Historica Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Petruccio Manzini

Petruccio Manzini (?-) was Grand Vizier of the Templar Order Council during the 13th century.

Biography[]

Petruccio Manzini was born in Italy, and he was the brother of Giovanni Manzini and the uncle of Isadora and Elanora Manzini. He became a high-ranking member of the Templar Order in the Holy Land during the 13th century, serving as head of the Order's council. In 1217, he had his brother Giovanni imprisoned after he converted to Islam, and he led his nieces to believe that their father had died in battle. In 1225, ahead of the Sixth Crusade, he began an initiative to weaken the Saracens by having Commander Titus put men like Karatoygar in the Seljuk court and thus make the Sultanate of Rum more favorable to the Crusaders. This plan was complicated when Shahzade Numan escaped from Karatoygar and the Templars' custody, ruining Karatoygar's plot to make a name for himself at Kayqubad I's court and leading to rivalry with the Turkish Kayi tribe, which was responsible for the rescue of Numan and his family. Petruccio's next step in his plot was to order Titus to execute several prominent Muslims, including the personal assistant to Kayqubad, a Khwarazmian commander, and a top aide of the Abbasid caliph, provoking a Muslim response. In anticipation of this, Manzini sent four lepers to go on suicide missions to four Muslim targets, aiming to spread the plague among them. One of them, the leper Rachel, was sent with two knights to infect the Kayi tribe. He later criticized Titus for arranging for the Kayis to settle not far from the Crusader castle, believing that his desire for revenge had preceded his duties; he warned Titus that, should this happen again, Petruccio would personally bury Titus beside his brother. Petruccio also started to worry about Elanora's investigations into her father's fate, especially after his blind servant Mario warned him that she had been searching for inconsistencies in his story.

Gallery[]

Advertisement