Irene Gattilusio

Irene Gattilusio (d. 1 June, 1440) was the wife of John VII Palaiologos.

Family

She was a daughter of Francesco II of Lesbos and Valentina Doria.

Her paternal grandparents were Francesco I of Lesbos and Maria Palaiologina. Her maternal grandfather was Dorino Doria.

Maria Palaiologina was a daughter of Andronikos III Palaiologos and his second wife Anna of Savoy.

Marriage

Irene married her paternal second cousin John VII Palaiologos. He was a son of Andronikos IV Palaiologos and Keratsa of Bulgaria. His paternal grandparents were John V Palaiologos and Helena Kantakouzene. John V was a son of Andronikos III and Anna of Savoy.

John VII deposed his paternal grandfather in 1390. He ruled from 14 April to 17 April, 1390 before the restoration of John V to the throne. He managed to keep the title of co-emperor and the domain of Selymbria due to intervention of Bayezid I. His grandfather died the following year. He was succeeded by Manuel II Palaiologos, a paternal uncle of John VII. The sequence of events possibly preceded the marriage of Irene to John VII. She is not mentioned involved in them.

In time relations between Manuel II and John VII would improve. From 1399 to 1402, Manuel II embarked on a journey of Western Europe, seeking allies to use against Bayezid who was besieging Constantinople. John VII was entrusted with the regency of the city in his absence. By this time Irene was already married to the Regent.

Bayezid had to end the siege in 1402. Timur, founder of the Timurid dynasty, invaded Anatolia and the Ottoman Empire had to defend itself. The defeat of Bayezid at the Battle of Ankara proved to be his final battle. He died in captivity. Several of his surviving sons would claim the vacant throne in the Ottoman Interregnum (1402 - 1413). Thus divided the Ottomans ceased to be a threat until after the end of the Interregnum. Constantinople was secure for the moment.

John VII remained in control of Constantinople until the return of Manuel II. He was expelled from the city in 1403, under suspicion of conspiring to regain the throne. John VII and Irene kept their imperial titles and established their own court at Thessaloniki. John VII died on 22 September, 1408.

Irene survived her husband and retired to Lemnos. She became a nun under the monastic name Eugenia. The chronicle of George Sphrantzes records her date of death and burial in the Church of Pantokrator.

s-ttl|title=Byzantine Empress consort|years=1399–1408
regent1=Helena Dragaš|years1=1399–1408

Children

The only known child of Irene and John VII was Andronikos V Palaiologos. He was nominal co-emperor with his father in Thessaloniki but seems to have predeceased him.

External links

* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/LATIN%20LORDSHIPS%20IN%20GREECE.htm#EireneLesbosdied1440 Her listing in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley.] The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."