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In 961 C.E., the Mediterranean island of Crete, which had been under Muslim rule for almost 150 years, was restored to the Byzantine Empire under the leadership of general-, and future emperor, Nikephoros Phokas. Legend provides that the Byzantine emperor sent 12 noble families from Constantinople, known as the archondopoula, to rule the island of Crete as archons. Of the reconquest of Crete, early 17th-century cartographer Vincenzo Coronelli included the following information in Biblioteca Universale Sacro-Profana:[...] Many succeeding emperors tried to take back [Crete from the Muslim rulers]; but it was always in vain, and with losses. Finally [...], Romanos II recommended the enterprise to Nikephoros Phokas, who, after seven months of cruel war, on March 4th, 961 [C.E.], destroyed the Saracens, took Candia as [the Byzantines'] main city by arms and led them triumphantly to the Curupa Hippodrome. [He] left St. Nicone to return the Christian religion [to the island], and a colony of twelve noble families to propagate it, who were families Armena; Calojera; Anatolica; Curiaci, i.e., Saturnini, now called Cortazzi; Vespesiani, called Meliseni; called Sutili; Pampini, called Ulastò; Romuli, called Claudi; Aliati, called Scordili; Colonesi, called Coloini; Orsini, called Areulada; and Phoca of Nikephoros Phokas' own blood. [These families were called] the First Ones, later the Arghondopuli [archontopoula], from the word arghia, which means magistrate, rector, or commander, because they dominated the island for many long years ahead of the convulsions of the [Byzantine] Empire, and they were perhaps the greatest enemies of the [ Venetian ] Republic, even though they also benefitted the most [under Venetian rule].It is likely that Coronelli’s inclusion of the Calogerà in the 12 archontal families of Crete, or archontopoula, is based on Andrea Corner’s (b. 1547 - d. ca. 1616)  Storia di Candia, the first literary work to deal exclusively with the island’s history. Similarly, in Revue de l'Orient Latin, Vol. 11 (1908), Louis-Ernest Leroux provides further context in the following passage:Thus, [ Nikephoros Phokas ] subdued and ransacked the whole island, which for 142 years had been occupied and lorded by barbarians, and he had it settled and left in the form of a colony, for its greater security, under noble families originally from Constantinople [nobili Costantinopolitani] of the Màggiori and of the Senatorial order, namely: the Armeni; the Caleteri; the Anatolici, also called Cortezzi; the Cargenti, that is, Saturnini; the Vespesiani, also called Melissini; […] the Sutili; the Papiliani, also called Vlasti; the Romuli, also called Claudi; the Aliotti, also called Scordilli; the Colonessi, also called Coloini; the Irtini, also called Arculendi; and the Phoca, of the same blood of the Phoca from whom the noble house of Calergi originated.Numerous other historians have written about the Calogerà family over the centuries. In his 1935 book Calogeras, Antonio Gontijo de Carvalho describes the family's origins:João Pandiá Calógeras belonged a traditional European family that originated, according to some historians, from the island of Cyprus. The family’s name is associated with a Greek word that translates to "good, old man" or "respectable by age." It derives from the term for an Oriental monk. Formerly, the word also referred to Latin hermits. But the qualifier has since been applied to Greek schismatics, male or female, who observe the rule of St. Basil or St. Marcellus. By its etymology, the word refers only to elder monks, but its use has been extended to include all of the monks living at Mt. Athos.
[...] One fifth century family member, St. Calogerus, exists in universal hagiology and also figures in the family's coat-of-arms. With the schism of the Orthodox Church, one part [of the family] continued in the Roman apostolic rite; the other, more numerous, part adhered to the Eastern creed. In her father's biography The Alexiad, Anna Komnene gives the explanation that, having come to reside in Byzantium, [the Calogerà family] formed alliances with the Komnenos. During the Ottoman conquests, numerous bearers of the Calogerà name fell victim to the Turks.
