Post-Byzantine Greek Merchants of the Fifteenth-Seventeenth Centuries

by ANDRONIKOS FALANGAS

The centuries that followed the spread of Ottoman domination throughout the Greek world, which culminated with the fall of Constantinople, are generally considered one of the darkest periods in the history of Hellenism. Nevertheless, many historical sources from the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries reveal the beginnings and growth of a merchant elite of Greek origin, their economic and cultural development, and the emergence of a Greek patriotism within this same group. A revealing illustration is provided by the Cantacuzene family. Whether or not its post-Byzantine members were the descendents of the Byzantine emperors of the same name is not certain , but in the second half of the sixteenth century the Cantacuzenes appear to be the wealthiest and most powerful family of the Greek world. The theater of their commercial activities comprised the Black Sea region, Russian lands, Venice, and even London. Within the Ottoman empire, they were involved in the management of state enterprises such as salt works. At the same time, they excelled as lay dignitaries of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In the Romanian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, they obtained vast land properties, high state functions, and titles reserved for local nobility.

received his PhD from Paris I, PantheonSorbonne. He is the author of forthcoming books on the humanist and prince of Moldavia, Jacob Vassilikos, and on Greek-Romanian relations of the fourteenth-sixteenth centuries. He most recently was an associate professor at Democritus University of Thrace, where he taught the medieval and modern history of the Black Sea region. He currently resides in Chicago, Illinois.
ANDRONIKOS FALANGAS

Michael Cantacuzene was the most distinguished member of this family.' He is known in the sources of the epoch as Great Trader or the Devil's Son. An eighteenth century Greek narration written in verseBipkoc pocoasic'ov by Constantine Dapontes (circa 1714-1784)includes an anecdote revealing Michael's attitude toward the Ottoman power. In order to obtain the favor of an Ottoman figure, Michael sent him large quantities of honey, wax, wood, and barley on a ship that was loaded in the Black Sea.' Employing a strategy of a matrimonial nature, he arranged for the marriage of his brother to Princess Maria, the sister of Wallachia's ruler, Peter the Young (1559-1568). When she dared to leave her husband, Michael was able to successfully plot the fall of the prince and the exile of his family. He had already seen to the dethronement of the Ecumenical Patriarch Joasaph II (1544-1565), who had since married off his nephew, Stamatios, to the young princess. A contemporaneous scholar, George Aitolos, composed a poem that stated that Michael's vengeance was justified. 3 This same source alleges that Princess Chiajna, the powerful and cruel bride's mother, was under the heavy influence of her lover, John Giormas, a merchant from the region of Pogoniani in Epirus. 4 Giormas built a commercial complex in the center of Bucharest, the future capital of Romania, which, besides store fronts, included a church and an inn. This entire complex was to become the hub of the Greeks' activity and was named "Greeks' Inn." Giormas' social ascension was certainly facilitated by his marriage to an aristocratic widow. He rose to join the ranks of the Wallachian nobility and continued to strengthen his social status by the founding, along with his wife, of a monastery in BucharestSt Nicholas of Palcov. Giormas sought also to ensure his prestige among his peers. To that end, he dedicated his St Nicolas monastery, along with its extensive lands and Gypsy slaves, to the Simonopetra monastery on Mount Athos. Giorma's influence reached its zenith during the reign of Chiajna's son, Peter the Young, whose fall marked the end of this power-seeking Epirote's career. He was put to death by the new prince, albeit a philhellene, Alexander II Mircea (1568-1577). His progeny chose to emulate his generosity, but this time to the benefit of their ancestral land. His granddaughter Despa, the wife of a Wallachian dignitary, willed Greeks' Inn to the archbishopric of Pogoniani in 1631. 5 A few years after taking revenge for the wrongdoing of his 8
