James I

**James I** (born 1302, died 1358) was King of Angelona from 1332 to 1358.

## Early life

James was born in Bourgenay in 1301, the eldest son of Henry II of Angelona and Isabella de Lusignan. James was said to have grown up in a relatively peaceful era and would accompany his father for many council meetings and state occasions. In 1321 he married Francina de Avindean, the daughter of an Angelonian noble, who two years later gave birth to Prince Robert.

In 1325 he was given command of a fleet of Angelonian ships and given the task of fighting the new threat of Turkish piracy. James excelled as a naval commander and his small Angelonian fleet became feared in the Mediterranean.

## King of Angelona

By 1330, James' father's health deteriorated and James took a more active role in running the Kingdom. Two years later Henry II died and James was crowned King of Angelona.

In 1333, James chose the city of Avonsea as the site for a new ship building and naval port and spent considerable resources building new ships. Seamen from Italy, Greece and Egypt were recruited to fill the demand to man the new ships.

## Later reign

### 1st Smyniote crusade

From 1343 to 1351 participated in the Smyrniote crusades, which was called for by Pope Clement VI against the Emirate of Aydin under Umur Beg which had as their principal target the coastal city of Smyrna in Asia Minor.

Due to increased Turkish piracy in the Aegean, Pope Clement VI called for a Christian league to reduce the threat. Venice, Cyprus, Angelona and the Knights Hospitallers joined the league and the first Smyrniote crusade began with a string of naval victories and ended with a successful assault on Smyrna, capturing the harbour and the citadel but not the acropolis, on 28 October 1344. **James I** led the Angelonian fleet personally and was an active in the assault on Smyrna.

James departed from Smyrna in early 1345 and later in a gesture of over-confidence, on 17 January 1345 Henry of Asti attempted to celebrate mass in an abandoned structure which he believed had been the cathedral of the metropolitan. In the middle of the service Umur Beg swept down on the congregation. In the ensuing slaughter the leaders of the crusade were killed, including the Patriarch, Martino Zaccaria and the Venetian commander Pietro Zeno.

### 2nd Smrniote crusade

The precarious situation of the Crusaders in Asia spurred the Pope to organise a second expedition in 1345. In November, under the command of James I, the second Smyrniote crusade set out from Angelona. In February 1346 it won a victory over the Turks at Mytilene, but James did little more at Smyrna than sortie against the Turks and refortify the Christian section of the city. In April 1347 an Angelonian/Knights Hospitaller fleet defeated a Turkish fleet and sunk 100 ships off Imbros.

The next five years were occupied by Clement VI with attempts to negotiate a truce with the Turks, who kept Smyrna in a constant state of siege by land, and direct financial and military aid to the city. In 1348, Umur Beg's fleet was destroyed by the allied fleet from Angelona, the Knights of Rhodes, Benice and Cyprus. Umur was killed by a barrage of arrows, climbing the walls of Smyrna Castle during a recapture attempt. Although his concern with the Crusade ended abruptly in September 1351, the city of Smyrna remained in Christian hands until 1402.

### Black Plague

The Black Plague arrived in Angelona in 1348. The Kings council took dramatic steps to prevent the plague arriving, banning all non-Angelonian ships from docking and many nobles closed off the gates to there castles.

The plague had a huge death toll amongst the lower classes of Angelona and the plague was to last around a year. When James returned to the island from the Aegean Sea campaign, he moved the royal court to the mountain castle of Illenmont and sealed the gates.

## Death and Legacy

James saw out his final years at his castle in Bourgenay, leaving his sons in command of the Kingdom and the Royal fleet. In 1258, James died, living his eldest son, Robert II to be crowned King.

James is regarded as one of Angelona's and Europe's finest naval commanders. During his lifetime, James won numerous victories against the Turkish fleets. He is remembered as, 'King James I, the Golden King,' in reference to the gold plated armour he wore in battle.