Breathtaking works such as Chiotis' Historia de Zante, Marmora's Historia de Corfú, Eugene Rizo Rangabé's Livre d'Or de la Noblesse Ionienne, and the Genealogia delle Famiglie Venete each contain biographies of the most distinguished individuals of this important family. In 1431, John Calogerà assumed the post of adviser to Duke Acciaoli in Athens during Attica's period of short-lived sovereignty from [ Catalan rule in] southern Italy. In 1499, Ambassador Matheus Calogerà was sent to Venice on behalf of the Rector of Zante in order to obtain the constitution of [Venetian] territorial property from the Senate. Following the Turkish conquest of Cyprus in 1501 [sic], the Calogerà took refuge on the island of Crete, where they were inscribed in the Golden Book of the Nobility of that island, and they became feudatory barons under Venetian domination.
Several members of the family entered the religious orders; innumerable others were distinguished in war and rendered valuable services to the Republic of Venice, for which they were recognized in various decrees by the Senate and the Doges. In 1537, after the Siege of Suleiman [the Magnificent], families of the nobility, among whom were the main branch of the Calogerà, left Crete to settle in Corfu. The Calogerà were inscribed in the Golden Book of this island in 1644 and thereafter never ceased to appear in every list of its nobles. After the conquest of Crete by the Turks in 1669, another branch, which had remained on the island [of Crete], was to settle in [the city of] Venice, where its members were immediately assimilated into the nobility [sic], [and whose nobility was] confirmed by the Emperor of Austria in 1816 when the Adriatic city was occupied by that mighty nation.
Upon the death of a certain General Calogerà, aide-de-camp to King Constantine of Greece, the senior branch of the Calogerà family of Corfu went extinct, as he left behind no descendants of his own. Among others, the family produced such illustrious individuals as Draco Calogerà (b. 1540), second son of Dimo, who led as Admiral in the Venetian navy, as did relatives Francesco Calogerà (b. 1599) and Zorzi Calogerà (b. 1677). Antonio Calogerà, head of the Venetian branch, was killed in 1684 in the taking of Nauplia, when the Venetian fleet fought to reclaim the Morea [from Ottoman rule]. Several members of the family were awarded knighthoods in the Order of Saint Mark. In the Church of Sant' Antonio in Venice, one finds, surmounted by his coat-of-arms, the tomb of Demetrio Calogerà, who died in 1682 and who was a direct descendant of the main branch of Corfu. John Paul Calogerà, who died in 1702, was the Venetian military governor of Bergamo. Spiridion Calogerà, killed in 1754, was admiral of the arsenal in Corfu. And Marco Calogerà was Bishop of Kotor, Dalmatia, in 1856.Gontijo de Carvalho is not the only historian to mention a relationship between the Calogerà and Komnenos families. In a description of the events of a 13th-century rebellion against the Venetian domination of Crete, Marcus Antonius Coccius Sabellicus (b. 1436 - d. 1506) writes the following selection in Dell' Historia Venitiana:[...] But the Calotheri and Anatolici were banished, even if they prided themselves on their ancient parentado to the Emperor of Greece.
In the Brazilian journal Revista de Historia (1961), Volume 22, No. 46, historian Sílvio Fernandes Lopes writes: In Brazilian onomastics, the names Pandiá and Calógeras evoke, at once, the Greek flavor behind their etymologies: Pandiá reminds the bearer of eclecticism and universalism, while Calógeras conjures up monastic respectability and the wisdom of the elders of St. Basil and St. Marcellus. [The Calógeras family] dates back to an historical and almost mythological Cyprus, where they originated. [...] From beginning all the way to the present, a brilliant genealogical succession can be observed in this family. [...] A Calógeras shines in the hagiological calendar as early as the fifth century, extolling excellent virtues, religious struggles, and the evolution of spiritual postulates in the person of a saint. Byzantium, Athens, Venice, and Crete have all welcomed the Calógeras family through the centuries. In 1644, they appear in Corfu. [Members of this family] sparkled spirits and cultures in the likes of Draco Calógeras, Dino and Francesco, and Zorzi and Antonio, at the head of events in the greater history of the