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brother, Michael Cantacuzene's ambitions provoked Sultan Murad III (1574-1595), who ordered the death of the Greek tycoon and the auctioning off of his worldly goods at a low price (1578). His disappearance from the political coulisses and the economic scene of the Ottoman empire would further the affairs of his competitor, Constantine Korniaktos, from Crete, who had appealed to Venetian justice in order to impede Michael's interference in his commercial interest. Nevertheless, Korniaktos' base was far from Italy. After a period of activity in Moldavia, he settled in the city of Lw6w (currently the town of Lviv in the Ukraine), in the PolishLithuanian state, where he became the city's wealthiest citizen and even the protector of the local Orthodox Ukrainian community, which was menaced by Catholic propaganda. The legacy of his public service can still be seen today: Korniaktos' (Kornyakt's) Tower, commissioned by him in 1580, is a monumental construction adjacent to the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, the main Orthodox church of the city. This tower became a wellknown landmark in LwOw. Despite Korniaktos' Orthodox zeal, his son was buried as a pious Catholic in a Roman church, a reflection of the family's mobility and flexibility. 6 At the same time, Yannakis Simotas, a merchant of Epirote origin, who was active in Constantinople, Moldavia, and the Polish-Lithuanian state, supported Orthodox education in the Greek language in Lithuania. This was a calculated Orthodox response to the influence of the Jesuits' schools. The pupils of the Orthodox school in Vilna (Wilno, Vilnius) expressed their gratitude to him in Greek archaic verses. In Epirus, in 1598, he built the Sosinou monastery, near the village of Parakalamos. He was referred to as a very useful archon" xe rl (t i.ukccro c ck ex cov)a revealing title by the Ecumencical Patriarchate, which also accorded a special status of autonomy for his monastery and the surrounding communities that essentially made him the lord of this region. One of his relatives, Nicholas Simotas, practiced cattle trading in the Romanian principalities. He also sold the purported left foot of St John the Baptist to a high ranking Moldavian official for a large sum in gold.? Another merchant figure operating in Moldavia was Zotos Tzigaras, also born in Epirus, to a mother who was a member of the noble Byzantine Apsaras family. 8 The prince, Peter the Lame (1574-1578, 1582-1591), who was actively involved in cattle
" (

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trade, granted him not only titles reserved for Romanian nobility but also the hand of his only daughter. Tzigaras consolidated his social position by founding the Hlincea monastery with the aid of his wife, in the Moldavian capital of Jassy (aka Iai); like Giorma's monastery, it was willed to Mount Athos, to the Dionysiou monastery. After the fall of his father-in-law, he settled with his family in Venice, which became the base for his trade. There he was involved in the affairs of the local Greek community and was a trustee of the Greek church. 9 His final request was that he be buried, like a Venetian patrician, in the most important place in the church.rn His brother Apostolos, who was also a merchant, inherited from him the manuscript of a Greek chronicle that he published at his own expense in Venice in 1631. He asserted he had done so in order to serve the public interest. Indeed, this chronicle, known as Xeovoyeit.poc, had an extraordinarily wide distribution that contributed to the preservation of the collective memory of Hellenism." Some merchants influenced the history of southeastern Europe more directly. An example is Andronikos, the son of Michael Catacuzene. A Romanian narrative source from the seventeenth century and Epirote folk tales identify him as a very important cattle trader. 12 Although he had a residence in Constantinople, he was vested with very important dignities in both Wallachia and Moldavia. In Wallachia he acquired the highest title of "Great Ban of Craiova," a kind of viceroy in the western part of the country, and in Moldavia he was appointed "Great Treasurer." He was also the sole delegate of the Wallachian and Moldavian princes to the Ottoman authorities (capichehaie). His greatest achievement took place in 1593, when he monetarily ensured that the throne of Wallachia be filled by a certain young man who was eventually nominated as prince by Murad III. This young man, who was previously known as a merchant, Wallachian dignitary, and benefactor of Mount Athos, 13 was under Andronikos' protection and almost certainly his blood relative. He is none other than the well-known Michael the Brave, hailed by the modern Romanians as a great hero and apostle of their national unity. During the period of 1599 through 1600, serving as prince of Wallachia, Michael the Brave was able to extend his rule over Transylvania and Moldavia, attaining the first political, though brief, union of the countries that form Romania today. Further10 JOURNAL OF THE HELLENIC DIASPORA

