Thomas I Comnenus Duca

The parents of Thomas were Nicephorus I Komnenus Duca and Anna Kantakuzina - the niece of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Paleologue . His mother's cousin Andronicus II granted Thomas the title of despot in 1290.

In 1290, Nikifor decided that his daughter Tamara would take over the throne, and in 1294 she would become the wife of Philip of Tarento (the son of Epirus's ally, King of Naples Charles II ). When Nicephorus I died, his wife Anna began to rule the country on behalf of their son.

Charles II demanded that power be transferred to his son and his wife, to which Kantakuzina allegedly violated the agreement, since Tamara was forced to abandon the Orthodox faith . For the safety of Epirus, a marriage was concluded between Thomas and Anna Paleolog (granddaughter of Andronicus II) ^[1] . Preparations for the wedding took place from 1307 to 1313 .

Neapolitan troops were sent to Epirus, but Thomas was able to repel their attack. In 1304 and 1305, Butrint and Navpakt were recaptured. A new Italian invasion took place in 1307, and hostilities ended with a peace treaty. According to the document, Philip returned many fortresses captured by epyrotes.

Epirus despotate remained an ally of the Byzantines until 1315 . Then the Romans attacked the city of Arta, in response to which Thomas arrested his wife and began negotiations with Philip. But the despot Epirus did not have time to complete this business, as he was killed in 1318 by his own nephew - Count of Kefalonia and Zakynthos Nikolai Orsini .

• Assumption F. I. Chapter VI. Andronic II the Elder // History of the Byzantine Empire. In 5 volumes - M .: AST, Astrel, 2005 .-- V. 5 .-- 558 p. - ISBN 5-271-03856-4 .
• John VA Fine Jr., The Late Medieval Balkans , Ann Arbor, 1987.