Republic of Venice that would alter the organization and political distribution of the Mediterranean world. For this reason, the arms of Demetrius Calógeras would be featured in the golden and blue panel of the Church of St. Anthony in Venice; John Paul would glow in the military history of Bergamo; Spiridion would die as Admiral of the Arsenal of Corfu in the eighteenth century; and Marco Calógeras would die as Bishop of Cattaro [sic] in Dalmatia in the mid-nineteenth century. Theologians, writers, poets, philologists, philosophers, admirals, generals, sociologists, tribunes, jurists, doctors, and engineers all appear in great numbers in this immense family, which, ever and always illustrious over the centuries, finally arrived in Brazil in 1841 in the person of João Batista Calógeras (grandfather of João Pandiá Calógeras). João Batista, who was a close friend of the Baron de Lafitte—a celebrated banker and minister of King Louis Philippe—lead a financial initiative [on behalf of] that famous man of pecunia [in Brazil].Giovan Battista di Crollalanza's masterpiece, Dizionario Storico-Blasonico delle Famiglie Nobili e Notabili Italiane, Estinte e Fiorenti (1886), describes the Venetian- and Dalmatian branches of the family:CALOGERÀ of Venice. ⁠— Originally from Corfu, they obtained Septinsular nobility during the epoch of Venetian domination. ⁠— In the 16th century, some immigrated to Italy, and a branch settled in Venice; it is from this branch that we are given Angelo, Camaldolese monk, born in Padua, famous for his compilation of philological and scientific booklets known as Calogerà's Collection [la Raccolta Calogerana]. ⁠— Marco [Kalogjera], Bishop of Split. ⁠— A branch of this family still flourishes in Udine. ⁠— ARMS: Of azure [background], a silver, beamless anchor, its shaft accented with a green cedar branch bearing a single, yellow fruit on its left side; all accompanied at the top by a star of eight golden rays.Reverend Hugh James Rose's arrangement of A New General Biographical Dictionary, Vol. V (1848) mentions the religion of the Corfiote-Venetian branch of the Calogerà family in the article of Angelo Calogerà:CALOGERÀ, (Angelo,) a priest of the order of the Camaldolesi, and a celebrated philologist of Italy, [was] born at Padua, in 1699, of a noble Greek family of Corfu, which, however, adhered to the Romish Church.
The Calogerà family also belonged to the nobility of Athens and intermarried with other Byzantine-Athenian noble families, such as the Benizelos family. According to the Benizelos Mansion Museum:The noblemen of the city [of Athens] are mentioned in sources of the 16th century [...]. From sources of the subsequent centuries, we know that among the oldest, richest, and most powerful noble families is the Benizelos family. [...] During the period when Athenians were resettled in the Peloponnese (1688 – 1691), when the Venetians divided the Athenian colonists into four classes based on the previous socioeconomic situation they enjoyed in their homeland, the Benizelos family was ranked in the first class, according to documents of the years 1690 – 1691. [...] Descendants of the family distinguished themselves throughout the period of Ottoman rule as elders (proestoi), notaries and men of letters, teachers, et cetera. [...] Another Ioannis Benizelos, author of the History of Athens was a distinguished member of Athenian society during the 18th century. Ioannis Benizelos (c. 1735 – 1807) studied at the Common School of Athens, married Maria, daughter of Dimitrios Kalogeras (who was also from a noble family of the city and was an elder).
In December 2008, the Municipality of Blato, in addition to the All Saints Parish of Blato and the Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences in Dubrovnik, commemorated the 120th anniversary of the death of Marko Kalogjera, Bishop of Split and Makarska, by conducting a scientific research conference in his honor. In Biskup Marko Kalogjera o 120. obljetnici smrti: Zbornik radova znanstvenog skupa održanog u prosincu 2008. u Blatu, Svezak 1. (translated, Bishop Marko Kalogjera, on the 120th Anniversary of his Death: Proceedings of the Conference Held in December 2008 in Blato, Vol. I), Damir Boras, President of the University of Zagreb, provides an account of the history of the Calogerà family in Croatia:The Kalogjera family is originally from the Greek realm, and the Greek name means good, old man.
