Esau de' Buondelmonti

Esau de' Buondelmonti (Greek: Ησαύ Μπουοντελμόντ) was the ruler of Ioannina and its surrounding area (central Epirus) from 1385 until his death in 1411, with the Byzantine title of despot.After he spent several years of captivity, Esau succeeded his captor by marrying the latter's widow, Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina in February 1385.Esau reversed the unpopular policies of the tyrannical Thomas, recalling the exiled nobles and reinstating Matthew, the bishop of Ioannina.In 1385 Gjin Bua Shpata, despot of Arta, advanced on Ioannina, but Esau managed to prepare the defences so efficiently, that the Albanian leader withdrew.Esau was forced to follow Thomas' policy of seeking Ottoman support against the Albanians, going to the court of Sultan Murad I to pay homage in 1386.
Ruler of EpirusMaria AngelinaGiorgio de' BuondelmontiMaria Angelina Doukaina PalaiologinaJevdokija BalšićRoman CatholicismIoanninaEpirusdespotFlorentineAcciaiuoliNiccolò AcciaiuoliCorinthGreeceThomas PreljubovićByzantine EmpiredespotesConstantinopleGjin Bua ShpataOttomanMurad IBattle of KosovoBayezid IEvrenosVeniceGjon ZenebishiGjirokastërShpataCarlo I ToccoFine, John V. A. Jr.Kazhdan, AlexanderThe Oxford Dictionary of ByzantiumMiller, WilliamNicol, Donald M.Dumbarton OaksGiorgioRulersDespotate of EpirusMichael I Komnenos DoukasTheodore Komnenos DoukasMichael II Komnenos DoukasNikephoros I Komnenos DoukasThomas I Komnenos DoukasAnna KantakouzeneOrsini dynastyNicholas OrsiniJohn II OrsiniNikephoros II OrsiniAnna PalaiologinaNemanjić dynastySimeon UrošTocco dynastyCarlo II ToccoLeonardo III ToccoThessalycounts palatine of Cephalonia and ZakynthosEmperor of Thessalonica