Francesco II Acciaioli (died 1460), called Franco, was the last

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

. He was the son of Duke

Antonio II Acciaioli Antonio II Acciaioli was the Duke of Athens from 1439 to 1445. He was a son of Francesco, Lord of Sykaminon, and Margareta Malpigli. Francesco was son of Donato; Donato was brother of Nerio I, Duke of Athens. Antonio II grew up in Florence ...

and Maria Zorzi but had only ruled for two years (1455–1456) when the Turkish army under

Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey Turahanoğlu Ömer Bey (; 1435–1484) was an Ottoman general and governor. The son of the famed Turahan Bey, he was active chiefly in southern Greece: he fought in the Morea against both the Byzantines in the 1440s and 1450s and against the ...

arrived in Athens. The duke and his citizens hid themselves in the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

and held out against the Turks until June 1458, when they were forced to surrender.

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

entered

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

in August 1458, and allowed Franco to retain lordship of Thebes (Greece), Thebes as his vassal. In 1460, Mehmed was informed by his Janissary, Janissaries of a plot to place Franco once more in Athens. Franco was summoned to the Morea by Zaganos Pasha, one of the sultan's governors. After a long night of entertainment, Zaganos Pasha told Franco that his last hour had struck. Franco's last request was to be killed in his own tent, which was honored.

References

* Babinger, Franz. ''Mehmed der Eroberer und seine Zeit'', 1953. {{DEFAULTSORT:Francesco 02 Acciaioli 1460 deaths Acciaioli family Dukes of Athens Year of birth unknown 15th-century dukes in Europe 15th-century Italian nobility