Jacob Zorzi

Who was Jacob Zorzi?

Jacob Zorzi was the Margrave of Bodonitsa from 1388 to 1410. He was the last true ruler of Bodonitsa.

Jacob was the eldest son of Francis Zorzi, of Venetian origin, and Euphrosyne Sommaripa, of the Cyclades. He succeeded his father around 1388 on the latter's death and under the regency of his mother. Soon before his death, Francis had ceased to pay annual tribute to the Duchy of Athens, though he remained a peer of the Principality of Achaea. In 1393–1394, however, the Ottoman sultan Bayezid I invaded northern Greece and conquered the County of Salona, another Crusader state dating back to the Fourth Crusade. Lamia and Neopatria were captured and Pharsala and Domokos were abandoned by the Serbs, whose leader was Jacob's brother-in-law. For whatever reason, Bodonitsa was spared and merely forced to pay annual tribute to the sultan. In 1403, 1408, and 1409, he was party to the treaties between Venice and the Emir Suleyman and in the first of these succeeded in ridding himself of his obligations of payment. By a treaty of 1405 between Venice and Antonio I Acciaioli of Athens, he was included so as to safen his southern border and relieve him of worry there.