Jacob Notaras

Jacob Notaras (Greek: Ιάκωβος Νοταράς; c. 1439 – c. 1491), also erroneously called Isaac, was a Byzantine aristocrat who survived the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Having attracted the Ottoman ruler Mehmed the Conqueror as an adolescent, he was confined to the seraglio until he escaped in 1460. He later became one of the leaders of the Byzantine diaspora in Italy.

Captivity

Jacob Notaras the youngest son of Loukas Notaras, an "enormously wealthy" aristocrat from Constantinople who served as megas doux and grand admiral to the last Byzantine emperors.[1] When Constanintople fell to the Ottoman ruler Mehmed II, Jacob was 14 years old.[1] He stayed in the seraglio until 1460 and then escaped from Adrianopolis to Italy, where he reunited with his three sisters: Anna, Theodora and Euphrosyne. He later married Elizabeth Zampetis, and apparently was unhappy with his personal life.

References
  1. Babinger 1992, p. 95.

Bibliography
  • Babinger, Franz (1992). Mehmed the Conqueror and His Time. Princeton University Press. pp. 95–97. ISBN 0-691-01078-1.
  • Philippides, Marios; Hanak, Walter K. (2011). The Siege and the Fall of Constantinople in 1453: Historiography, Topography, and Military Studies. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 255-256. ISBN 978-1-4094-1064-5.
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