Mercan|45Luchino married Jhera Paleologina, daughter of Calojane Livadarios, head
of a well-known aristocratic family of the Palaiologan period. Luchino was con-
nected to the Byzantines through his Greek wife, who was rich and possibly
from the imperial family. Besides a profitable dowry, this marriage also brought
Luchino commercial enterprises and economic connections with the Byzantine
emperor and aristocrats. Thus, the first member of the Draperio family estab-
lished himself as an influential figure in the economic and political life of the
community through his personal connections and relationships.
Iane Draperio, Luchino’s son, was also a merchant and businessman. He
mainly dealt with the grain trade and, through concessions he received from
the Byzantine emperor, exported wheat from Thrace to Italy. Iane was also ac-
tively engaged with the diplomatic affairs of the colony. On October 26, 1389,
he was sent as an ambassador of the Genoese community to Sultan Bayezid I
(r. 1389–1402) in order to reconfirm the treaties already signed during the reigns
of Sultan Orhan (r. 1326–1362) and Sultan Murad I (r. 1362–1389). Considering
Ottoman expansion in the Balkans during this period, it is most likely that,
through the renewal of treaties, Iane also wanted to secure his own trade inter-
ests in Thracian territories. In fact, he was not the only member of the family who
participated in negotiations with the Ottomans. Giovanni Draperio, brother of
Iane, was among the witnesses to the treaty of 1387, signed with Murad I, which
gave tax concessions to Ottoman merchants in Pera. Giovanni was later sent to
Sultan Mehmed I (r. 1413–1421) as ambassador for negotiations. It is clear that
members of the Draperio family did not hesitate to form economic and diplo-
matic relations with different authorities for their own interests and for the ben-
efit of their community.
Among the family, perhaps Francesco Draperio was the most famous in the
fifteenth century. An influential merchant and banker, Draperio was frequently
mentioned in the account book of Giacomo Badoer, a Venetian merchant who
was in Constantinople between 1436 and 1440. These references indicate that
he and Badoer were involved in various transactions. Francesco Draperio was
also a tax farmer of the alum mines in Phocaea. Early in 1444 he had been
commissioned by the Genoese administration to carry out negotiations with
Sultan Murad II (r. 1421–1444, 1446–1451), and together with Cyriac of Ancona,
who was an Italian humanist and antiquarian, Francesco went to the court of
Murad II in Adrianople. Like many other emissaries from Anatolia, Francesco
presented expensive gifts to the sultan, such as “purple garments worked with
gold, his own rather costly material.” Their second visit to Sultan Murad II
was in Manisa in 1446. In his letter to Andreolo Giustiniani, a Genoese hu-
manist residing in Chios, Cyriac described in detail how the sultan received
Francesco in his court. He expressed surprise at the sultan’s friendly attitude
toward Francesco: