User:Ichthyovenator/Andronikos Palaiologos (son of Manuel)

Andronikos Palaiologos (Ανδρόνικος Παλαιολόγος; c. 1510–1548) might have been the third son of Manuel Palaiologos, a nephew of the final Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos.

Background
Manuel Palaiologos was a son of Thomas Palaiologos, a brother of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. Although Constantine XI had died defending Constantinople from the Ottomans and Sultan Mehmed II in 1453, and Thomas had fled into exile in 1460, Manuel had travelled to Constantinople in 1476 to throw himself on the mercy of Mehmed II. Previously, Manuel had lived with his brother Andreas under the protection of the papacy in Rome, but a constant cutting of their provided pension had led to a poor financial situation. After having received several dissatisfactory offers from various Western European dukes, Manuel was pleased with the generous payment he received from Mehmed II in Constantinople and stayed in the city for the rest of his life. In addition to income, Manuel was also provided with housing and two concubines by the sultan. With these two concubines, or possibly a wife, Manuel fathered at least two sons: John, who died young, and Andreas, who survived to adulthood and converted to Islam.

History
Given the poor state of the surviving source material, it is possible that Manuel had further children. According to the genealogist Peter Mallat, it is said that Andronikos Palaiologos, born c. 1510 and dead in 1548, was a third son of Manuel. The historian and genealogist Ștefan S. Gorovei also believes Manuel to have had a third son by this name, and accepts Mallat's dates. According to the historian Morris L. Bierbrier, Andronikos is unknown to history and the claims to his existence derives solely from genealaogies created in the 20th century by the French forger and pretender Paul Crivez, who falsely claimed descent from him.

According to Mallat, Andronikos claimed to be a Byzantine prince and married "Theodora Zamplacon Palaiologa" (a Latinization of Theodora Tzamblakon Palaiologina). The Tzamblakon family were a Byzantine noble family attested from the 13th century onwards, which produced several military commanders, landowners and courtiers. Unlike Manuel's other two sons, who are presumed to have been childless, Mallat believes Andronikos could have fathered children and though he mentions no verified descendants, he believes descendants of Andronikos could still live somewhere in Italy, implicitly discrediting Crivez's forged claim as Crivez claimed descent from Andronikos through a Romanian "Paleologu" family.