- Pedro Bordo de San Superano
Pedro Bordo de San Superano (also spelled San Superán, in French "Pierre de Saint-Superan"; "Pedro Bordo" meaning "Peter the Bastard"; died 1402) was one of the captains of the
Navarrese Company in theMorea from 1379 until he was madePrince of Achaea in 1396, a post he held to his death.After the remnants of the first Navarrese company moved from
Durazzo to the Morea, probably in 1378, they appeared reorganised under three chiefs, captains, namedMahiot de Coquerel ,Berard de Varvassa , and Pedro Bordo. In 1381, Mahiot, the chiefest of the three, was raised to the position ofbailiff of Achaea by the Latin EmperorJames of Baux , while Pedro and Berard appeared as his imperial captains. Following the death (1383) of James, his successors,Charles III of Naples and his son Ladislaus, failed to maintain control of their principality of Achaea and the Navarrese Company held the power in the region. The Company negotiated between competing claimants to the principality and theRepublic of Venice . Mahiot died in 1386 and Pedro succeeded him as the "de facto" ruler of the Company and the Morea. On26 July 1387 , Pedro, with the backing of both the secular and ecclesiastic authority in Greece, confirmed a treaty with Venice whereby she was ceded rights in the port ofNavarino .On
6 September that year,Pope Urban VI declared that as James of Baux's successors had forfeited their rights to the Holy See, the principality belonged to him and he devolved its government onPaul Foscari , the archbishop ofPatras , who in turn made Pedrovicar general . Pedro was constantly at war with theDespotate of Morea , against whom he even used Ottoman pirates, and theDuchy of Athens underNerio I Acciaioli . The latter was captured nearVostitsa on10 September 1389 while trying to sit to talks with Pedro concerningArgos and Nauplia . He had to buy his freedom with concessions to the Navarrese ally, Venice. Late in 1394 or early in 1395, the Turkish generalEvrenos Beg invaded the despotate and met Pedro's forces atLeonardi inLaconia . Together the two besieged and tookAkova (28 February ). After Evrenos returned toThessaly , Pedro was defeated by the Greeks and taken captive with thegrand constable Andronico Asano Zaccaria , his brother-in-law. In December, Venice paid 50,000 "hyperper s" for the release of her allies.Early the next year, Pedro agreed to pay 3,000 "
ducat s" to Ladislaus in return for the title Prince of Achaea. He was invested with the principality, but never did end up making his payments. In that year, Pedro cooperated with Venice to refortify the Hexamilion and settle boundary disputes overModon andCoron . Following theBattle of Nicopolis , the Ottoman sultanBayezid I turned his attention to reducing the remaining Christian states in Greece. This drew Pedro and the despot of Morea, Theodore I Palaeologus, into alliance. The Order of St John was on board, but the Venetian senate refused to aid the Byzantines. In 1399, Pedro defeated an invasive Turkish army and received the titles of papal vicar andgonfalonier of Achaea fromBoniface IX (15 February 1400 ). The Christian alliance did not last, however, and Pedro raided Byzantine Modon and Coron in 1401. Pedro died the next year, leaving Achaea with his infant son under theregency of his wife,Maria II Zaccaria . Maria gave the regency to her nephew Centurione II, who promptly paid the outstanding sum required by Ladislaus and received investment as prince.ources
*cite book|last=Setton|first=Kenneth M.|title=A History of the Crusades: Volume III — The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|location=Madison|year=1975
*cite book|last=Setton|first=Kenneth M.|title=Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380|publisher=Variorum|location=London|year=1975
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