A. Falangas, Post-Byzantine Greek Merchants of 15th-17th centuries

Post-Byzantine Greek Merchants ofthe Fifteenth-Seventeenth Centuries

by ANDRONIKOS FALANGAS

The centuries that followed the spread of Ottoman domina-tion throughout the Greek world, which culminated with the fallof Constantinople, are generally considered one of the darkestperiods in the history of Hellenism. Nevertheless, many historicalsources from the sixteenth-seventeenth centuries reveal the begin-nings and growth of a merchant elite of Greek origin, their eco-nomic and cultural development, and the emergence of a Greekpatriotism within this same group.

A revealing illustration is provided by the Cantacuzene fam-ily. Whether or not its post-Byzantine members were the descen-dents of the Byzantine emperors of the same name is not certain ,but in the second half of the sixteenth century the Cantacuzenesappear to be the wealthiest and most powerful family of the Greekworld. The theater of their commercial activities comprised theBlack Sea region, Russian lands, Venice, and even London. Withinthe Ottoman empire, they were involved in the management ofstate enterprises such as salt works. At the same time, they excelledas lay dignitaries of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. In the Roman-ian principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia, they obtained vastland properties, high state functions, and titles reserved for localnobility.

ANDRONIKOS FALANGAS received his PhD from Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne. He is the author of forthcoming books on the humanist andprince of Moldavia, Jacob Vassilikos, and on Greek-Romanian relationsof the fourteenth-sixteenth centuries. He most recently was an associateprofessor at Democritus University of Thrace, where he taught themedieval and modern history of the Black Sea region. He currentlyresides in Chicago, Illinois.

7

Michael Cantacuzene was the most distinguished member ofthis family.' He is known in the sources of the epoch as GreatTrader or the Devil's Son. An eighteenth century Greek narrationwritten in verse—Bipkoc pocoasic'ov by Constantine Dapontes(circa 1714-1784)—includes an anecdote revealing Michael's atti-tude toward the Ottoman power. In order to obtain the favor of anOttoman 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 themarriage of his brother to Princess Maria, the sister of Wallachia'sruler, Peter the Young (1559-1568). When she dared to leave herhusband, Michael was able to successfully plot the fall of the princeand the exile of his family. He had already seen to the dethrone-ment of the Ecumenical Patriarch Joasaph II (1544-1565), whohad since married off his nephew, Stamatios, to the young princess.A contemporaneous scholar, George Aitolos, composed a poemthat stated that Michael's vengeance was justified. 3

This same source alleges that Princess Chiajna, the powerfuland cruel bride's mother, was under the heavy influence of herlover, John Giormas, a merchant from the region of Pogoniani inEpirus. 4 Giormas built a commercial complex in the center ofBucharest, the future capital of Romania, which, besides storefronts, included a church and an inn. This entire complex was tobecome the hub of the Greeks' activity and was named "Greeks'Inn." Giormas' social ascension was certainly facilitated by hismarriage to an aristocratic widow. He rose to join the ranks of theWallachian nobility and continued to strengthen his social statusby the founding, along with his wife, of a monastery in Bucha-rest—St Nicholas of Palcov. Giormas sought also to ensure hisprestige among his peers. To that end, he dedicated his St Nicolasmonastery, along with its extensive lands and Gypsy slaves, to theSimonopetra monastery on Mount Athos. Giorma's influencereached its zenith during the reign of Chiajna's son, Peter theYoung, whose fall marked the end of this power-seeking Epirote'scareer. He was put to death by the new prince, albeit a philhellene,Alexander II Mircea (1568-1577). His progeny chose to emulatehis 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 JOURNAL OF THE HELLENIC DIASPORA

brother, Michael Cantacuzene's ambitions provoked Sultan MuradIII (1574-1595), who ordered the death of the Greek tycoon andthe auctioning off of his worldly goods at a low price (1578). Hisdisappearance from the political coulisses and the economic sceneof the Ottoman empire would further the affairs of his competitor,Constantine Korniaktos, from Crete, who had appealed to Vene-tian justice in order to impede Michael's interference in his com-mercial interest. Nevertheless, Korniaktos' base was far from Italy.After a period of activity in Moldavia, he settled in the city ofLw6w (currently the town of Lviv in the Ukraine), in the Polish-Lithuanian state, where he became the city's wealthiest citizen andeven the protector of the local Orthodox Ukrainian community,which was menaced by Catholic propaganda. The legacy of hispublic service can still be seen today: Korniaktos' (Kornyakt's)Tower, commissioned by him in 1580, is a monumental construc-tion adjacent to the church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary,the main Orthodox church of the city. This tower became a well-known landmark in LwOw. Despite Korniaktos' Orthodox zeal, hisson was buried as a pious Catholic in a Roman church, a reflectionof the family's mobility and flexibility. 6

