House of Crispo

Crispo Κρίσπο
Noble family
Place of origin	Verona
Founded	1383 (1383)
Founder	Francesco I Crispo
Final ruler	Giacomo IV Crispo
Historic seat	Naxos, Duchy of the Archipelago
Deposition	1564 (1564)
Cadet branches	Crispos of Malta

The House of Crispo was a Lombard noble family originally from Verona which grew to prominence ruling the Duchy of the Archipelago during the latter half of the Cyclades almost 400 years of Venetian rule, usurping the preexisting Sanudo.

The Crispo originally hailed from the city of Verona, coming from Lombard stock.^[1][2] The family had settled on Ventian Negroponte, with its head, Francesco, being named Baron of Astrogidis.^[1] Francesco married Fiorenza Sanudo, the daughter of Marco Sanudo, Baron of Milos and she was the cousin to Nicholas III dalle Carceri, the Duke of the Archipelago.^[1] Nicholas had angered Venetian authorities by attempting a takeover of Negroponte, as well as angering his own subjects by increasing taxes.^[1] One day, while hunting with Francesco, Nicholas died under mysterious circumstances.^[1][2] Francesco then seized the castle of Naxos, with the native Naxans proclaiming him to be their new duke out of discontent with Nicholas's rule.^[1] Seeking a strong Duke to rule the increasingly threatened Cyclades and protect them from Ottoman incursions, Venice legitimized Francesco as Francesco I, Duke of the Archipelago, in 1383 and founding the House of Crispo.^[1][3][4]

Francesco I would be succeeded by his son Giacomo I after his death in 1397; however, Giacomo would only rule until 1418, dying of flux.^[1] In his will, Giacomo introduced salic law, meaning the throne passed over his daughter in favour of his brother John II.^[1] John II also died young in 1433, leaving his son and heir Giacomo II to inherit as a minor.^[1] He, too, would die prematurely without an heir and his son, Gian Giacomo Crispo, would be born six weeks after his death, resulting in a lengthy regency.^[1] His mother, Francesca Morosini, attempted to lead the regency council; however, she would be forced out by Niccolo of Syra and Santorin and William of Anaphe, who had the backing of Venice.^[1] He would die at the age of 6 or 7, potentially murdered by his aunt Adriana who, according to her marriage contract to Domenico Sommaripa, would have inherited the duchy in her own right, however, the late duke's cousin Francesco of Santorin, and grand-uncle William, both wanted to succeed themselves and contested the rights of Adriana by applying the Salic Law. Venice, seeking to avoid a civil war in the duchy which would have made it an easy target for the Ottomans, sided with William, crowning him William II^[1]

William II would sign a treaty with the Ottoman Empire to send an annual tribute in exchange for his lands being unmolested, however, had no legitimate sons, only siring the bastard Giacomo, so the duchy passed to his nephew Francesco II, as Francesco II's father Nicholas already died.^[5][1] Francesco II's reign lasted less than a year as he died of illness, leaving his infant son Giacomo III as duke under another regency, this time led by Giacomo III's mother Petronilla Bembo.^[1] During his reign, Naxos was occupied by the Ottomans during the Ottoman–Venetian War of 1463–1479, with most of the island's population being carried off as slaves.^[1] When Giacomo III died he only had one daughter, Fiorenza, so the throne passed to his brother John III, however, Fiorenza's husband, the ambitious Domenico Pisani attempted to take over the duchy, but failed when again Venice intervened and enforced salic law.^[6]

John III's rule was unpopular with the locals due to extreme taxation, leading to a massive peasant revolt by the Greek Orthodox locals against the Catholic Italian aristocracy, which required the Knights Hospitaller of Rhodes to send galleys to rescue John and put the revolt down.^[7] John III would be assassinated by poison in 1494, and due to the unrest, Venice took over direct control of the duchy, only restoring John's son Francesco III when he came of age in 1500.^[7] However, Francesco III suffered from insanity and was often called "The Mad Duke" he murdered his wife, Taddea Caterina Loredano, and attempted to kill his son.^[1] This again infuriated the peasantry, who rose up, this time backed by the house of Loredano, who overthrew Francesco III in 1511 with Antonio Loredano taking over temporary leadership until Francesco's son was crowned John IV in 1517.^[1]

John IV would rule for 47 years; however, he was constantly beset by both the Ottomans and their corsair allies.^[1] He would aid the Knights in the 1522 siege of Rhodes; however, he was unable to stop Hayreddin Barbarossa from landing a vast Ottoman force on Naxos in 1537.^[1] Barbarossa demanded John IV's surrender and swear suzerainty to the Ottoman sultan, which John agreed to, to spare Naxos from being looted and destroyed.^[1] John IV's surrender, while preserving the duchy, was immensity unpopular with both the Orthodox and Catholic populations of Naxos, with both religions leaders being banished from the island for opposing his rule.^[1] By 1563, a Venetian report described Naxos as the "shadow of a principality," kept alive only by the bribes John IV could muster for Turkish captains not to raid his lands for slaves.^[1] John attempted to groom his eldest son, Francesco, into being his co-ruler; however, Francesco predeceased John, who lived to 74, so the throne instead passed to his younger son, Giacomo IV in 1564.^[1] The Ottomans, however, had no need for Giacomo, the house of Crispo, or the old Venetian power structure in the Archipelago, only tolerating John's rule due to the constant flow of tribute and bribes. As such, the Ottomans deposed Giacomo IV after just two years in 1566, installing the Jewish administrator Joseph Nasi as the new "Ottoman representative" on Naxos, ending the 372-year-old duchy, as well as deposing the house of Crispo.^[1]

• Babinger, Franz (1978). Hickman, William C. (ed.). Mehmed the Conqueror and his time. Translated by Manheim, Ralph. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-09900-2. OCLC 3168859.
• Frazee, Charles A.; Frazee, Kathleen (1988). The island princes of Greece : the dukes of the archipelago. Amsterdam: A.M. Hakkert. ISBN 978-90-256-0948-1. OCLC 21782602.
• Miller, William (1908). The Latins in the Levant: A History of Frankish Greece (1204–1566). London: John Murray. OCLC 563022439.