Jacob Notaras (; ), also erroneously called Isaac, was a Byzantine aristocrat who survived the

fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

in 1453. Having got attention of the Ottoman ruler

Mehmed the Conqueror 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, ...

as an adolescent, he was confined to the

seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from , via Turkish, Italian and French) is a castle, palace or government building which was considered to have particular administrative importance in various parts of the former Ottoman Empire. "The S ...

until he escaped in 1460. He later became one of the leaders of the Byzantine diaspora in Italy.

Captivity

Jacob Notaras was the youngest son of

Loukas Notaras Loukas Notaras (; 5 April 1402 – 3 June 1453) was a Byzantine Greek statesman who served as the last '' megas doux'' or grand duke (commander-in-chief of the Byzantine navy) and the last '' mesazon'' (chief minister) of the Byzantine Empire, unde ...

, an "enormously wealthy" aristocrat from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

who served as megas doux and grand admiral to the last

Byzantine emperors The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

. When Constanintople fell to the Ottoman ruler

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, ...

, Jacob was 14 years old. Many boys and girls were taken as slaves during the fall of Constantinople, also by the Sultan himself. The Ottoman official Tursun Beg wrote: "After having completely overcome the enemy, the soldiers began to plunder the city. They enslaved boys and girls and took silver and gold vessels, precious stones and all sorts of valuable goods and fabrics from the imperial palace and the houses of the rich... Every tent was filled with handsome boys and beautiful girls." According to

Nicolas de Nicolay Nicolas de Nicolay, Sieur d'Arfeville & de Belair, (1517–1583) of the Nicolay (family) was a French geographer. Biography Born at la Grave in Oisans, in the Dauphiné, he left France in 1542 to participate in the Siege of Perpignan (1542), si ...

, slaves were displayed naked at the city's slave market, and young girls could be purchased. Jacob was said to be exceptionally beautiful, and caught the attention of the sultan when the conqueror visited the house of Notaras. Three days afterwards, Loukas Notaras was executed along with his son and son-in-law, while Jacob was reserved for the pleasure of the sultan."alio impubere luxui regali reservato" by account of

Leonard of Chios Leonard of Chios (; ), also called Leonardo Giustiniani, was a Greek scholar of the Dominican Order and Latin Bishop of Mytilene, best known for his eye-witness account of the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, which is one of the main sources for the ...

, the archbishop of

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

, an eye-witness and captive of Constantinople. ''Atti della Società ligure di storia patria'', p.256 Thus, after the execution of his father and brother, Jacob was added to Mehmed's

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

as his child

sex slave Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership right over one or more people with the intent of coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in sexual activities. This includes forced labor that results in sexual ...

Critobulus Crito of Alopece ( or ; , ''gen''.: Κρίτωνος, ''Kríton Alōpekēthen''; c. 469 – 4th century BC) was an ancient Athenian agriculturist depicted in the Socratic literature of Plato and Xenophon, where he appears as a faithful and l ...

confirms that Mehmet II took slaves during the fall of Constantinople and noted that: "As for the Sultan, he was sensual rather than acquisitive, and more interested in people than in goods. Phrantzes, the faithful servant of the Basileus, has recounted the fate of his young and good-looking family. His three daughters were consigned to the Imperial harem, even the youngest, a girl of fourteen, who died there of despair. His only son John, a fifteen-year-old boy, was killed by the sultan for having repelled his advances."Guerdan, Rene ́, Byzantium: its triumphs and tragedy, Allen & Unwin, 1956 p. 219-220 One of the concubines (sex slaves) in the

Ottoman Imperial harem The Imperial Harem () of the Ottoman Empire was the Ottoman sultan's harem – composed of the concubines, wives, servants (both female slaves and eunuchs), female relatives and the sultan's concubines – occupying a secluded portion (serag ...

of Sultan Mehmet II was

Çiçek Hatun Çiçek Hatun (; "''flower''" or "''blossom''"; died 3 May 1498) was a concubine of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror of the Ottoman Empire. She was the mother of Şehzade Cem, a pretender to the Ottoman throne. Early years The origins of Çiçek are ...

, who was herself referred to as a slave-girl captured during the fall of Constantinople. He stayed in the

until 1460 and then escaped from

Adrianopolis Edirne (; ), historically known as Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second capital city of the Ottoman ...

to Italy, where he reunited with his three sisters:

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

, Theodora and Euphrosyne. He later married Elizabeth Zampetis, and apparently was unhappy with his personal life.

References

Bibliography

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lord Jacob Notaras 15th-century Byzantine people Greek expatriates in Italy Constantinopolitan Greeks 15th-century slaves in the Ottoman Empire Greek slaves in the Ottoman Empire Sexual slavery during wars Fugitive slaves