At the same time, Yannakis Simotas, a merchant of Epiroteorigin, who was active in Constantinople, Moldavia, and the Pol-ish-Lithuanian state, supported Orthodox education in the Greeklanguage in Lithuania. This was a calculated Orthodox response tothe influence of the Jesuits' schools. The pupils of the Orthodoxschool in Vilna (Wilno, Vilnius) expressed their gratitude to himin Greek archaic verses. In Epirus, in 1598, he built the Sosinoumonastery, near the village of Parakalamos. He was referred to as"a very useful archon" (xerl(t i.ukccroc ckexcov)—a revealing title—by the Ecumencical Patriarchate, which also accorded a specialstatus of autonomy for his monastery and the surrounding com-munities that essentially made him the lord of this region. One ofhis relatives, Nicholas Simotas, practiced cattle trading in theRomanian principalities. He also sold the purported left foot of StJohn the Baptist to a high ranking Moldavian official for a largesum in gold.?

Another merchant figure operating in Moldavia was ZotosTzigaras, also born in Epirus, to a mother who was a member ofthe noble Byzantine Apsaras family. 8 The prince, Peter the Lame(1574-1578, 1582-1591), who was actively involved in cattle

Post-Byzantine Greek Merchants 9

trade, granted him not only titles reserved for Romanian nobilitybut also the hand of his only daughter. Tzigaras consolidated hissocial position by founding the Hlincea monastery with the aid ofhis wife, in the Moldavian capital of Jassy (aka Ia§i); like Giorma'smonastery, it was willed to Mount Athos, to the Dionysioumonastery. After the fall of his father-in-law, he settled with hisfamily in Venice, which became the base for his trade. There hewas involved in the affairs of the local Greek community and wasa trustee of the Greek church. 9 His final request was that he beburied, like a Venetian patrician, in the most important place inthe church.rn His brother Apostolos, who was also a merchant,inherited from him the manuscript of a Greek chronicle that hepublished at his own expense in Venice in 1631. He asserted hehad done so in order to serve the public interest. Indeed, thischronicle, known as Xeovoyeit.poc, had an extraordinarily widedistribution that contributed to the preservation of the collectivememory of Hellenism."

Some merchants influenced the history of southeastern Europemore directly. An example is Andronikos, the son of Michael Cata-cuzene. A Romanian narrative source from the seventeenth cen-tury and Epirote folk tales identify him as a very important cattletrader. 12 Although he had a residence in Constantinople, he wasvested with very important dignities in both Wallachia and Mol-davia. In Wallachia he acquired the highest title of "Great Ban ofCraiova," a kind of viceroy in the western part of the country, andin Moldavia he was appointed "Great Treasurer." He was also thesole delegate of the Wallachian and Moldavian princes to theOttoman authorities (capichehaie). His greatest achievement tookplace in 1593, when he monetarily ensured that the throne of Wal-lachia be filled by a certain young man who was eventually nomi-nated as prince by Murad III. This young man, who was previouslyknown as a merchant, Wallachian dignitary, and benefactor ofMount Athos, 13 was under Andronikos' protection and almost cer-tainly his blood relative. He is none other than the well-knownMichael the Brave, hailed by the modern Romanians as a greathero and apostle of their national unity.

During the period of 1599 through 1600, serving as prince ofWallachia, Michael the Brave was able to extend his rule overTransylvania and Moldavia, attaining the first political, thoughbrief, union of the countries that form Romania today. Further-


more, in 1594, Michael led an anti-Ottoman uprising seen bymany Greeks as the prelude to their liberation from the Ottomanyoke. This struggle made him legendary in the Balkan world soonafter his assassination in 1601 by his companion of Albanian ori-gin, General George Basta, who was in the service of Michael'sallies, the Hapsburgs. Andronikos Cantacuzene was among theprotagonists in Michaels' epic and he shared the tragic fate of hisprotege. In 1601, his head was carried to Constantinople by Mol-davians looking to express their loyalty to their Ottomansuzerain.' 4

Many other Greeks supported Michael's rebellion, serving aseither officials or soldiers. Two of note are Michael Karadjas, a mer-chant from Chios who became Michael's lieutenant in Transylva-nia," and Stavrinos from Northern Epirus, evidently a merchantas well, who served Michael as a minor treasurer (second or thirdclass). He composed for his master's glory a Greek poem that wasrepeatedly published and, like the above-mentioned Xec)voypOc-yoc, became a favorite of the Greeks. 16 He depicts Michael as thenew Achilles, the new Belisarius, and the new Digenis Akritas. Heeven imagines Micahel as a Byzantine emperor assisting with theliturgy in the church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople. 17 He seesin Michael's Pcopxfoi (Greek and possibly Albanian) fighters' 8 thereincarnation of the Macedonians of Alexander the Great. He refersto them as fighting in order to defend their yavoc (normally thistranslates to gender, but in this case it could be translated asnation) and 7C atei8a (homeland).' 9 This reference to the gloriousGreek past, made more potent by terms used by the Greek patri-ots of the eighteenth-nineteenth centuries, is really interesting, ifwe consider that Stavrinos lived long before the emergence ofGreek nationalism.

