Jacob Zorzi (also Giacomo Giorgi) was the

Marquess of Bodonitsa The margraviate or marquisate of Bodonitsa (also Vodonitsa or Boudonitza; ), today Mendenitsa, Phthiotis (180 km northwest of Athens), was a Frankish state in Greece following the conquests of the Fourth Crusade. It was originally granted as a ...

from 1388 to 1410. He was the last considered true ruler of the Frankish state of Bodonitsa (now known as

Mendenitsa Mendenitsa (), in the Middle Ages known as Mountonitsa (Μουντονίτσα) and Bodonitsa, Boudonitsa, or Vodonitsa (Βοδονίτσα), is a village in Phthiotis, Greece. Along with the nearby village of Karavidia, it forms a community in th ...

). Jacob was the eldest son of

Francis Zorzi Francis Zorzi (or Giorgi) () (1337–1388), called Marchesotto, was a member of the Venetian Zorzi family and the Marquess of Bodonitsa in Central Greece (geographic region), Central Greece from 1345 to his death. Francis was the son of Guglielma ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and

Euphrosyne In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Euphrosyne (; ) is a goddess, one of the three Charites. She was sometimes named Euthymia () or Eutychia (). Family According to Hesiod, Euphrosyne and her sisters Thalia and Aglaea are the daughters ...

of the

Cyclades The CYCLADES computer network () was a French research network created in the early 1970s. It was one of the pioneering networks experimenting with the concept of packet switching and, unlike the ARPANET, was explicitly designed to facilitate i ...

. He succeeded to the throne under his mother's regency after his father's death circa 1388. Before his death, Francis had ceased to pay annual tribute to the

Duchy 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 ...

, though he remained a peer of the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the 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 of Thes ...

. In 1393–1394, the

Ottoman sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

Bayezid I Bayezid I (; ), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt (; ; – 8 March 1403), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1389 to 1402. He adopted the title of ''Sultan-i Rûm'', ''Rûm'' being the Arabic name for the Eastern Roman Empire. In 139 ...

invaded northern Greece and conquered the

County of Salona Salona (, ) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and near to Split, in Croatia. It was one of the largest cities of the late Roman empire with 60,000 inhabitants. It was the last residence of the final western R ...

, a

Crusader state The Crusader states, or Outremer, were four Catholic polities established in the Levant region and southeastern Anatolia from 1098 to 1291. Following the principles of feudalism, the foundation for these polities was laid by the First Crusade ...

established during the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

and

Neopatria The Duchy of Neopatras (; ; ; ) was a principality in southern Thessaly, established in 1319. Officially part of the Kingdom of Sicily, itself part of the Crown of Aragon, the duchy was governed in conjunction with the neighbouring Duchy of Athe ...

were captured and

Pharsala Farsala (), known in Antiquity as Pharsalos (, ), is a town in southern Thessaly, in Greece. Farsala is located in the southern part of Larissa regional unit, and is one of its largest settlements. Farsala is an economic and agricultural centre ...

and

Domokos Domokos (), the ancient Thaumacus or Thaumace (Θαυμακός, Θαυμάκη), is a town and a municipality in Phthiotis, Greece. The town Domokos is the seat of the municipality of Domokos and of the former Domokos Province. The town is built ...

were abandoned by the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, whose leader was Jacob's brother-in-law. Bodonitsa was spared and was consequently required to pay tribute to the sultan. In

1403 Year 1403 ( MCDIII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 5 – In what is now Myanmar, peace negotiations begin between King Razadarit of Hanthawaddy at his capital Pegu, w ...

, 1408, and 1409, he was party to the treaties between Venice and the Ottoman prince

Süleyman Çelebi Süleyman Çelebi (also Emir Süleyman; – 17 February 1411) was an Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire for several years during the Ottoman Interregnum. There is a tradition of western origin, according to which Suleiman th ...

and in the first of these succeeded in ridding himself of his obligations of payment of tribute. By a treaty of 1405 between Venice and

Antonio I Acciaioli Antonio I Acciaioli, also known as Anthony I Acciaioli or Antonio I Acciajuoli (died January 1435), was Duke of Athens from 1403. Early life Antonio was the illegitimate son of Nerio I Acciaioli. Historians Kenneth Setton and Peter Lock say tha ...

of Athens, he was included to secure his southern border and relieve him of worry there. He moved many citizens and with livestock to

Karystos Karystos () or Carystus is a small coastal town on the Greek island of Euboea. It has about 5,000 inhabitants (12,000 in the municipality). It lies 129 km south of Chalkis. From Athens it is accessible by ferry via Marmari from the port of ...

, the

Euboea Euboea ( ; , ), also known by its modern spelling Evia ( ; , ), is the second-largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete, and the sixth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is separated from Boeotia in mainland Greece by ...

n stronghold of his brother

Nicholas Nicholas is a male name, the Anglophone version of an ancient Greek name in use since antiquity, and cognate with the modern Greek , . It originally derived from a combination of two Ancient Greek, Greek words meaning 'victory' and 'people'. In ...

, in an attempt to protect them from Turkish assaults, but he was content enough himself to remain in Bodonitsa and bid for

Tenos Tinos ( ) is a Greek island situated in the Aegean Sea. It forms part of the Cyclades archipelago. The closest islands are Andros, Delos, and Mykonos. It has a land area of and a 2021 census population of 8,934 inhabitants. Tinos is famous amo ...

and

Mykonos Mykonos (, ; ) is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island has an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. At the 2021 census, there were 10,704 inhabitants, most of ...

, two islands which Venice was auctioning off in 1406. His bid failed.

died in 1410 and his successor,

Musa Çelebi Musa Çelebi ( 1402 – 5 July 1413) was an Ottoman dynasty, Ottoman prince and a co-ruler of the Ottoman Empire, empire for three years during the Ottoman Interregnum. Background Musa was one of the sons of Bayezid I, the fourth Ottoman su ...

, renewed the war on Bodonitsa almost instantly . In early spring, Bodonitsa was besieged, Jacob resisted the attack. Nevertheless, he was killed by traitors while defending

Thermopylae Thermopylae (; ; Ancient: , Katharevousa: ; ; "hot gates") is a narrow pass and modern town in Lamia (city), Lamia, Phthiotis, Greece. It derives its name from its Mineral spring, hot sulphur springs."Thermopylae" in: S. Hornblower & A. Spaw ...

. His sons, including his eldest and successor,

Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...

, continued to hold the castle until Venice could send relief, but the relief was too late in coming and the citadel fell and Nicholas was captured.

References

Sources

* *Setton, Kenneth M. ''Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380''. Revised edition. Variorum: London, 1975. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zorzi, Jacob 1410 deaths Christians of the Crusades

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

Year of birth unknown 14th-century Venetian people 15th-century Venetian people