Giorgio de' Buondelmonti

Giorgio de' Buondelmonti (, 1403–after 1435) was the ruler of Ioannina for twenty days in 1411, under the regency of his mother Jevdokija Balšić.

After spending several years in exile, Giorgio reappears in the sources as the Byzantine court official George Izaoul . Under this name, Giorgio married into the greater Byzantine imperial family and served as a companion of Demetrios Palaiologos, son of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. Giorgio remained involved in the affairs of the imperial family, as well as those of the Republic of Ragusa, until at least the 1430s.

Background

Giorgio de' Buondelmonti was the eldest son of Esau de' Buondelmonti. Giorgio's mother was Jevdokija Balšić, Esau's third wife and a daughter of Đurađ I Balšić, Lord of Zeta. Giorgio had at least one sibling, a younger brother whose name is lost to history. Esau and Jevdokija were married in 1402 and Giorgio was probably born 1403. Although Ioannina was independent of Byzantine imperial control, Esau maintained close relations with imperial power in Constantinople and sought to be part of the Byzantine political sphere. At this point in time, Giorgio was not merely a possible claimant to Ioannina but also to Zeta, given that a series of deaths had left him and his brother as the last heirs of the Balšić family. It is possible that his marriage to Hilario Doria's daughter was part of a Byzantine plot to disrupt Ottoman power in the Balkans; another daughter of Doria was married to the Ottoman pretender Küçük Mustafa. In the event of Mustafa's victory, Giorgio, now also tied to the Byzantine imperial family, may have been expected to be granted his ancestral lands.

In 1423, the despot Demetrios Palaiologos, son of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, fled the Byzantine Empire to Hungary, recorded by George Sphrantzes as having been accompanied by Hilario Doria and George Izaoul. Demetrios had initially plotted to defect to the Ottomans in his pursuit of imperial power, a plot Giorgio may have been involved in. Demetrios returned to Constantinople in 1427; it is unknown of Izaoul accompanied him.

In 1427, Jevdokija and her two sons are attested as having arrived in the Republic of Ragusa, seeking help to enforce their rights to Zeta. Their arrival in Ragusa and demands for aid caused diplomatic incidents and forced Ragusan authorities to negotiate both with Jevdokija and her sons, as well as with the incumbent ruler of Zeta, Stefan Lazarević. Despite Ragusan pressure, the family stayed in the city until 25 April 1428, when they left for Methoni in the Peloponnese. The family perhaps sought to join up with Emperor John VIII Palaiologos and his brother Constantine, who were in the Peloponnese at the time, fighting against Carlo I Tocco. Giorgio may have fought alongside the Palaiologoi in their various campaigns in the Peloponnese. In 1434, "George Izaoul" is once again attested as living in Constantinople, having left from Methoni on 26 April that year and reaching the capital on 5 May.

The last document that records Giorgio is from Ragusa, a donation of 50 hyperpyra issued on 24 August 1435 to "Giurach, son of Saul, Despot of the Romans". It is unknown what Giorgo was doing in Ragusa at the time.