Robert II, Latin Emperor

File:Arms of Robert de Tarente.svg

Coat of arms of Robert of Taranto. They are the combination of the arms of Anjou and those of the Latin Empire of Constantinople.

Robert II of Taranto (1319 or early winter 1326 – 10 September 1364Template:Sfn), of the Angevin family, Prince of Taranto (1331–1346), King of Albania (1331–1332), Prince of Achaea (1332–1346), and titular Latin Emperor (1343 or 1346 – 1364).

He was the oldest surviving son of Prince Philip I of Taranto (1278–1331) and Empress Catherine II of Valois.Template:Sfn

In 1332, an exchange occurred in which his uncle John of Gravina arranged to surrender Achaea to him in exchange for Robert's rights to the Kingdom of Albania and a loan of 5,000 ounces of gold raised upon Niccolo Acciaiuoli. Robert then officially became Prince of Achaea.Template:Sfn Because of his youth, authority was effectively exercised by his mother Catherine II of Valois until her death in 1346. At that point Robert inherited the throne of the Latin Empire, and was recognized as emperor by the Latin states of Greece. His actual power, such as it was, remained based upon his authority as prince of Achaea. In Naples, on 9 September 1347 , Robert married Marie of Bourbon, the daughter of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon Constable of Cyprus,Template:Sfn but the marriage was childless. He died on 10 September 1364 in Naples and was buried there.Template:Sfn After he died,Template:Sfn his widow attempted to keep the principality for herself and her son from her previous marriage. However, Robert's younger brother Philip II of Taranto succeeded as the legitimate heir.

Sources

• Template:La Morée franque
• Template:Setton-A History of the Crusades
• Template:Setton-A History of the Crusades