more, in 1594, Michael led an anti-Ottoman uprising seen by many Greeks as the prelude to their liberation from the Ottoman yoke. This struggle made him legendary in the Balkan world soon after his assassination in 1601 by his companion of Albanian origin, General George Basta, who was in the service of Michael's allies, the Hapsburgs. Andronikos Cantacuzene was among the protagonists in Michaels' epic and he shared the tragic fate of his protege. In 1601, his head was carried to Constantinople by Moldavians looking to express their loyalty to their Ottoman suzerain.' 4 Many other Greeks supported Michael's rebellion, serving as either officials or soldiers. Two of note are Michael Karadjas, a merchant from Chios who became Michael's lieutenant in Transylvania," and Stavrinos from Northern Epirus, evidently a merchant as well, who served Michael as a minor treasurer (second or third class). He composed for his master's glory a Greek poem that was repeatedly published and, like the above-mentioned Xec)voypOcyoc, became a favorite of the Greeks. 16 He depicts Michael as the new Achilles, the new Belisarius, and the new Digenis Akritas. He even imagines Micahel as a Byzantine emperor assisting with the liturgy in the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. 17 He sees in Michael's Pcopxfoi (Greek and possibly Albanian) fighters' 8 the reincarnation of the Macedonians of Alexander the Great. He refers to them as fighting in order to defend their yavoc (normally this translates to gender, but in this case it could be translated as nation) and 7C atei8a (homeland).' 9 This reference to the glorious Greek past, made more potent by terms used by the Greek patriots of the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries, is really interesting, if we consider that Stavrinos lived long before the emergence of Greek nationalism. The first edition of Stavrinos' poem appeared in Venice in 1638 due to the generosity of Panos Pepanos, a rich merchant who, like Giormas, originated from Pogoniani. In the preface of this first edition, we are able to realize that Pepanos' motivation reflects the patriotic spirit of Stavrinos: Pepanos sought to exalt Michael's gestures, bravery, and virtues in order to create partisans for the dead prince's anti-Ottoman cause. 2 In the Romanian documents of the epoch, Pepanos is widely known for his commercial activities in both Wallachia and Venice. He belonged to an influential family of merchants who were established in Bucharest and who

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acquired, like Giormas, a number of buildings in the economic center of Bucharest. Pepanos chose his wife from the ranks of the local nobility, and he cultivated his relations with the ever-powerful Cantacuzene family, paying for one of them to study in Padova. His brother Dona also served the interests of the same family and obtained the status of nobleman, founding a monastery on his own property, the domain of Marculeti-Codreni, which was offered, like Greeks' Inn, to the archbishop of Pogoniani. Finally, as a notable of his homeland, Dona Pepanos was able to guarantee a decrease in taxes for the people of Pogoniani to the Great Church. 2 ' The markets in which the these and other merchants of the fifteenth-seventeenth centuries were active were limited to five areas: Constantinople (and its environs), Crete, Cyprus, Chios, and Epirus. The Ottoman capital was not only a very important marketplace but also the area in which some of the merchant families had been active and powerful before the Ottoman conquest. 22 A core group emerged, due to the adaptability of some old Byzantine families. Deprived of their fortunes and dignities, they were forced to create new economic opportunities for themselves by becoming involved in lucrative activities and by matrimonial alliances. The Cantacuzene family provides an excellent example of this new development. 23 Additionally, the Ottomans encouraged the commercial orientation of the new Greek elite in order to ensure provisioning of their empire, especially the capital and the army. 24 The Ottomans were also very aware that Constantinople and neighboring Galata had for centuries before been cosmopolitan centers that allowed the Greek world to maintain contact with Italy and the rest of the western Europe. The islands of the eastern Mediterranean had always played a substantial role in the trade between east and west. Chios remained a Genoese possession until 1556, while Cyprus remained under Venetian rule until 1571 and Crete until 1669. Consequently, many of the inhabitants from these Greek islands were occasionally traveling to or had immigrated to the Italian peninsula, especially to Venice, where many of them had relatives and acquaintances. 25 Moreover, in Crete the Venetians encouraged the development of an urban culture and mentality that supported the creation of a local Greek elite. Korniaktos emerged from this elite already familiar with western manners and orientation, which may have 12
