Leo Kalothetos (, ) was a provincial governor of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. Kalothetos was a native of

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

, where he is mentioned for the first time in 1315.PLP 10617 At the time, the island was a possession of the Genoese Zaccaria family, who held it ''de jure'' as a fief from the

Byzantine Emperor 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 ...

, but practically as an independent domain. In 1328, Kalothetos fled the island and joined the Emperor

Andronikos III Palaiologos Andronikos III Palaiologos (; 25 March 1297 – 15 June 1341), commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed c ...

at Didymoteichon. Together they planned the recovery of Chios by the Byzantines. Aided by a revolt of the local population and the treachery of Benedetto II Zaccaria, brother of the island's ruler Martino Zaccaria, a Byzantine fleet regained the island in 1329. Martino Zaccaria was captured, and Kalothetos was installed as the new governor of the island. Kalothetos was an old friend of John Kantakouzenos, Andronikos III's closest friend and chief aide. Consequently, when the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

between Kantakouzenos and the regency for

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. His long reign was marked by constant civil war, the spread of the Black Death and several military defea ...

broke out, he was dismissed by order of

Alexios Apokaukos Alexios Apokaukos (; died 11 June 1345), also Latinized as Alexius Apocaucus, was a chief minister and head of the navy in the Byzantine Empire, during the reigns of emperors Andronikos III Palaiologos (r. 1328–1341) and John V Palaiologos ( ...

and replaced with Caloiane Civo. He fled to join Kantakouzenos, and is attested in 1345 with the rank of ''

protosebastos The title of ''protosebastos'' (, ''prōtosébastos'', "first '' sebastos''") was a high Byzantine court title created by Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. History Although the title first appears in a document of 1049, where Domenico I Contarini, the ...

'', as an envoy to the ''

megas stratopedarches Magnús Þór Jónsson (born 7 April 1945), better known by the stage name Megas, is an Icelandic vocalist, songwriter, and writer. Childhood and interest in music (1945-1970) Being an admirer of Elvis Presley, Megas welcomed the arrival of ro ...

'' John Vatatzes. He reappears in 1349, when he witnessed a treaty with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

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 ...

. From 1348 until 1363, he was appointed governor of Old Phocaea. In 1358, he was involved in the affair of the Ottoman prince (''

şehzade ''Şehzade'' () is the Ottoman form of the Persian title '' Shahzadeh'', and refers to the male descendants of an Ottoman sovereign in the male line. This title is equivalent to " prince of the blood imperial" in English. Origin ''Şehzade'' d ...

'')

Halil Halil is a common Turkish, Albanian and Bosnian male given name. It is equivalent to the Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken ...

, who was captured by Greek pirates and held in Phocaea in captivity. Kalothetos refused the demands of Emperor John V to release Halil, until he received in exchange 100,000 '' hyperpyra''.Nicol (1993), p. 261 At this time, Kalothetos held the rank of '' panhypersebastos''.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalothetos, Leo 14th-century Byzantine government officials Byzantine governors Medieval Chios Politicians from Chios Leo Panhypersebastoi