# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/basilios-bessarion
# Generated: 2026-09-02T00:26:34.396Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/basilios-bessarion"
name: "Basilios Bessarion"
slug: "basilios-bessarion"
description: "A Byzantine scholar who fled east-to-west as empires collapsed, carrying Greek philosophy into Renaissance Italy — then nearly became pope twice."
tagline: "Greek theologian, cardinal bishop and Latin Patriarch of Constantinople (1403-1472)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Johannes_Bessarion_aport012.png"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Academics"
  slug: "academics"
profileType:
  name: "Academic"
  slug: "academic"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q39631"
birthDate: "1403-01-02"
deathDate: "1472-11-18"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           53.49
  momentum:             1.086005342561924
  historical:           22.02384266666667
  currentAttention:     5.415793151642209
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "STABLE"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
tags:
  - name: "Religious Figures"
    slug: "religious-figures"
  - name: "Writer / Author"
    slug: "writer-author"
  - name: "Philosophy"
    slug: "philosophy"
  - name: "News Broadcasting"
    slug: "news-broadcasting"
  - name: "Politics"
    slug: "politics"
  - name: "Literature"
    slug: "literature"
  - name: "Religion"
    slug: "religion"
  - name: "Medieval Era"
    slug: "medieval-era"
sources:
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q299446"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilios_Bessarion"
    title: "Wikipedia"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pantheon.world/profile/person/Basilios%20Bessarion"
    title: "Pantheon 2.0"
    type:  "DATABASE"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86"
    title: "بيساريون"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B3%D9%8A%D9%84%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%B3_%D8%A8%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D9%88%D9%86"
    title: "باسيليوس بيساريون"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92%D0%B8%D1%81%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BE%D0%BD_%D0%9D%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%B9%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8"
    title: "Висарион Никейски"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessari%C3%B3"
    title: "Bessarió"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilius_Bessarion"
    title: "Basilius Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessarion"
    title: "Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%92%CE%B7%CF%83%CF%83%CE%B1%CF%81%CE%AF%CF%89%CE%BD_%CE%BF_%CE%A4%CF%81%CE%B1%CF%80%CE%B5%CE%B6%CE%BF%CF%8D%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82"
    title: "Βησσαρίων ο Τραπεζούντιος"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessarion"
    title: "Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazilo_Besariono"
    title: "Bazilo Besariono"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilios_Bessarion"
    title: "Basilios Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Bessarion"
    title: "Johannes Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessarion_(cardinal)"
    title: "Bessarion (cardinal)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ha.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessarion"
    title: "Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bazil_Bessarion"
    title: "Bazil Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasz%C3%ADliosz_Viszar%C3%ADon"
    title: "Vaszíliosz Viszaríon"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilios_Bessarion"
    title: "Basilios Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessarione_(cardinale)"
    title: "Bessarione (cardinale)"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A8%E3%83%8F%E3%83%B3%E3%83%8D%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BB%E3%83%99%E3%83%83%E3%82%B5%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AA%E3%83%B3"
    title: "ヨハンネス・ベッサリオン"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%91%E1%83%90%E1%83%A1%E1%83%98%E1%83%9A_%E1%83%91%E1%83%94%E1%83%A1%E1%83%90%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9C%E1%83%98"
    title: "ბასილ ბესარიონი"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EB%B0%94%EC%8B%A4%EB%A6%AC%EC%98%A4%EC%8A%A4_%EB%B2%A0%EC%82%AC%EB%A6%AC%EC%98%A8"
    title: "바실리오스 베사리온"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilius_Bessario"
    title: "Basilius Bessario"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilios_Bessarion"
    title: "Basilios Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Bessarion"
    title: "Johannes Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilio_Besari%C3%B3n"
    title: "Basilio Besarión"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://als.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilius_Bessarion"
    title: "Basilius Bessarion"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Born Basil on 2 January 1403, he studied Neoplatonic philosophy under Gemistus Pletho before taking the monastic name Bessarion. He rose to titular Latin Patriarch of Constantinople, a symbolic bridge between Byzantine and Roman churches. As the Greek world crumbled, he became one of the famed scholars who ferried classical learning westward, fueling the 15th-century revival of letters. Rome elevated him to cardinal and twice considered him for the papacy itself. He died 18 November 1472, having lived long enough to see his transplanted tradition take root.