Marco II Sanudo
Encyclopedia
Marco II Sanudo was the third Duke of the Archipelago from 1262 to his death.
. According to "The Latins in the Levant. A History of Frankish Greece (1204-1566)" (1908) by William Miller, his mother was "a French dame of high degree", daughter of Macaire de Saint-Ménéhould. In 1262, his mother reportedly welcomed Baldwin II of Courtenay who was attempting to reclaim the throne of the Latin Empire
.
His paternal grandfather and namesake was Marco I Sanudo. According to Miller, Marco II's maternal grandmother was "Laskaraina", a woman of the Laskaris
family. Miller identified her as a sister of Constantine Laskaris
and Theodore I Laskaris
. He based this theory on his own interpretation of Italian chronicles. The "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza rejected the theory, based on the silence of Byzantine primary sources.
early in his reign, but he recovered them two decades later, in time to leave the whole of the original duchy to his son William I
.
Family
Marco was the eldest son and successor of Angelo SanudoAngelo Sanudo
Angelo Sanudo was the second Duke of the Archipelago from 1227, when his father, Marco I, died, until his own death.-Family:Angelo was a son of Marco I Sanudo. According to "The Latins in the Levant. A History of Frankish Greece " by William Miller, Marco I married ... Laskaraina, a woman of the...
. According to "The Latins in the Levant. A History of Frankish Greece (1204-1566)" (1908) by William Miller, his mother was "a French dame of high degree", daughter of Macaire de Saint-Ménéhould. In 1262, his mother reportedly welcomed Baldwin II of Courtenay who was attempting to reclaim the throne of the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
.
His paternal grandfather and namesake was Marco I Sanudo. According to Miller, Marco II's maternal grandmother was "Laskaraina", a woman of the Laskaris
Laskaris
The Laskaris or Lascaris family was a Byzantine Greek noble family whose members formed the ruling dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea from 1204 to 1261 and remained among the senior nobility up to the dissolution of the Byzantine Empire, whereupon many emigrated to Italy and then to Smyrna...
family. Miller identified her as a sister of Constantine Laskaris
Constantine Laskaris
Constantine Laskaris was Byzantine emperor for a few months from 1204 to early 1205.-Early years:Constantine Laskaris was born of a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family. Virtually nothing is known of him prior to the events of the Fourth Crusade...
and Theodore I Laskaris
Theodore I Laskaris
Theodoros I Komnenos Laskaris was emperor of Nicaea .-Family:Theodore Laskaris was born to the Laskaris, a noble but not particularly renowned Byzantine family of Constantinople. He was the son of Manuel Laskaris and wife Ioanna Karatzaina . He had four older brothers: Manuel Laskaris Theodoros...
. He based this theory on his own interpretation of Italian chronicles. The "Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople" (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza rejected the theory, based on the silence of Byzantine primary sources.
Reign
Marco lost some of his islands to the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
early in his reign, but he recovered them two decades later, in time to leave the whole of the original duchy to his son William I
William I Sanudo
William I Sanudo was the fourth Duke of the Archipelago from 1303 to his death. He was the son and successor of Marco II....
.
Children
Marco II had at least two known children. The identity of his wife is unknown. The children were:- William I SanudoWilliam I SanudoWilliam I Sanudo was the fourth Duke of the Archipelago from 1303 to his death. He was the son and successor of Marco II....
. - Marco Sanudo, Lord of GridiaMarco Sanudo, Lord of Gridia-Ancestry:He was a son of Marco II Sanudo, third Duke of the Archipelago, and wife, and brother of William I Sanudo, fourth Duke of the Archipelago.-References:*...
. His grandson Nicholas II SanudoNicholas II SanudoNicholas II Sanudo , called Spezzabanda, Lord of Gridia and eight Consort Duke of the Archipelago, was a son of Guglielmazzo Sanudo, Lord of Gridia, and wife, and the second husband of his cousin Florence Sanudo, seventh Duchess of the Archipelago, with whom he reigned until her death.Her first...
, was the second consort of Florence SanudoFlorence SanudoFlorence Sanudo was the daughter and successor as the seventh Duchess of John I, Duke of the Archipelago, in 1362, reigning with her second husband until her death....
. Florence was the ruler of the Duchy of the ArchipelagoDuchy of the ArchipelagoThe Duchy of the Archipelago or also Duchy of Naxos or Duchy of the Aegean was a maritime state created by Venetian interests in the Cyclades archipelago in the Aegean Sea, in the aftermath of the Fourth Crusade, centered on the islands of Naxos and Paros.-Background and establishment of the...
from 1362 to her death in 1371.
Sources
- Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor) A History of the Crusades: Volume II — The Later Crusades, 1189 – 1311. Robert Lee Wolff and Harry W. Hazard, editors. University of Wisconsin Press: Milwaukee, 1969.