Francesco II Gattilusio

Francesco II Gattilusio (born Giacomo Gattilusio or Jacopo c. 1365 – 26 October 1403/1404) was the second Lord of Lesbos from 1384 to his death. He was the third son of Francesco I Gattilusio and Maria Palaiologina, the sister of the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos.

On 6 August 1384, an earthquake struck Lesbos. Amongst the dead were Francesco I and his two eldest sons, Andronico and Domenico. However the third son Jacopo survived: at the time the earthquake struck, he was sleeping by the side of his brothers in a tower of their castle, but the next day he was discovered in a vineyard at the base of the castle. He succeeded in the rule of Lesbos under the name Francesco II. Francesco II was still underage and was placed under the regency of his paternal uncle Niccolò of Ainos.

The regency lasted three years when an argument between the two ended it and Niccolò returned to his own demesne. On the recommendation of their mutual friend, Demetrius Cydones, Francesco allowed Manuel Palaiologos to shelter on Lesbos for at least two months in the summer of 1387, after Manuel had fled Thessalonica. However Francesco did not allow Manuel to take up residence inside the walls of Mytilene, possibly due to the size of his entourage or because Francesco did not want to anger the Ottoman Sultan Murad I.

In November 1388, Francesco joined in an alliance with the Knights of Rhodes, the Genoese of Chios, Jacques I of Cyprus, and the Genoese of Galata against Sultan Murad. In the summer of 1396 when Pera was besieged by the soldiers of Bajazet I, his galley happened to be stationed in the Golden Horn; the Genoese community of Pera petitioned Francesco for his help; he subsequently assisted the Venetians making a sortie to relieve Constantinople. Francisco, along with his uncle Niccolò, also pledged considerable sums in ransoming prisoners taken at the Battle of Nicopolis (1396); of the total ransom, fixed at 200,000 ducats, the two men made themselves liable for 150,000—which the prisoners promised to repay as soon as they could.

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