Andrea Morisco (in el, Ἀνδρέας Μουρίσκος, ''Andreas Mouriskos'') was a Genoese pirate active in the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea ; tr, Ege Denizi (Greek: Αιγαίο Πέλαγος: "Egéo Pélagos", Turkish: "Ege Denizi" or "Adalar Denizi") is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans ...

in the late 13th century, who in 1304 entered the service of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. As an admiral and corsair, he was active under Byzantine colours until 1308, when he was captured and executed in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

Life

Morisco was a Genoese pirate, active at least since 1279, who had had a successful career fighting against both the

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...

and the Venetians.PLP 19516. Mουρίσκος ἈνδρέαςLaiou (1972), p. 151 In late 1304, Morisco with his two ships entered the service of 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 ...

Andronikos II Palaiologos, who gave him the rank of '' vestiarios''. The Venetians in retaliation attacked him and burned one of his ships, but in 1305, he attacked the island of

Tenedos Tenedos (, ''Tenedhos'', ), or Bozcaada in Turkish, is an island of Turkey in the northeastern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively, the island constitutes the Bozcaada district of Çanakkale Province. With an area of it is the third l ...

, and with the aid of some passing Genoese ships recovered it for the Empire. At this time, the Byzantines became involved in open war against the mercenaries of the

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (Spanish: ''Compañía Catalana'', Catalan: ''Gran Companyia Catalana'', Latin: ''Exercitus francorum'', ''Societas exercitus catalanorum'', ''Societas cathalanorum'', ''Magna Societas Catalanorum' ...

, whom they had invited to fight against the Turks, but who now had turned against Byzantium. In this war, Morisco supplied the town of

Madyta Madytus or Madytos ( grc, Μάδυτος) was a Greek city and port of ancient Thrace, located in the region of the Thracian Chersonesos, nearly opposite to Abydos. The city was a colony of the Aeolians from Lesbos who, according to the ancient a ...

, which was besieged by the Catalans, with food, and intercepted the passage of some Turkish allies of the Catalans from crossing over the Hellespont back into

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

—the latter a dubious success, as they proceeded to raid the Byzantine province of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

instead. For his service, Andronikos II made Morisco an admiral and gave him and his brother Lodovico the islands of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

Karpathos Karpathos ( el, Κάρπαθος, ), also Carpathos, is the second largest of the Greek Dodecanese islands, in the southeastern Aegean Sea. Together with the neighboring smaller Saria Island it forms the municipality of Karpathos, which is part o ...

and Kasos as fiefs. During one of his fights with the Catalans in the

Sea of Marmara The Sea of Marmara,; grc, Προποντίς, Προποντίδα, Propontís, Propontída also known as the Marmara Sea, is an inland sea located entirely within the borders of Turkey. It connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea via t ...

, he was defeated and captured by the Catalans, but was able to buy his freedom and returned to Tenedos. In 1306, he was back in action, and along with the Byzantines' Genoese allies participated in the unsuccessful siege of Gallipoli, which was held by the Catalans. In 1307 and 1308, along with other Byzantine-sponsored pirates, Morisco was active in the Aegean, attacking Venetian shipping off the Peloponnese.Laiou (1972), p. 235 In 1308, Morisco was captured by King

Henry II of Cyprus Henry II (June 1270 – 31 August 1324) was the last crowned King of Jerusalem (after the fall of Acre on 28 May 1291, this title became empty) and also ruled as King of Cyprus. He was of the Lusignan dynasty. He was the second surviving so ...

, and executed by hanging in Famagusta.

References

Sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morisco, Andrea 13th-century births 1308 deaths 14th-century Byzantine military personnel 14th-century Genoese people Byzantine admirals People executed by Cyprus by hanging Italian pirates 13th-century Genoese people People executed for piracy Year of birth unknown Rulers of medieval Rhodes Medieval Aegean Sea