The first edition of Stavrinos' poem appeared in Venice in1638 due to the generosity of Panos Pepanos, a rich merchant who,like Giormas, originated from Pogoniani. In the preface of thisfirst edition, we are able to realize that Pepanos' motivation reflectsthe patriotic spirit of Stavrinos: Pepanos sought to exalt Michael'sgestures, bravery, and virtues in order to create partisans for thedead prince's anti-Ottoman cause. 2° In the Romanian documentsof the epoch, Pepanos is widely known for his commercial activi-ties in both Wallachia and Venice. He belonged to an influentialfamily of merchants who were established in Bucharest and who


acquired, like Giormas, a number of buildings in the economiccenter of Bucharest. Pepanos chose his wife from the ranks of thelocal nobility, and he cultivated his relations with the ever-power-ful Cantacuzene family, paying for one of them to study in Padova.His brother Dona also served the interests of the same family andobtained the status of nobleman, founding a monastery on his ownproperty, the domain of Marcule§ti-Codreni, which was offered,like Greeks' Inn, to the archbishop of Pogoniani. Finally, as anotable of his homeland, Dona Pepanos was able to guarantee adecrease in taxes for the people of Pogoniani to the GreatChurch. 2 '

The markets in which the these and other merchants of thefifteenth-seventeenth centuries were active were limited to fiveareas: Constantinople (and its environs), Crete, Cyprus, Chios, andEpirus. The Ottoman capital was not only a very importantmarketplace but also the area in which some of the merchant fam-ilies had been active and powerful before the Ottoman conquest. 22

A core group emerged, due to the adaptability of some old Byzan-tine families. Deprived of their fortunes and dignities, they wereforced to create new economic opportunities for themselves bybecoming involved in lucrative activities and by matrimonialalliances. The Cantacuzene family provides an excellent exampleof this new development. 23 Additionally, the Ottomans encour-aged the commercial orientation of the new Greek elite in order toensure provisioning of their empire, especially the capital and thearmy.24 The Ottomans were also very aware that Constantinopleand neighboring Galata had for centuries before been cosmopoli-tan centers that allowed the Greek world to maintain contact withItaly and the rest of the western Europe.

The islands of the eastern Mediterranean had always played asubstantial role in the trade between east and west. Chios remaineda Genoese possession until 1556, while Cyprus remained underVenetian rule until 1571 and Crete until 1669. Consequently, manyof the inhabitants from these Greek islands were occasionally trav-eling to or had immigrated to the Italian peninsula, especially toVenice, where many of them had relatives and acquaintances. 25

Moreover, in Crete the Venetians encouraged the development ofan urban culture and mentality that supported the creation of alocal Greek elite. Korniaktos emerged from this elite alreadyfamiliar with western manners and orientation, which may have


enabled his spectacular success in the Polish-Lithuanian state,despite his confession of Orthodoxy.

The Epirote origin of Giormas, Simotas, Tzigaras, the Pepanosbrothers, and other merchants poses special questions. Certainly, amountain region like Epirus encourages and supports the businessof animal husbandry and the trade of its products, industries thatpromote a spirit of commerce among the local population. Never-theless, all of the Epirote merchants mentioned above originatedfrom the geographical areas north of Ioannina. An explanation forthis phenomenon probably revolves around the existence of a num-ber of impressive stone bridges in that region. This discrete fea-ture possibly came out of the caravan routes that connected themarkets of southeastern Europe with the ports of the Ionian Sea,and from there Italy. 26 Only systematic research can verify thissupposition. Nonetheless, even now, we can link the origins ofmany of these merchants to Pogoniani and the prosperity of Dipal-itsa, then the main urban center of the region, now the tiny villageof Molyvdoskepasto on the Greek-Albanian border. Situated on astrategic route, it was the see of an archbishop and the location ofthe most important market in Epirus at the time, the market ofPogoniani, which was later moved to Ioannina under the samename. 27