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enabled his spectacular success in the Polish-Lithuanian state, despite his confession of Orthodoxy. The Epirote origin of Giormas, Simotas, Tzigaras, the Pepanos brothers, and other merchants poses special questions. Certainly, a mountain region like Epirus encourages and supports the business of animal husbandry and the trade of its products, industries that promote a spirit of commerce among the local population. Nevertheless, all of the Epirote merchants mentioned above originated from the geographical areas north of Ioannina. An explanation for this phenomenon probably revolves around the existence of a number of impressive stone bridges in that region. This discrete feature possibly came out of the caravan routes that connected the markets of southeastern Europe with the ports of the Ionian Sea, and from there Italy. 26 Only systematic research can verify this supposition. Nonetheless, even now, we can link the origins of many of these merchants to Pogoniani and the prosperity of Dipalitsa, then the main urban center of the region, now the tiny village of Molyvdoskepasto on the Greek-Albanian border. Situated on a strategic route, it was the see of an archbishop and the location of the most important market in Epirus at the time, the market of Pogoniani, which was later moved to Ioannina under the same name. 27 The area of commercial activity of these merchants mainly extended from Venice to Constantinople with thrusts toward the Romanian principalities, the Polish-Lithuanian state, and occasionally the Russian lands. The last were still cut off from southeastern Europe by the Ottoman territories surrounding the Black Sea." Many Greeks who were well placed in the Ottoman and Venetian societies became ideal mediators in the transactions between the Ottoman empire and the Serenissima. 29 Another factor that encouraged Greek maritime activities was the end of Genoese influence in the Black Sea during the second half of the fifteenth century, when it was transformed into an Ottoman lake. The German humanist Johann Sommer (1542-1574) noted the presence of many Greek merchants in the Moldavian port of Galaci, on the Danube. Evidently, they controlled a major part of the trade at this port, which provided access to the Black Sea. 3 Both Wallachia and Moldavia, principalities under Ottoman domination, played significant roles in the commercial activity of the Greeks. Their trade was oriented toward the Ottoman market,

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which was largely the domain of Greek merchants. These principalities offered an ambitious merchant excellent production of grains and lands ideal for pasturesconditions vital for the corn and the cattle trade. Additionally, the rigid feudal structure of Romanian society impeded until very modern times the emergence of a local bourgeoisie and made it simple to exploit the local peasantry. An additional link with Greeks was a common Christian Orthodox faith. This connection differentiated Greeks from their Armenian and Jewish competitors. 31 Another factor that encouraged the movement of Greek merchants north to the Danube was that Wallachia and Moldavia never lost their autonomy. Despite the Ottomans' domination, the Romanians managed to retain their princes, maintain their aristocracy, and impede Muslim penetration. As a result of their particular political status, Wallachians and Moldavians maintained their laws regarding property rights and inheritance. This privilege was not shared by any country under direct Ottoman domination. Elsewhere where the Ottomans held power, the sultan was the sole and absolute landlord. Thus, the Greeks in Romanian principalities were free of the social limitations imposed on them in the rest of the Ottoman empire. Their good relations with the local dignitaries and matrimonial strategies allowed for their full integration into local society. This is evidenced by their outright ownership of property, their place within the local aristocracy, and their assuming of public roles. John Giormas, Zotos Tzigaras, and Dona Pepanos are prime examples. 32 The Greek merchants' ambitions were not limited to the geographical borders of the two rich but peripheral principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia. They also intended to strengthen their social position at the very center of the sultan's powerConstantinople. The actions of the Cantacuzene family illustrate the strategy used to achieve this goal. They sought to develop relations with Ottoman personalities and receive titles bestowed upon them by the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Indeed, this venerable institution not only survived the end of Byzantium, but acquired the authority to lead the Orthodox people of the Ottoman empire, making its lay archons public figures in the Muslim-dominated political arena of post-Byzantine Constantinople. 33 Conversely, in Venice and the Polish-Lithuanian state, the Catholic faith was a requirement for social advancement through high political office. Thus, 14
