Nicholas II Zorzi or Giorgi was the Margrave of Bodonitsa

Margrave of Bodonitsa

The margraviate or marquisate of Bodonitsa , today Mendenitsa, Phthiotis , was a Frankish state in Greece following the conquests of the Fourth Crusade. It was originally granted as a margravial holding of Guy Pallavicini by Boniface, first king of Thessalonica, in 1204...

, a member of the Zorzi

Zorzi

The Zorzi or Giorgi was a family of Venetian origin. They throve in the Late Middle Ages, especially in the remnants of the Latin Empire in Greece, where they controlled the Margraviate of Bodonitsa and through marriage the Duchy of Athens until the Ottoman conquest.Under Nicholas I they took...

 family of the Republic of Venice

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

, from 1410 to 1414. He was the last Venetian margrave to actually rule before the Ottoman Turkish

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 conquest.

He was the son of either Francis

Francis Zorzi

Francis Zorzi , called Marchesotto, was the Margrave of Bodonitsa, a member of the Venetian Zorzi family, from 1345 to his death....

 or Jacob

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...

, brothers and successive margraves of Bodonitsa. He succeeded the latter on his death. He was a prisoner at the sourt of the Sultan Mehmet I

Mehmed I

Mehmed I Çelebi was a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421. He was one of the sons of Bayezid I and Valide Sultan Devlet Hatun Mehmed I Çelebi (Ottoman: چلبی محمد, Mehmed I or Mehmed Çelebi) (1382, Bursa – May 26, 1421, Edirne, Ottoman Empire) was a Sultan of the Ottoman Empire...

 in Adrianople, but was released in accordance with a treaty with Venice. He then ruled for a short while before his territory, which guarded the important pass of Thermopylae

Thermopylae

Thermopylae is a location in Greece where a narrow coastal passage existed in antiquity. It derives its name from its hot sulphur springs. "Hot gates" is also "the place of hot springs and cavernous entrances to Hades"....

, was conquered on 20 June 1414. He then fled to Venice, but was restored to power by another treaty in 1416. However, he ceded his rights to Bodonitsa to his uncle Nicholas III

Nicholas III Zorzi

Nicholas III Zorzi or Giorgi was the Margrave of Bodonitsa, a member of the Zorzi family of the Republic of Venice, from 1416 to 1436, though the title was purely nominal by then. Before becoming margrave in an exchange with his nephew Nicholas II, he was the baron of Carystus...

 in return for the rectorate of Pteleon. The margravial title was purely nominal after that.

Sources

• Setton, Kenneth M. (general editor) A History of the Crusades: Volume III — The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries. Harry W. Hazard, editor. University of Wisconsin Press: Madison, 1975.
• Setton, Kenneth M. Catalan Domination of Athens 1311–1380. Revised edition. Variorum: London, 1975.
• Latin Lordships of Greece: Boudonitza.