The area of commercial activity of these merchants mainlyextended from Venice to Constantinople with thrusts toward theRomanian principalities, the Polish-Lithuanian state, and occa-sionally the Russian lands. The last were still cut off from south-eastern Europe by the Ottoman territories surrounding the BlackSea." Many Greeks who were well placed in the Ottoman andVenetian societies became ideal mediators in the transactionsbetween the Ottoman empire and the Serenissima. 29 Another factorthat encouraged Greek maritime activities was the end of Genoeseinfluence in the Black Sea during the second half of the fifteenthcentury, when it was transformed into an Ottoman lake. The Ger-man humanist Johann Sommer (1542-1574) noted the presence ofmany Greek merchants in the Moldavian port of Galaci, on theDanube. Evidently, they controlled a major part of the trade at thisport, which provided access to the Black Sea. 3°

Both Wallachia and Moldavia, principalities under Ottomandomination, played significant roles in the commercial activity ofthe Greeks. Their trade was oriented toward the Ottoman market,


which was largely the domain of Greek merchants. These princi-palities offered an ambitious merchant excellent production ofgrains and lands ideal for pastures—conditions vital for the cornand the cattle trade. Additionally, the rigid feudal structure ofRomanian society impeded until very modern times the emer-gence of a local bourgeoisie and made it simple to exploit the localpeasantry. An additional link with Greeks was a common Christ-ian Orthodox faith. This connection differentiated Greeks fromtheir Armenian and Jewish competitors. 31 Another factor thatencouraged the movement of Greek merchants north to theDanube was that Wallachia and Moldavia never lost their auton-omy. Despite the Ottomans' domination, the Romanians managedto retain their princes, maintain their aristocracy, and impedeMuslim penetration. As a result of their particular political status,Wallachians and Moldavians maintained their laws regardingproperty rights and inheritance. This privilege was not shared byany country under direct Ottoman domination. Elsewhere wherethe Ottomans held power, the sultan was the sole and absolutelandlord. Thus, the Greeks in Romanian principalities were free ofthe social limitations imposed on them in the rest of the Ottomanempire. Their good relations with the local dignitaries and matri-monial strategies allowed for their full integration into local soci-ety. This is evidenced by their outright ownership of property,their place within the local aristocracy, and their assuming of pub-lic roles. John Giormas, Zotos Tzigaras, and Dona Pepanos areprime examples. 32

The Greek merchants' ambitions were not limited to the geo-graphical borders of the two rich but peripheral principalities ofWallachia and Moldavia. They also intended to strengthen theirsocial position at the very center of the sultan's power—Constan-tinople. The actions of the Cantacuzene family illustrate the strat-egy used to achieve this goal. They sought to develop relationswith Ottoman personalities and receive titles bestowed upon themby the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Indeed, this venerable institutionnot only survived the end of Byzantium, but acquired the author-ity to lead the Orthodox people of the Ottoman empire, makingits lay archons public figures in the Muslim-dominated politicalarena of post-Byzantine Constantinople. 33 Conversely, in Veniceand the Polish-Lithuanian state, the Catholic faith was a require-ment for social advancement through high political office. Thus,


the ambitious Greek merchants who tried their chances there-Korniaktos, Simotas, and Tzigaras—were able to achieve socialstatus by charitable giving and leadership of the local Orthodoxcommunities.

In their native Epirus, many of the merchants, following theexample set by Yannikis, Simotas, and Dona Pepanos, establishedtheir standing in local society by founding monasteries and offeringdonations to already existing pious institutions, such as churches,monasteries, and the archbishopric of Pogoniani. Moreover, someof them, like Simotas, because of the privileged status of theirfoundations, were afforded the equivalent of a lordship—a sharpcontrast to the situation in their native land. 34 The benevolence ofGiormas and Tzigaras toward Mount Athos was most certainlydictated by a motivation bigger than their desire to redeem theirsins and the sins of those close to them The specific actions of thesetwo ennobled Epirotes were not principally connected to theirdesire for recognition within the Greek and Orthodox world, butwere related to their efforts to affirm their status within theRomanian aristocracy. They were following a long tradition thathad been established by the Romanian princes and nobility: thesignificant and constant support of Athos' monasteries and otherrevered places of the Orthodox world, such as the Holy Sepulchreand monasteries in Sinai and Meteora. This generosity wasinspired by the tradition set by former Byzantine and south Slavdynasts and archons. After their role as supporters and backers ofOrthodoxy shifted after they were swept aside by the Ottomans, itwas assumed by their Romanian counterparts. 35

The Greek merchant elite of the sixteenth and seventeenthcenturies was different from the contemporaneous bourgeoisies ofItaly and other western societies. The behavior of the Greek mer-chants during this era was still pregnant with traditional Byzan-tine values that were not always compatible with the mentality oftheir western counterparts. Many of them preferred to dispose oftheir surplus money exactly as the Byzantine archons did: for theedification of monasteries and churches rather than for furtherinvestments or individual pleasure. Their psychology differs fromthat of the Greek merchants living during the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries who, in great measure, had adopted the ide-ology and attitude of the western bourgeoisie, whose liberal ideasspurred a vigorous Orthodox reaction—the object of Koraes' vehe-


ment criticism. 36 I believes this indicates the Greek merchant eliteof the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries was a proto-bourgeoisie rather than a bourgeoisie.