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the ambitious Greek merchants who tried their chances thereKorniaktos, Simotas, and Tzigaraswere able to achieve social status by charitable giving and leadership of the local Orthodox communities. In their native Epirus, many of the merchants, following the example set by Yannikis, Simotas, and Dona Pepanos, established their standing in local society by founding monasteries and offering donations to already existing pious institutions, such as churches, monasteries, and the archbishopric of Pogoniani. Moreover, some of them, like Simotas, because of the privileged status of their foundations, were afforded the equivalent of a lordshipa sharp contrast to the situation in their native land. 34 The benevolence of Giormas and Tzigaras toward Mount Athos was most certainly dictated by a motivation bigger than their desire to redeem their sins and the sins of those close to them The specific actions of these two ennobled Epirotes were not principally connected to their desire for recognition within the Greek and Orthodox world, but were related to their efforts to affirm their status within the Romanian aristocracy. They were following a long tradition that had been established by the Romanian princes and nobility: the significant and constant support of Athos' monasteries and other revered places of the Orthodox world, such as the Holy Sepulchre and monasteries in Sinai and Meteora. This generosity was inspired by the tradition set by former Byzantine and south Slav dynasts and archons. After their role as supporters and backers of Orthodoxy shifted after they were swept aside by the Ottomans, it was assumed by their Romanian counterparts. 35 The Greek merchant elite of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries was different from the contemporaneous bourgeoisies of Italy and other western societies. The behavior of the Greek merchants during this era was still pregnant with traditional Byzantine values that were not always compatible with the mentality of their western counterparts. Many of them preferred to dispose of their surplus money exactly as the Byzantine archons did: for the edification of monasteries and churches rather than for further investments or individual pleasure. Their psychology differs from that of the Greek merchants living during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries who, in great measure, had adopted the ideology and attitude of the western bourgeoisie, whose liberal ideas spurred a vigorous Orthodox reactionthe object of Koraes' vehe-

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ment criticism. 36 I believes this indicates the Greek merchant elite of the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries was a protobourgeoisie rather than a bourgeoisie. Andronikos Cantacuzene's involvement in the anti-Ottoman struggle of Michael the Brave, Stavrinos' poem and its publication by Panos Pepanos, and even Apostolos Tzigaras' efforts to safeguard the collective memory of his compatriots all pose a final question: should we consider the Greek merchants of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries as the advocates of a Greek protonationalism? I believe this is not the case. The merchants herein discussed largely sought success within the Ottoman world. Their achievements reveal the vitality, mobility, and adaptability of the early modern Greek world under Ottoman and Venetian domination, particularly the affinity of Greek culture for commercial enterprise. Proto-nationalism emerged mainly out of the circles of scholars and soldiers of the Greek diaspora, who were inspired by their humanistic background and sought to liberate their brothers from a yoke considered barbaric. They constantly preached antiOttoman resistance and involved themselves in ambitious antiOttoman plans. Some of the more famous examples are the humanist Janus Laskaris, who died in 1535 in Rome, and Charles V's commander and first Greek prince of Moldavia, Jacob Vassilikos (r. 1561-1563). 37

Notes
'About Michael and the other post-Byzantine Cantacuzenes: P.V. Nasturel, "Neamul boerilor Cantacuziniadin ramura lui *erban Voevod," Literatura Arta Roland 12 (1908): 61-74; I.C.Filitti, Notice sur les Cantacuzene du XP au XVII' sierles (Bucharest, 1936), 1-13; N. lorga, Byzance apres Byzance, Continuation de la Vie byzantine (Bucharest, 1971 2 [reprint Paris, 1992)), 117-23; A. Diamantopoulos, "H Ayxicaog," Aexeiov TOD 0QD:xixo6 Aocoyecapixo6 xat elcychiQoii 19 (1954), 108-15; Fani Mavroidi, 0 Ekkiivicsp.eic TOO FcxXxrc6 (1453-1600), KotviovLx6c ucct omovopithc 7ceocyliccrixOtTyceg (Ioannina, 1992), 133-36; Elizabeth A. Zachariadou, .6,6xce topextitcic 61,yeacycx Triv Mer5(kii Exxkilsioc (1483-1567) (Athens, 1996), 67-68, 70-72; P.S. Nasturel, "De la Cantacuzinii Bizantului la Cantacuzinii Turcocratiei i ai Tarilor Romane," A rhiva Genealogica 1(6):1-2 (1994): 171-75; J.M. Cantacuzene, M. Cazacu, "Genalogie et empire. Les Cantacuzene de l'epoque byzantine a l'epoque ottomane," L'empereur hagiographe, Culte des saints et monarchie byzantine
-

