John IV Crispo

John IV Crispo or Giovanni IV (1500-1564), was the sovereign Duke of the Archipelago, ruling from 1517, when he succeeded Francesco III Crispo (r. 1500–11). He was succeeded in 1564 by the last Duke, Giacomo IV Crispo.

John IV Crispo was the son of Francesco III Crispo; his mother was Taddea Caterina Loredano, sister of Antonio Loredano. His father was reportedly insane, and in 1511, he murdered his mother in a fit of insanity. The murder caused a rebellion among the Naxians who deposed Francesco in favor of his elev year old son. When told of the rebellion, his father reportedly attacked his son with a knife, and John IV was forced to flee from a balcony to escape his father. The Naxians asked the Republic of Venice for support against Francesco III, and the Venetians had Francesco seized and deported in captivity to Venetian Crete, while John IV was placed under the guardianship of his maternal uncle Antonio Loredano, who ruled the Duchy as Venetian governor during the minority of John IV.

In 1517, John IV Crispo reached legal majority and the Venetian administration of the Duchy under his uncle ceased. Not long after this, he was abducted by a Turkish corsair while hunting. He was released by ransom and the support of Venice, but the ransom had a draining effect on his finances. A Venetian testimony described him: "The young duke, is surrounded by evil counsellors; his island is weak, his castle strong, but badly armed." He made an unsuccessful attempt to incorporate Paros in his domain, but the rights of Fiorenza Sommaripa was protected by his ally Venice. John IV Crispo supported the Knights of Rhodes during the Siege of Rhodes (1522) with provisions.

During the first decades of his reign, the Duchy was protected by the peace treaty between the Ottomans and Venice, as Venice was the ally and protector of the Duchy. It was tormented by corsairs, however. In 1532, the Turkish corsair Kurtoglu threatened Naxos, with a fleet of pirates, and Naxos was forced to buy itself free from looting, as was Paros and Sifanto.

In 1536, France and the Ottoman Empire made a treaty of alliance against Venice. The following year, war broke out between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, who attacked the Venetian islands and allies in Greece under command of Khaireddin Barbarossa. The Ottoman fleet under Barbarossa conquered one island after another; the Venetian islands of Cerigo and Egina, Cyclades, the principalities of Seriphos, Nio, Namfio, Antiparos, Stampalia and Amorgos, all ruled by Venetian dynasties, were all incorporated in the Ottoman Empire.

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