Andronikos Cantacuzene's involvement in the anti-Ottomanstruggle of Michael the Brave, Stavrinos' poem and its publicationby Panos Pepanos, and even Apostolos Tzigaras' efforts to safe-guard the collective memory of his compatriots all pose a finalquestion: should we consider the Greek merchants of the sixteenthand seventeenth centuries as the advocates of a Greek proto-nationalism? I believe this is not the case. The merchants hereindiscussed largely sought success within the Ottoman world. Theirachievements reveal the vitality, mobility, and adaptability of theearly modern Greek world under Ottoman and Venetian domina-tion, particularly the affinity of Greek culture for commercialenterprise. Proto-nationalism emerged mainly out of the circles ofscholars and soldiers of the Greek diaspora, who were inspired bytheir humanistic background and sought to liberate their brothersfrom a yoke considered barbaric. They constantly preached anti-Ottoman resistance and involved themselves in ambitious anti-Ottoman plans. Some of the more famous examples are thehumanist Janus Laskaris, who died in 1535 in Rome, and CharlesV's commander and first Greek prince of Moldavia, Jacob Vassi-likos (r. 1561-1563). 37

Notes

'About Michael and the other post-Byzantine Cantacuzenes: P.V. Nasturel,"Neamul boerilor Cantacuziniadin ramura lui *erban Voevod," LiteraturaArta Roland 12 (1908): 61-74; I.C.Filitti, Notice sur les Cantacuzene du XP auXVII' sierles (Bucharest, 1936), 1-13; N. lorga, Byzance apres Byzance, Continua-tion de la Vie byzantine (Bucharest, 1971 2 [reprint Paris, 1992)), 117-23; A. Dia-mantopoulos, "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 TrivMer5(kii Exxkilsioc (1483-1567) (Athens, 1996), 67-68, 70-72; P.S. Nasturel,"De la Cantacuzinii Bizantului la Cantacuzinii Turcocratiei §i ai TarilorRomane," A rhiva Genealogica- 1(6):1-2 (1994): 171-75; J.M. Cantacuzene,M. Cazacu, "Genêalogie et empire. Les Cantacuzene de l'epoque byzantine al'epoque ottomane," L'empereur hagiographe, Culte des saints et monarchie byzantine


et post-byzantine, ed. P. Guran (s.1., 2001), 294-308.2E. Legrand, Ephemerides daces ou Chronique de la guerre de quatre ans par Con-

stantin Dapontes . (Paris, 1880), 498, 505-9 (in Greek numerals).3N. Banescu, Un poeme grec vulgaire relatif a Pierre It Boiteux de Valachie

(Bucharest, 1912), 29 (preface and edition of Aitolos' poem); cf. BLI3XiovtoToeutOv neeiexov ev ouv4st 6tcap0eouc xoct e0xoug totoelac, ctexOp.evov c7c6xtloeu; 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 raxeciTOO LE@OT&TOU XOCt wyttozirou mreonokitou Movep.paolac Atoeo0Soo. Newati SsTuncoOev Fietck sO8cov TOU enevectócrou xueloo Anoo-tOkoo 'gtycceCt TOO a 'way-vivcov, ;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 Joasaphwere surely encouraged by the latter's scandalous appropriation of funds, givento him by Ivan the Terrible in exchange for his recognition as tsar—an act thatirritated Joasaph's suffragans: D.G. Apostolopoulos, Aviylcusocc rexv51c

139cottvi5 Sixato xoct «lietapigavavii vol,toOeola» (Athens, 1999), 68-71; Makhi Paizi-Apostolopoulou, D.G. Apostolopoulos, Acptsecly.ocia xat8weeac at Meydal Exxkrialot, eecrinxSc Ocktg Trig socrepstag (Athens, 2002),71-78.