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et post-byzantine, ed. P. Guran (s.1., 2001), 294-308. 2 E. Legrand, Ephemerides daces ou Chronique de la guerre de quatre ans par Constantin Dapontes . (Paris, 1880), 498, 505-9 (in Greek numerals). 3 N. Banescu, Un poeme grec vulgaire relatif a Pierre It Boiteux de Valachie (Bucharest, 1912), 29 (preface and edition of Aitolos' poem); cf. BLI3Xiov toToeutOv neeiexov ev ouv4st 6tcap0eouc xoct e0xoug totoelac, ctexOp.evov c7c6 xtloeu; xdoiou p.exo catl:rewg Ktuvo-rocv-avourcOkewc xoci enexeLvoc. 6oaex0ev !ley ex 8LcapOecov ocxetptl)v t6'roei6v xal etc ykcirt-axv p.e-ccrykcotttrOev raxeci TOO LE@OT&TOU XOCt wyttozirou mreonokitou Movep.paolac Atoeo0Soo. Newati Ss TuncoOev Fietck sO8cov TOU enevectcrou xueloo Anoo-tOkoo 'gtycceCt TOO a 'wayvivcov, ;tat Iwricvvou Avaoviou Too Ioukuxvo6, eEc xotvliv coyeketocv . . . (Venice, 1631), 588-89 (in Greek numerals); M. Crusius, Turcograecia (Basel, 1584 [reprint Modena, 1972)), 274. Michael's machinations to overthrow Joasaph were surely encouraged by the latter's scandalous appropriation of funds, given to him by Ivan the Terrible in exchange for his recognition as tsaran act that irritated Joasaph's suffragans: D.G. Apostolopoulos, Aviylcusocc rexv51c 139cottvi5 Sixato xoct lietapigavavii vol,toOeola (Athens, 1999), 6871; Makhi Paizi-Apostolopoulou, D.G. Apostolopoulos, Acptsecly.ocia xat 8weeac at Meydal Exxkrialot, eecrinxSc Ocktg Trig socrepstag (Athens, 2002), 71-78. 4 Banescu, 26. Lampridis, H7TEEVOTLth Mekerlitilx-co: 6 (Athens, 1888 [reprint Ioannina, 1993)), 28-29; 7 (Athens, 1889 [reprint Ioannina, 1993)), 53; Andreescu, "Citeva precizari despre ctitoriile bucuretene ale lui Gheorma banal," Glasul Bisericii 13:5-6 (1964): 547-57; idem, "Din relaciile carilor romane cu Epirul: Ctitoriile bucuretene ale lui Ghiorma din Pogoniani," Studii Ii Materiale de Istorie Medie 24 (2006): 101-9 (103: Despa's donation); N. Stoicescu, Dictionar al marilor dregdtori din Tara Romaneascd Ii Moldova, sec. XIVXVII (Bucharest, 1971), 60; Ariadna Camariano-Cioran, Contributions a l'Histoire des relations grecoroumaines, L'Epire et Its Pays roumains (Ioannina, 1984), 18, 149; P.S. Nasturel, Le Mont Athos, Recherches sur leurs relations du milieu du XIVe sicle a 1654 (Rome, 1986), 227-28; A. Falangas, "Moeyeg HnstetottCw arts eoup.ccvme c xcbesc xa -ccic Toy OCYTEQO Bakxo:vtx6 Meocxicova," Dodone 33 (2004), 408-12. P.P. Panaitescu, "Fundaciuni religioase romaneti in Galicia," Buletinul Comisiunii Monumentelor Istorice 22 (1929): 3; A. Pippidi, Hammes et idies du SudEst europeen a l'aube de l'age moderne (Bucharest-Paris, 1980), 125-31 and pl. 3; I. Isaievych, "Greek Culture in the Ukraine: 1550-1650," Modern Greek Studies Yearbook 6 (1990): 101; P. Dimitrakopoulos, Aerravtoc EXactrOvog (1550-1626), Bloc ma Seyo, CIT11 p.sX6T1r1 Tow p.etalit4avrtwbv koyfo.w 'ow Avcrrokiic (Athens, 1984), 61-66; C. Apostolopoulos, "Ascovlvoc /Se33oc: "Evan noXone6typ.o.w Xavtthtng ap.noeoc TOU 16ou onWva o-triv KwvaTocv-uvo6nokrl," AvOri Xuel-cm (Venice, 1998), 13-14, 21, 23-26. 7 L.I. Vranoussis, "H ev FInsiew Ecocilvou," Ens-oleic TOU MSODUCOVLXOU ARELOU 6 (1956): 72-129 + 10 pl.; P.S. Nasturel, "L'epitaphios constantinopolitain du monastere roumain de Secoul (1608)," frrillocne6p.atcx trig ev AOilvoctc Aexatokorxiic Etrxteelocc 4 (Xaeco-Tiletov etc Avuo -tacatov K. Oek6cv8ov) (1967): 129-40 + pl. 43-47; idem and A. Falangas, "Istoria moatelor piciorului sf. Joan Botezatorul de la manastirea Secu," Buletinul Bibliotecii Romane 15 (19), new

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series (1989): 147-73; Camariano-Cioran, 88-89; Falangas, "Moeyag," 436-38. sProsopographisches Lexikon des Palaiologenzeit 1 (Vienna, 1976), 162-63 (nr. 1722-23). During the post-Byzantine period, saints and brothers Theophanis and Nektarios, members of this same family, built the Prodromou monastery on an island of Lake Ioannina (1506/7), and the Varlaam monastery (1517), one of the most important monasteries in the monastic community of Meteora in Thessaly: D.M. Nicol, Meteora: The Rock Monasteries of Thessaly (London: VariofIeo8e6i.Lou Niicrou Ibxxvvivwv. rum Reprints, 1975), 76-77; A. Tourta, Oc Moce6c6e; ma TO: L6QOp.c(TO: Movoccnipcot Niicsou Iwocvvivcov, FIQocx-rt .x6: Eup.nocrioo, 700 xe Ovta 1292-1992, 29-31 Motion 1992 (Ioannina, 1999), 34355; D.Z. Sophianos, "Ot Tcov Me-cabecov :tat yl Meo -ccuovt)o'l 'Hneceoc," Mecscumcxii 'ElltecQoc, lierxx-co<cic Entarrip.ovixo6 EopurcocrEou (16xivvcvfx, 17-18 ES7Ctsilpviou 1999) (Ioannina, 2001), 263-66. 9 M. Stephanescu, "0 piatra de mormint uitata i o pecete necunoscuta. Marturii vechi i not despre marele spatar Zotu Tzigara," Buletinul Monumentelor Istorice 40:4 (1971): 59-62; Stoicescu, 337; Camariano-Cioran, 148; Nasturel, Le Mont Athos, 157; R. Theodorescu, Roumains et balkaniques dans la civilization sud-est europeenne (Bucharest, 1999), 315-16; A. Pippidi, "De Janina a Venise: fortune et fortune politique," Revue des etudes sud-est europeenes 150:1-4 (2002): 199-202; idem, "La Chiesa dei Greci di Venezia, punto di riferimento per i rapporti tra Venezia e i Paesi romeni," Dall' Adriatic al Mar Nero: Veneziani e Romeni, tracciati di storie comuni, ed. G. Arbore Popescu (Rome, 2003), 99-104; Falangas, "Mov.pac," 390-95. 