Andreas Palaiologos
Andreas Palaiologos was born on the 17th of January 1453, just four months before his father Thomas became Despot of the Morea. His uncle Constantine XI died defending Constantinople from the Ottomans on the 29th of May 1453. This event left Andreas as the eldest son of Thomas and a potential heir to the Byzantine throne. After Thomas fled to Corfu in 1460 following an Ottoman invasion, he eventually moved to Rome. There, Pope Pius II provided financial support for the family. When Thomas died on the 12th of May 1465, twelve-year-old Andreas arrived in Rome with his brother Manuel and sister Zoe. Cardinal Bessarion took charge of their education and care. Andreas was recognized by some contemporaries as the rightful successor to the Palaiologan dynasty. George Sphrantzes visited Andreas in 1466 and called him the successor and heir of the Palaiologan dynasty. By 1483, Andreas began styling himself as Emperor of Constantinople. He issued a chrysobull to Pedro Manrique, Count of Osorno, on the 13th of April 1483. This document authorized Manrique to bear the arms of the Palaiologan emperors.
Andreas lived most of his adult life in Rome under papal protection after fleeing Greece. His family escaped to Corfu before moving to Italy. The children were put in the care of Cardinal Bessarion who had also fled the Byzantine Empire years earlier. Andreas converted to the Roman Catholic Church during his stay. He resided in a house on the Campo Marzio granted by Pope Sixtus IV around the time of Zoe's marriage. His home was likely located next to the local Church of Sant'Andrea. Despite living in Rome for decades, Andreas never returned to Greece. He maintained hope of recapturing at least the Morea throughout his life. The condition of his house deteriorated over time. By the 1480s, the papacy became the new patron of some of his companions. These included Theodore Tzamblacon and Catherine Zamplaconissa among others. Andreas married Caterina, a woman from Rome, though details about her background remain unclear.
The financial troubles which would persist throughout Andreas's life began shortly after Cardinal Bessarion died in 1472. Initially, their father Thomas received 300 ducats per month plus an additional 200 from cardinals. After Bessarion's death, the brothers received only 150 ducats each instead of the original 500. For the first three months of 1473, they received just 690 ducats instead of the correct 900. When Manuel left Rome in 1474, Pope Sixtus IV used this as an excuse to cut the full pension in half. From the late 1470s onwards, the pension was cut back frequently. In June 1478, Andreas received 150 ducats but only 104 in November due to many wars faced by the papacy. By 1488 and 1489, he was paid 100 ducats monthly though actual payments often fell below that amount. After Pope Alexander VI took office in August 1492, the pension dropped to just 50 ducats a month. Bishop Jacques Volaterranus wrote of the poor spectacle Andreas made at Rome covered in rags rather than purple vestments.
Andreas planned to organize an expedition against the Ottomans during the summer of 1481. He traveled to southern Italy where Ottoman control of the Morea was shaky. At Foggia in October, he received financial aid from Ferdinand I, King of Naples. To prepare, Andreas hired mercenaries including Krokodeilos Kladas who had led an unsuccessful revolt in 1480. On the 15th of September 1481, Pope Sixtus IV wrote to bishops urging them to do everything possible to aid Andreas's crossing of the Adriatic Sea. Despite these preparations, Andreas never sailed for Greece. Instead, he spent October and November 1481 at Brindisi with his companions. Bayezid became well-established as Sultan by October making the situation unfavorable. The Republic of Venice refused to aid Andreas because they had recently signed a treaty with the Ottomans. Andreas did make another attempt involving a plot to seize Monemvasia from Venetians in 1485 but failed again. Historian Jonathan Harris believes the money given to Andreas was likely just an advance payment for travels since it did not cover extra costs outside regular household expenditure.
In the 1490s, King Charles VIII of France actively planned a crusade against the Ottomans while also struggling to gain control of Naples. French Cardinal Raymond Peraudi engineered a plan to give Charles a formal claim on the Byzantine throne without the king's knowledge initially. Negotiating with Andreas, Peraudi secured that in return for abdicating titles to Constantinople and Trebizond, Andreas would receive 4300 ducats annually. Two thousand ducats were paid immediately when the abdication was ratified. Charles promised lands either in Italy or elsewhere generating an annual income of 5000 ducats. Additionally, Charles agreed to use military forces to recover the Despotate of the Morea for Andreas. Documents prepared by Francesco de Schracten and Camillo Beninbene were signed on the 6th of November 1494 in the Church of San Pietro in Montorio. Charles eventually accepted conditions but diverted from Naples to conquer it first. When Charles died in 1498, Andreas once again claimed imperial titles since conditions had never been fulfilled. The transfer could be seen as invalid because gaining the Morea remained unachieved.
Andreas died poor in Rome at some point in June 1502. In his will written on the 7th of April that same year, he gave away his claim to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Neither monarch ever used the title. His widow Caterina received 104 ducats from Pope Alexander VI to pay funeral costs. He was buried with honor in St Peter's Basilica next to his father Thomas. Modern historians have overwhelmingly seen Andreas in a negative light. Scottish historian George Finlay wrote in 1877 that Andreas hardly merits attention except for morbid curiosity about worthless princes. Jonathan Harris offered a more redeeming view in 1995 calling him an immoral playboy who squandered money. However, Harris believed dismissing Andreas as a footnote is unfair. The financial situation must have been precarious for Andreas to sell claims and Manuel to travel Europe seeking employment. Only Theodore Spandounes writing in 1538 blamed Andreas directly while Gherardi da Volterra stated it was due to excessive indulging in pleasures. Historian Steven Runciman described Caterina as a lady from the streets of Rome though her profession remains unknown. The idea that marriage caused pension cuts is demonstrably false since Sixtus IV paid two years' worth of pension in advance in 1479.
Up Next
Continue Browsing
Common questions
When was Andreas Palaiologos born and what happened to his father Thomas shortly after?
Andreas Palaiologos was born on the 17th of January 1453. His father Thomas became Despot of the Morea four months later.
Where did Andreas Palaiologos live during his adult life and who provided him protection?
Andreas Palaiologos lived most of his adult life in Rome under papal protection. He resided in a house on the Campo Marzio granted by Pope Sixtus IV near the Church of Sant'Andrea.
How much money did Andreas Palaiologos receive from the papacy after Cardinal Bessarion died in 1472?
After Cardinal Bessarion died in 1472, Andreas received only 150 ducats each month instead of the original 500. By 1492, the pension dropped to just 50 ducats a month under Pope Alexander VI.
Did Andreas Palaiologos ever successfully sail for Greece to reclaim the Byzantine throne?
No, Andreas Palaiologos never sailed for Greece despite planning an expedition against the Ottomans in 1481. He spent October and November 1481 at Brindisi while Bayezid became well-established as Sultan.
What happened to the claim to Constantinople when King Charles VIII of France died in 1498?
When King Charles VIII of France died in 1498, Andreas Palaiologos once again claimed imperial titles since conditions had never been fulfilled. The transfer was invalid because gaining the Morea remained unachieved.
When did Andreas Palaiologos die and where was he buried?
Andreas Palaiologos died poor in Rome at some point in June 1502. He was buried with honor in St Peter's Basilica next to his father Thomas.