4Banescu, 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 bucure§tene ale lui Gheorma banal," GlasulBisericii 13:5-6 (1964): 547-57; idem, "Din relaciile carilor romane cu Epirul:Ctitoriile bucure§tene ale lui Ghiorma din Pogoniani," Studii Ii Materiale de Isto-rie Medie 24 (2006): 101-9 (103: Despa's donation); N. Stoicescu, Dictionar almarilor dregdtori din Tara Romaneascd Ii Moldova, sec. XIV—XVII (Bucharest,1971), 60; Ariadna Camariano-Cioran, Contributions a l'Histoire des relations greco-roumaines, L'Epire et Its Pays roumains (Ioannina, 1984), 18, 149; P.S. Nasturel, LeMont Athos, Recherches sur leurs relations du milieu du XIVe siècle a 1654 (Rome,1986), 227-28; A. Falangas, "Moeyeg HnstetottCw arts eoup.ccvmec xcbesc xa -ccicToy OCYTEQO Bakxo:vtx6 Meocxicova," Dodone 33 (2004), 408-12.

P.P. Panaitescu, "Fundaciuni religioase romane§ti in Galicia," BuletinulComisiunii Monumentelor Istorice 22 (1929): 3; A. Pippidi, Hammes et idies du Sud-Est 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 StudiesYearbook 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: "EvannoXone6typ.o.w Xavtthtng ap.noeoc TOU 16ou onWva o-triv KwvaTocv-uvo6nokrl,"AvOri Xuel-cm (Venice, 1998), 13-14, 21, 23-26.

7L.I. Vranoussis, "H ev FInsiew Ecocilvou," Ens-oleic TOU MSODUCOVLXOU

ARELOU 6 (1956): 72-129 + 10 pl.; P.S. Nasturel, "L'epitaphios constantinopo-litain du monastere roumain de Secoul (1608)," frrillocne6p.atcx trig ev AOilvoctcAexatokorxiic Etrxteelocc 4 (Xaeco-Tiletov etc Avuo -tacatov K. Oek6cv8ov) (1967):129-40 + pl. 43-47; idem and A. Falangas, "Istoria moa§telor piciorului sf. JoanBotezatorul de la manastirea Secu," Buletinul Bibliotecii Romane 15 (19), new


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 Theophanisand Nektarios, members of this same family, built the Prodromou monasteryon an island of Lake Ioannina (1506/7), and the Varlaam monastery (1517), oneof the most important monasteries in the monastic community of Meteora inThessaly: D.M. Nicol, Meteora: The Rock Monasteries of Thessaly (London: Vario-rum Reprints, 1975), 76-77; A. Tourta, fIeo8e6i.Lou Niicrou Ibxxvvivwv.Oc Moce6c6e; ma TO: L6QOp.c(TO: Movoccnipcot Niicsou Iwocvvivcov, FIQocx-rt .x6:Eup.nocrioo, 700 xeOvta 1292-1992, 29-31 Motion 1992 (Ioannina, 1999), 343-55; D.Z. Sophianos, "Ot Tcov Me-cabecov :tat yl Meo -ccuovt)o'l 'Hneceoc,"Mecscumcxii 'ElltecQoc, lierxx-co<cic Entarrip.ovixo6 EopurcocrEou (16xivvcvfx, 17-18ES7Ctsilpviou 1999) (Ioannina, 2001), 263-66.

9M. Stephanescu, "0 piatra de mormint uitata §i o pecete necunoscuta.Marturii vechi §i not despre marele spatar Zotu Tzigara," Buletinul MonumentelorIstorice 40:4 (1971): 59-62; Stoicescu, 337; Camariano-Cioran, 148; Nasturel,Le Mont Athos, 157; R. Theodorescu, Roumains et balkaniques dans la civilizationsud-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 rap-porti tra Venezia e i Paesi romeni," Dall' Adriatic° al Mar Nero: Veneziani eRomeni, 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 par-ents, 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(Bucharest, 1939), 84-85; D.A. Zakythinos, Meta(34avrtvi xect Nae E)Joivcxri(Athens, 1978), 27-28; Falangas, "MoQ$c," 395.

l2C. Grecescu, ed., Istoriile domnilor Prii Romineiti de Radu Popescu vornicul(Bucharest, 1963), 69; Lampridis, 6:28; M. Lascaris, "Connaitra-t-on jamais leveritable 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 3Nasturel, Le Mont Athos, 231-35.L4Russo, 103-9; Stoicescu, 64-65, 70-71; G.D. Florescu, D. Ple§ia, "Mihai

Viteazul—urma§ al imparatilor bizantini," Scripta Valachica, Studii Ii materialede istorie Ii istorie a culturii (Targovi§te, 1972), 132-61; §. Andreescu, "MihaiViteazul, Cantacuzinii §i marea banie din Craiova," Anuarul Institutului de Isto-rie Arheologie "A.D. Xenopol" 25:2 (1988): 187-98 (republished in idem, Resti-tutio 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 Princi-

paute's roumaines au XVIe siecle, Etudes et documents (Istanbul, 1999), 129-56, 157-71; Pippidi, Hommes et idles, 53-65; D.V. Oikonomides,EevoXopt&--Accowcupcx6c 1 (Athens, 1997), 123-35. As for the person whoappears to be Andronikos' son, he escaped with his life by embracing Islam, anact that did not impede his expression of generosity toward Christian sanctuar-ies in Wallachia and Mount Athos: Nasturel, Le Mont Athos, 119-20.


