Martino Zaccaria | |
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King and Despot of Asia Minor, Lord of Chios, Baron of Veligosti-Damala and Chalandritsa | |
Lord of Chios | |
Reign | 1314–1329 |
Predecessor | Paleologo Zaccaria |
Successor | Byzantine reconquest |
Co-ruler | Benedetto II Zaccaria (until c. 1325) |
Baron of Damala | |
Reign | after 1311 – 1334 |
Predecessor | Renaud de la Roche |
Successor | Centurione I Zaccaria |
Baron of Chalandritsa | |
Reign | c. 1316–1345 |
Predecessor | Aimon of Rans |
Successor | Centurione I Zaccaria |
King and Despot of Asia Minor (de jure) | |
Reign | 1325–1345 |
Died | 17 January 1345 Smyrna |
Spouse | Jacqueline de la Roche |
Issue | Bartolommeo Zaccaria, Centurione I Zaccaria |
House | Zaccaria |
Father | Paleologo Zaccaria |
Religion | Roman Catholic |
Martino Zaccaria was the Lord of Chios from 1314 to 1329, ruler of several other Aegean islands, and baron of Veligosti–Damala and Chalandritsa in the Principality of Achaea. He distinguished himself in the fight against Turkish corsairs in the Aegean Sea, and received the title of "King and Despot of Asia Minor" from the titular Latin Emperor, Philip II. He was deposed from his rule of Chios by a Byzantine expedition in 1329, and imprisoned in Constantinople until 1337. Martino then returned to Italy, where he was named the Genoese ambassador to the Holy See. In 1343 he was named commander of the Papal squadron in the Smyrniote crusade against Umur Bey, ruler of the Emirate of Aydin, and participated in the storming of Smyrna in October 1344. He was killed, along with several other of the crusade's leaders, in a Turkish attack on 17 January 1345.