Robert of Taranto

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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 (1299/1319 – September 10, 1364), of the Angevin family, Prince of Taranto (1332–1346), King of Albania (1332-1364), Prince of Achaea (1333-1346), Titular Emperor of Constantinople (as Robert II, 1343/1346-1364).

He was the oldest surviving son of Prince Philip I of Taranto and Empress Catherine II of Valois. His paternal grandparents were King Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary. His maternal grandparents were Count Charles of Valois and his second wife, Empress Catherine I of Courtenay.

In 1332, as a result of an exchange with his uncle John of Gravina, Robert became Prince of Achaea. 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 September 9, 1347 he married Marie of Bourbon (1315 – 1387 in Naples and buried there), Princess of Achaia, the daughter of Louis I, Duke of Bourbon (widow of Guy de Lusignan (c. 1316 or 1315-1316 – soon before September 24, 1343 and buried in Nicosia), Constable of Cyprus (1336 – 1338) and Titular Prince of Galilee ca 1320), but the marriage was childless. When he died on October 10, 1364, 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. He died in Naples and was buried there.

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