15V. Papacostea, Civilizatie ronoineasc ti civilizalie balcanicd, Studii istorice(Bucharest, 1983), 241-46; Stoicescu, 69; Andreescu, Restitatio Daciae 3:369-373, 391-93, 414.

16Russo, 114-44; V. Grecu, "Stavrinos, eine gar schtine Erzahlung iiberMichael den Woiwoden (E -cauetvo6 Otimiacc weatothrri tou MtxaliX Bos-33Ovaa)," Berliner Byzantinische Arbeiten 4 (1960): 180-206; B. Knits, L'Histoirede la littfratore nio-grecque, La pariode jusqu'en 1821 (Goteborg-Uppsala, 1962),413-14; Camariano-Cioran, 161-63; Falangas, "Moetpac," 418-22.

17E. Legrand, Recueil de poems historiques en grec modern relatifs a la Turquieet 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).

19Legrand, Recueil, 38.20Ibid., 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," Inhonorem Paul Cernovodeanu (Bucharest, 1998), 431-48; idem, "Documente priv-itoare la negustorii Pepano §i la ctitoria for de la Codreni pe «Mosti§te*" (1-2),Studii li Materiale de Istorie Medie 18 (2000): 147-58; 19 (2001): 265-72; Falan-gas, "Movp6c," 426-32.

22The Ecthesis Chronica ('ExOsacc Xeovo, 9, a very important Greek narra-tive source dating back to the sixteenth century, mentions the case of a power-ful archon, referred to as Kyritzis, who is identified as the secretary of MehmedII, and whose name was Dimitrios Apokaukos. In aftermath of the fall of Con-stantinople, he was able to liberate from enslavement the future patriarch DenisI (1467-1471, 1488-1490) and, following the reestablishment of the Ecumeni-cal 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 AyakkcavOctautOp.evoc 7ceog TOV Osocpavriv MlOsiac xat oc avéx6o-coc XOyot TOU (Athens,1966), 75-78; D.G. Apostolopoulos, 0 «caeO; xia8c$> TOU FlOCTQCOCKELOU Kwv-cr-cavvvounOXEcoc crco B' [itaci Too TB' aciova, Ta 1.1.6va yvcon-cac crraxecayilata(Athens, 1992), 149-50; Zachariadou, 64, 76, 163.

23M. Cazacu, "Strategies matrimoniales et politiques des Cantacuzene de laTurcocratie (XV6-XVIe siecles)," Revue d'itudes roumaines 19-20 (1995-1996):157-81.

24Bistra A. Cvetkova, "Le service des ce/ep et le ravitaillement en betail dansl'Empire ottoman," Etudes historiques 3 (1966): 145-75; eadem, "Les celep et leurrole 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 Pre-sent Day, ed. M.A. Cook (Oxford University Press, 1970 [reprint ibid., 1978)),172-92; R. Mantran, Istanbul an siècle de Soliman le Magnifique (Paris, 19942),139-40.

25See Z. Tsirpanlis, 0 xtmecax6c EXI-rivcap,Oc Atacncoek xat or axeostcKi7ceou—Ba-ccxavo6 (1571-1878) (Thessaloniki, 2006).

26A. Mehlan, "Oc 61.1.7coetxoi 8e6gioc Eta BOaccivca xcali Triv TceQioSo plcTouercox@a-ciag", H ontovollodi 'WV PaA,xavo, ;)v xcoeWv ata xVota


00cop.avo,o'ic xuetaQxiac, LE'-10' at. (Athens, 1979), 376; G. Ploumidis, "HeRtxotvcDvia Ioviou xatslew its TYi .6,6o-r1 (16°-18°c fleavvrtx6c Too B'Ate0vok Eup.7coalou H FAUXOGV(i)ViC( CYTO Eitgav-ao (Athens, 1993), 487-88.

27Lampridis, 7:33-35, 38-39, 41-42, 51-53, 61-63; idem, Hzeteurctx6cAya0oseyilp.ata (Ioannina, 1971), 125-29; Frangiska Kephallonitou, Mau13-800lthmaTroc (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 ileXiTY1TTic ep.noeoRavilyueic," Ta Icrcoemic (Historica) 11:21 (1994): 320-22, 327,333-34; A. Falangas, "Ascension et strategies sociales dans le Sud-Est europeenaux XVP-XVIP siecles. De quelques Epirotes anoblis dans les Pays roumains,"Interbalkanica, Rapports de Congres (Athens, 2006), 78-79. The decay of Dipalitsadue to the Albanian incursion in the second half of the seventeenth centuryevokes the similar fate of another Epirote metropolis, Moschopolis: Metropoli-tan Ioakeim Martinianos, H Mocrx6noXtg, 1330-1930 (Thessaloniki, 1957),175.