'Nevertheless, he would have been satisfied to be entombed, like his parents, at St Nicolas monastery on the island of Lake Ioannina: K.D. Mertzios, "To sv Bevetice HneteuraxOv AQxeiov," FIrcetwax6c Xeovutat 11 (1936): 9-12. "Above, n. 3; D. Russo, Studii istorice greco-romdne, Opere postume I e E)Joivcxri (Bucharest, 1939), 84-85; D.A. Zakythinos, Meta(34avrtvi xect Na (Athens, 1978), 27-28; Falangas, "MoQ$c," 395. l2 C. Grecescu, ed., Istoriile domnilor Prii Romineiti de Radu Popescu vornicul (Bucharest, 1963), 69; Lampridis, 6:28; M. Lascaris, "Connaitra-t-on jamais le veritable pere de Michel le Brave?" Arhiva Genealogic 5(10):1-2 (1998): 233-34; A. Falangas, "Cu privire la genealogia lui Mihai Viteazul," ibid., 1(6):3-4 (1994): 231-36. I 3 Nasturel, Le Mont Athos, 231-35. L4 Russo, 103-9; Stoicescu, 64-65, 70-71; G.D. Florescu, D. Pleia, "Mihai Viteazulurma al imparatilor bizantini," Scripta Valachica, Studii Ii materiale de istorie Ii istorie a culturii (Targovite, 1972), 132-61; . Andreescu, "Mihai Viteazul, Cantacuzinii i marea banie din Craiova," Anuarul Institutului de Istorie Arheologie "A.D. Xenopol" 25:2 (1988): 187-98 (republished in idem, Restitutio Daciae 3, Studii cu privire la Mihai Viteazul (1593-1601) [Bucharest, 1997), 13-35); M Maxim, L'Empire ottoman au nord du Danube et l'autonomie des Principaute's roumaines au XVIe siecle, Etudes et documents (Istanbul, 1999), 129-56, 15771; Pippidi, Hommes et idles, 53-65; D.V. Oikonomides, EevoXopt&--Accowcupcx6c 1 (Athens, 1997), 123-35. As for the person who appears to be Andronikos' son, he escaped with his life by embracing Islam, an act that did not impede his expression of generosity toward Christian sanctuaries in Wallachia and Mount Athos: Nasturel, Le Mont Athos, 119-20. 18
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15 V. Papacostea, Civilizatie ronoineasc ti civilizalie balcanicd, Studii istorice (Bucharest, 1983), 241-46; Stoicescu, 69; Andreescu, Restitatio Daciae 3:369373, 391-93, 414. 16 Russo, 114-44; V. Grecu, "Stavrinos, eine gar schtine Erzahlung iiber Michael den Woiwoden (E -cauetvo6 Otimiacc weatothrri tou MtxaliX Bos33Ovaa)," Berliner Byzantinische Arbeiten 4 (1960): 180-206; B. Knits, L'Histoire de la littfratore nio-grecque, La pariode jusqu'en 1821 (Goteborg-Uppsala, 1962), 413-14; Camariano-Cioran, 161-63; Falangas, "Moetpac," 418-22. 17 E. Legrand, Recueil de poems historiques en grec modern relatifs a la Turquie et aux Principautis danubiennes (Paris, 1877), 60, 76, 114, 120-22. "About the ethnic connotation of the term Pcovaiot in Stavrinos' poem: Falangas, "Moopec," 424-26 (n. 99). 19 Legrand, Recueil, 38. 20 Ibid., 20; V. Grecu, "Prima editie a lui Stavrinos i Matei al Mirelor," Codrul Cosminului 10 (1936-1939): 544-47; Falangas, "Moec,oec," 426, 428-29. 'Camariano-Cioran, 38, 41-42, 165-66; G. Lazar, "Pepano: 0 familie de negustori greci in Tara Romaneasca. Consideracii istorice i genealogice," In honorem Paul Cernovodeanu (Bucharest, 1998), 431-48; idem, "Documente privitoare la negustorii Pepano i la ctitoria for de la Codreni pe Mostite*" (1-2), Studii li Materiale de Istorie Medie 18 (2000): 147-58; 19 (2001): 265-72; Falangas, "Movp6c," 426-32. 22 The Ecthesis Chronica ('ExOsacc Xeovo , 9, a very important Greek narrative source dating back to the sixteenth century, mentions the case of a powerful archon, referred to as Kyritzis, who is identified as the secretary of Mehmed II, and whose name was Dimitrios Apokaukos. In aftermath of the fall of Constantinople, he was able to liberate from enslavement the future patriarch Denis I (1467-1471, 1488-1490) and, following the reestablishment of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, was actively involved in its matters, especially its finances: Ecthesis Chronica and Chronicon Athenarum, ed. Sp. Lambros (London, 1902 [reprint Amsterdam, 1969)), 30, 47; C.G. Patrinelis, 0 OsOSQ)Qoc AyakkcavOc tautOp.evoc 7ceog TOV Osocpavriv MlOsiac xat oc avx6o-coc XOyot TOU (Athens, 1966), 75-78; D.G. Apostolopoulos, 0 caeO; xia8c$> TOU FlOCTQCOCKELOU Kwvcr-cavvvounOXEcoc crco B' [itaci Too TB' aciova, Ta 1.1.6va yvcon-cac crraxecayilata (Athens, 1992), 149-50; Zachariadou, 64, 76, 163. 23 M. Cazacu, "Strategies matrimoniales et politiques des Cantacuzene de la Turcocratie (XV 6-XVIe siecles)," Revue d'itudes roumaines 19-20 (1995-1996): 157-81. 24 Bistra A. Cvetkova, "Le service des ce/ep et le ravitaillement en betail dans l'Empire ottoman," Etudes historiques 3 (1966): 145-75; eadem, "Les celep et leur role dans la vie economique des Balkans a l'epoque ottomane (XVe-XVIIIe s.)," Studies in the Economic History of the Middle East: From the Rise of Islam to the Present Day, ed. M.A. Cook (Oxford University Press, 1970 [reprint ibid., 1978)), 172-92; R. Mantran, Istanbul an sicle de Soliman le Magnifique (Paris, 1994 2 ), 139-40. 25 See Z. Tsirpanlis, 0 xtmecax6c EXI-rivcap,Oc Atacncoek xat or axeostc Ki7ceouBa-ccxavo6 (1571-1878) (Thessaloniki, 2006). 26 A. Mehlan, "Oc 61.1.7coetxoi 8e6gioc Eta BOaccivca xcali Triv TceQioSo plc Touercox@a-ciag", H ontovollodi 'WV PaA,xavo, ;)v xcoeWv ata xVota

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00cop.avo o'ic xuetaQxiac, LE'-10' at. (Athens, 1979), 376; G. Ploumidis, "H eRtxotvcDvia Ioviou xatslew its TYi .6,6o r1 (16-18c fleavvrtx6c Too B' Ate0vok Eup.7coalou H FAUXOGV(i)ViC( CYTO Eitgav-ao (Athens, 1993), 487-88. 27 Lampridis, 7:33-35, 38-39, 41-42, 51-53, 61-63; idem, Hzeteurctx6c Aya0oseyilp.ata (Ioannina, 1971), 125-29; Frangiska Kephallonitou, Mau13800lthmaTroc (1\4ok.Viocr(ERaoros) (Greek-English ed., s.1., s.a.); K. Karanatsis, "Ot en'icrtec 7[eeto8tx6c ayoe6c crTyv 'FIrceteo (17-18; at.): o ul.t.PokiiatYi ileXiTY1 TTic ep.noeoRavilyueic," Ta Icrcoemic (Historica) 11:21 (1994): 320-22, 327, 333-34; A. Falangas, "Ascension et strategies sociales dans le Sud-Est europeen aux XVP-XVIP siecles. De quelques Epirotes anoblis dans les Pays roumains," Interbalkanica, Rapports de Congres (Athens, 2006), 78-79. The decay of Dipalitsa due to the Albanian incursion in the second half of the seventeenth century evokes the similar fate of another Epirote metropolis, Moschopolis: Metropolitan Ioakeim Martinianos, H Mocrx6noXtg, 1330-1930 (Thessaloniki, 1957), 175. 28 1t was Peter the Great (1672-1725) and, more successfully, Catherine the Great (1729-1796) who struggled to extend the Russian empire to the Black Sea. 29 See the activity of the Cretan merchant Leoninos Servos during the sixteenth century: C. Apostolopoulos, 9-27. 30 E. Legrand, Deux vies deJ acques Basilicas, seigneur de Samos, marquis de Paros, comte palatine et prince de Moldavie (Paris, 1889), 31: Latin text (republished with a Romanian translation: T. Diaconescu, Johannes Sommer P irnensis, Antonius Maria Gratianus, Viata lui Despot-VodeWassy, 1998), 42-43). 31 Persecutions against the Armenians in Moldavia were recorded during the sixteenth century by a narrative source from Podolia (part of the Polish crown), the so-called Chronicle of the Armenians of Kamenets: H.D. Siruni, "Marturii armeneti despre Romania," Analele Academiei RonaneMemoriile Secliunii Istorice, series 3:17 (1936): 267-86. During this same century, the Protestants became a favorite target for the Moldavians: Papacostea, "Moldova in epoca Reformei. Contributii la istoria societatii moldoveneti in veacul al XVI-lea," Studii 12:4 (1958): 55-78; see also B. Joudiou, "La reaction orthodoxe face aux strangers dans les principautes roumaines an XVI' sicle," Migrations et diasporas mediterraneennes (X'-XVP siedes, eds. M. Balard and A. Ducellier (Paris, 2002), 243-55 (esp. 252-53). 32 G. Lazar, "Negustorimea in epoca lui Matei Basarab: strategii de integrare," Arhiva Genealogicd 4(9):3-4 (1997): 80-85; Falangas, "Moesoac," 384-87, 441-45; see also N. Djuvara, "Les Grands Boiars ont-ils constitue dans les principautes roumaines une veritable oligarchic institutionnelle et hereditaire?" Slidost-Forschungen 46 (1987): 39-47. 33 About the study of Byzantine and post-Byzantine archons: M. Angold, "Archons and Dynasts: Local Aristocracies and the Cities of the Later Byzantine Empire," The Byzantine Aristocracy, IX to XII Centuries, ed. idem ( Oxford, 1984), 236-53; Mavroidi, 65-71; Zachariadou, 63-77 (esp. 64). 34 Falangas, "Ascension," 80-83. 35 Falangas, "Mowec," 442, 444; idem, "Ascension," 84; see also M. Beza, Urme romtinetti in Rdsdritul ortodox (Bucharest, 1937 2 ), passim; P.S. Nasturel,
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"Considerations sur Yid& impriale chez les Roumains," BuCconv6c 5 (1973): 315-413 + pl. 1-4; idem, Le Mont Athos, passim; D. Nastase, "Lidee imperiale dans les Pays roumains et le 'crypto-empire chretien' sous la domination ottomane. Etat et importance du probleme," Eti..Letx-rac 4 (1981): 201-50; idem, "Imperial Claims in the Romanian Principalities from the Fourteenth to the Seventeenth Centuries: New Contributions," The Byzantine Legacy in Eastern Europe (New York, 1988), 185-224. 36 Admantios Koraes (1748-1833) is a preeminent figure of the Greek enlightenment. 37 D.J. Geanakoplos, Interaction of the "Sibling" Byzantine and Western Cultures in the Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance (1300-1600) (New Haven and London, 1976), 172-99; Zakythinos, passim; R. Binner, "Griechische Emigration and Tiirkenkrieg. Anmerkungen zu einer Denkschrift von Janus Laskaris aus dem Jahre 1531," Siidost-Forschungen 30 (1971): 37-50; J. Whittaker, "Janus Lascaris at the Court of the Emperor Charles V," Oricsocu@ftyperoc 14 (1977): 76-109; A. Falangas, "Jacques Diassorinos et Jacques Vassilikos (Despote Voda) dans la vision de l'historiographie grecque," Inchinare dui P etre sS. Ndsturel la 80 de ani (Braila, 2003), 168-70; idem, "Traits caracteristiques de la civilisation postbyzantine dans les Pays roumains au XVI' sicle. Le cas revelateur du voievode Despote," Relations greco-roumaines, Interculturalite et identite nationale (GreekRomanian Relations, Interculturalism and National Identity) (Athens, 2004), 195201.

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