The family's homeland is the island of Cyprus, where the family, distinguished by high-status positions, had lived until the end of the 15th century, when Egyptian Mamluks invaded and plundered the island. [...] The Turks finally conquered [Cyprus]  between the years of 1570 and 1571. The Kalogjera family fought in these wars, but eventually they lost all of their possessions and, like many other families, had to flee. The emigration [of the family] from Cyprus began in the late 15th and early 16th centuries and ended in 1570, when the last family members fled, despite a treaty between the defender of the island, Marko Bragadin, and the Turks. Already at the beginning of this migration, many family members had moved to Crete, to the Morea on the Peloponnese—the Peloponnesian branch—and to Corfu and Venice—the Corfiote branch. Thus, in the mid-16th century, we find branches of the family in Crete, Corfu (1540), and in Venice (1550).The Kalogjera family was split when a smaller branch moved to the Morea [in Greece] and a larger branch moved to [the city of] Venice, and from there some moved to Zadar, Hvar, Korčula, and Dubrovnik. This is the so-called Venetian-Dalmatian branch; the Venetian-Italian branch expanded across Italy to the cities of Padua, Milan, Udine, and Vicenza. Both of these branches form the Venetian branch which, again, is itself a cadet branch of the bloodline from Corfu, Crete, and Cyprus.
The Kalogjera family enjoyed nobility already in Cyprus, then in Crete, in Corfu (1572), and [then also] Nauplian nobility in the Morea.
In the past, members of the Kalogjera family were mostly soldiers and priests, but also officials, physicians, and traders. There were several admirals of the Venetian fleet, generals, colonels, military attachés, galley commanders, and ministers, and among them we also find a governor, a consul, and even one imperial governor. Moreover, the family has produced pedagogues, teachers, bishops, and abbots, and among its members we find excellent musicologists and writers as well as merchants and industrialists. Most contemporary family members are scientists, doctors, lawyers, engineers, economists, and musicians, and most are college-educated people. [...]
etymology Vlasti Bishop Udine France cadet branch Siege of Suleiman Doge Bergamo Bishop of Kotor Armeni pedagogues cedar Calogerà's Collection Italy Antonio Calogerà A New General Biographical Dictionary Marco Calogerà philological the Greek realm Septinsular Europe Romish Church arsenal in Corfu hagiology Giovan Battista di Crollalanza Corfu onomastics Brazil Adriatic Catalan rule Egyptian Mamluks Livre d'Or de la Noblesse Ionienne Andrea Corner Byzantine Empire Golden Book galley Venetian Ambassador Vincenzo Coronelli Venetian fleet conquest of Crete by the Turks Korčula Milan Biblioteca Universale Sacro-Profana Venetian navy military attaché Morea Mediterranean Padua Venice archons João Pandiá Calógeras Coronelli Venetian domination the Peloponnese Dubrovnik Zante St. Calogerus reconquest of Crete Boras Camaldolese Byzantine Ottoman military governor Marko Bragadin Blato Historia de Zante Constantinople Dalmatia the Morea her father's Turkish Byzantium Order of Saint Mark Marcus Antonius Coccius Sabellicus Crete coat-of-arms The Alexiad Rector Romanos II elder Emperor of Greece Benizelos University of Zagreb Marco Nauplian abbot Nikephoros Phokas Saracen Attica Angelo noble family parentado Church of Sant' Antonio Saracens Corfiote Revue de l'Orient Latin Historia de Corfú Turks 13th-century rebellion St. Basil Duke Acciaoli Komnenos Baron de Lafitte Makarska Genealogia delle Famiglie Venete Golden Book of the Nobility Saint branch Senate priest Emperor of Austria Camaldolesi Anna Komnene archon Admiral The Turks finally conquered [Cyprus]  Peloponnese Bishop of Split and Makarska Vicenza Mamluk Athens house of Calergi ARMS Nauplia Hvar Damir Boras bishop Venetian domination of Crete saint Cyprus Greece Zadar Mt. Athos Bishop of Split King Louis Philippe industrialists Republic of Venice Alexiad economist Louis-Ernest Leroux Benizelos Mansion Museum Kotor musicologists Benizelos family Baron Marko Kalogjera Dizionario Storico-Blasonico delle Famiglie Nobili e Notabili Italiane, Estinte e Fiorenti monk physician nobility Greek Hugh James Rose for 142 years had been occupied and lorded by barbarians Marco Calógeras occupied by that mighty nation Senatorial order Candia Angelo Calogerà Cattaro St. Split Nobility Croatia epoch of Venetian domination Ivo Pilar Institute of Social Sciences Republic cartographer had been under Muslim rule for almost 150 years Zagreb Orthodox Church Orsini