281t was Peter the Great (1672-1725) and, more successfully, Catherine theGreat (1729-1796) who struggled to extend the Russian empire to the BlackSea.

29See the activity of the Cretan merchant Leoninos Servos during the six-teenth century: C. Apostolopoulos, 9-27.

30E. Legrand, Deux vies deJ acques Basilicas, seigneur de Samos, marquis de Paros,comte palatine et prince de Moldavie (Paris, 1889), 31: Latin text (republished witha Romanian translation: T. Diaconescu, Johannes Sommer P irnensis, AntoniusMaria Gratianus, Viata lui Despot-VodeWassy, 1998), 42-43).

31 Persecutions against the Armenians in Moldavia were recorded duringthe sixteenth century by a narrative source from Podolia (part of the Polishcrown), the so-called Chronicle of the Armenians of Kamenets: H.D. Siruni,"Marturii armene§ti despre Romania," Analele Academiei Ronane—MemoriileSecliunii Istorice, series 3:17 (1936): 267-86. During this same century, theProtestants became a favorite target for the Moldavians: Papacostea,"Moldova in epoca Reformei. Contributii la istoria societatii moldovene§ti inveacul al XVI-lea," Studii 12:4 (1958): 55-78; see also B. Joudiou, "La reactionorthodoxe face aux strangers dans les principautes roumaines an XVI' siècle,"Migrations et diasporas mediterraneennes (X'-XVP siedes, eds. M. Balard and A.Ducellier (Paris, 2002), 243-55 (esp. 252-53).

32G. Lazar, "Negustorimea in epoca lui Matei Basarab: strategii de inte-grare," 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 prin-cipautes roumaines une veritable oligarchic institutionnelle et hereditaire?"Slidost-Forschungen 46 (1987): 39-47.

33About the study of Byzantine and post-Byzantine archons: M. Angold,"Archons and Dynasts: Local Aristocracies and the Cities of the Later ByzantineEmpire," The Byzantine Aristocracy, IX to XII Centuries, ed. idem ( Oxford, 1984),236-53; Mavroidi, 65-71; Zachariadou, 63-77 (esp. 64).

34Falangas, "Ascension," 80-83.35Falangas, "Mowec," 442, 444; idem, "Ascension," 84; see also M. Beza,

Urme romtinetti in Rdsdritul ortodox (Bucharest, 1937 2), passim; P.S. Nasturel,


"Considerations sur Yid& impêriale chez les Roumains," BuCconv6c 5 (1973):315-413 + pl. 1-4; idem, Le Mont Athos, passim; D. Nastase, "Lidee imperialedans les Pays roumains et le 'crypto-empire chretien' sous la dominationottomane. Etat et importance du probleme," Eti..Letx-rac 4 (1981): 201-50;idem, "Imperial Claims in the Romanian Principalities from the Fourteenth tothe Seventeenth Centuries: New Contributions," The Byzantine Legacy in East-ern Europe (New York, 1988), 185-224.

36Admantios Koraes (1748-1833) is a preeminent figure of the Greekenlightenment.

37D.J. Geanakoplos, Interaction of the "Sibling" Byzantine and Western Culturesin the Middle Ages and Italian Renaissance (1300-1600) (New Haven and London,1976), 172-99; Zakythinos, passim; R. Binner, "Griechische Emigration andTiirkenkrieg. Anmerkungen zu einer Denkschrift von Janus Laskaris aus demJahre 1531," Siidost-Forschungen 30 (1971): 37-50; J. Whittaker, "Janus Lascarisat the Court of the Emperor Charles V," Oricsocu@ftyperoc 14 (1977): 76-109; A.Falangas, "Jacques Diassorinos et Jacques Vassilikos (Despote Voda) dans lavision de l'historiographie grecque," Inchinare dui P etre sS. Ndsturel la 80 de ani(Braila, 2003), 168-70; idem, "Traits caracteristiques de la civilisation post-byzantine dans les Pays roumains au XVI' siècle. Le cas revelateur du voievodeDespote," Relations greco-roumaines, Interculturalite et identite nationale (Greek-Romanian Relations, Interculturalism and National Identity) (Athens, 2004), 195-201.


Documents

A. Falangas, Post-Byzantine Greek Merchants of 15th-17th centuries