 1411, with the Byzantine title of Despot. Life Esau was the son of the Florentin ...

, ruler of Ioannina. Leonardo I Tocco, who was count of Cephalonia from 1357 until his death in 1376, as well as duke of Leukas from 1362, was himself the son of Guglielmo Tocco, governor of Corfu for the Angevins, and Margherita Orsini, sister of Nicholas Orsini and John II Orsini, rulers of Epirus and counts of Cephalonia. In this way, Carlo Tocco inherited a claim to Epirus from both the Orsini and the Buondelmonti. Carlo I succeeded his father as count of Cephalonia and duke of Leukas on the latter's death in 1376. He shared power with his brother Leonardo II, who was invested with the island of

Zante Zakynthos (also spelled Zakinthos; el, Ζάκυνθος, Zákynthos ; it, Zacinto ) or Zante (, , ; el, Τζάντε, Tzánte ; from the Venetian form) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. Za ...

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much o ...

in 1399.

Expansion in the Morea

His marriage to Francesca, daughter of the

Duke of Athens The Duchy of Athens ( Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of ...

Nerio I Acciaioli Nerio I Acciaioli or Acciajuoli (full name Rainerio; died 25 September 1394) was the actual ruler of the Duchy of Athens from 1385. Born to a family of Florentine bankers, he became the principal agent of his influential kinsman, Niccolò Acciaio ...

, gave Carlo a claim on

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

and Megara after Nerio's death, which he seized in 1395. He intermittently became involved with the affairs of the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

as well: in 1407–1408 his brother Leonardo seized and plundered the fortress of

Glarentza Glarentza ( el, Γλαρέντζα), also known as or Clarenia, Clarence, or Chiarenza, was a medieval town located near the site of modern Kyllini in Elis, at the westernmost point of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. Founded in t ...

, in the northwestern

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...

, and in 1421 Carlo bought permanent possession of it from Oliverio Franco, who had seized it from the Achaean prince

Centurione II Zaccaria Centurione II Zaccaria (died 1432), scion of a powerful Genoese merchant family established in the Morea, was installed as Prince of Achaea by Ladislaus of Naples in 1404 and was the last ruler of the Latin Empire not under Byzantine suzerainty ...

three years earlier. Achaea's main enemy, the Byzantines of the

Despotate of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μορέως) or Despotate of Mystras ( el, Δεσποτᾶτον τοῦ Μυστρᾶ) was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centu ...

initially seemed content to leave Tocco alone, given their shared hostility against Zaccaria, but war between the two powers was provoked in late 1426, when Tocco's forces seized the animals of Albanian herders during the latter's annual migration from the Byzantine-controlled central uplands to the plain of

Elis Elis or Ilia ( el, Ηλεία, ''Ileia'') is a historic region in the western part of the Peloponnese peninsula of Greece. It is administered as a regional unit of the modern region of Western Greece. Its capital is Pyrgos. Until 2011 it was ...

. In 1427 the Byzantine emperor,

John VIII Palaiologos John VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, Iōánnēs Palaiológos; 18 December 1392 – 31 October 1448) was the penultimate Byzantine emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448. Biography John VIII was ...

led a campaign against Glarentza, and in the Battle of the Echinades, the Byzantine fleet defeated Tocco's own. This ended Tocco's ability to intervene in the Morea, and his possessions were liquidated in a negotiated settlement, in which John VIII's brother Constantine Palaiologos (later last Byzantine emperor as

Constantine XI Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last List of Byzantine em ...

) married Maddalena Tocco, Carlo's niece, and received Glarentza and the other Tocco territories as her

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment ...

Expansion in Epirus

From 1405 Carlo controlled several fortresses on the mainland, including Angelokastro. He was invited as the successor of his uncle Esau de' Buondelmonti in Ioannina after the rejection of the latter's widow and son in February 1411. Nevertheless, he had to overcome the determined opposition of the

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

n clans, and in particular of the ruler of Arta,

Yaqub Spata Yaqub Spata or Shpata ( sq, Jakob Bua Shpata) was the last Lord of Arta, ruling from 1414/15 until 1416, with a brief interval when he was evicted by the local population. His rule ended after his capture and execution by Carlo I Tocco, who ...

. In spite of a victory over Carlo in 1412, the Albanians failed to take Ioannina. On the contrary, not long after Maurice died, and Yaqub was killed in battle in 1416, Carlo advanced on Arta and obtained its surrender in 1416. Arta was entrusted to Carlo's younger brother Leonardo II, and now the Tocchi controlled all major towns in Epirus. In 1415 he was granted the title ''

despotes Despot or ''despotes'' ( grc-gre, δεσπότης, despótēs, lord, master) was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent of the Byzantine emperor ...

'' by the

Byzantine Emperor This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...

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 ...

. Moreover, as part of the Byzantine tradition he adopted, he signed all his official letters and decrees in Greek. Apart from his conflict with the Byzantine rulers of

(the Peloponnese) over Elis, Carlo spent the remainder of his reign in relative peace. Although he had several illegitimate children, he was succeeded by his nephew Carlo II Tocco, the son of Leonardo II. His niece Creusa Tocco (not Maddelena ToccoGenealogists' Magazine , Dec 2011 as was previously thought) married

Family

Carlo I Tocco had no children from his marriage to Francesca Acciaioli, daughter of

. By a relationship with an unnamed mistress, Carlo had five illegitimate sons: * Memnone of Acarnania * Ercole * Turno * Antonio * Orlando of Reniassa

Chronicle of the Tocco

Significant information about Carlo I Tocco is found in '' Chronicle of the Tocco'' which was evidently written by one of his contemporaries, covering 1375-1425, including therefore the period of Carlo's rule.

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlo 01 Tocco 1429 deaths 15th-century despots of Epirus Tocco family 14th-century despots of Epirus Counts palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos Year of birth unknown