# Fame.am profile — machine-readable export
# Canonical URL: https://fame.am/person/ioan-iacob-heraclid
# Generated: 2026-08-14T23:22:57.680Z

schema: https://schema.org/Person
url: "https://fame.am/person/ioan-iacob-heraclid"
name: "Ioan Iacob Heraclid"
slug: "ioan-iacob-heraclid"
description: "Iacob Heraclid, born Basilicò and also known as Iacobus Heraclides, Heraclid Despotul, or Despot Vodă, was a Greek Maltese soldier, adventurer and intellectual, who reigned as Prince of Moldavia from November 1561 to November 1563. He is remembered as a pioneer of the Protestant faith in Eastern Europe, a champion of Renaissance humanism, and a founder of academic life in Moldavia. Active within the Greek diaspora in several countries, he was a student of Hermodorus Lestarchus, and worked as a scribe alongside his cousin, Iakobos Diassorinos. Heraclid forged his genealogy several times, claiming to be a member of the Branković dynasty; he was more reliably related to the Byzantine nobility in Rhodes, and claimed the titular lordship of Samos. In the late 1540s and early '50s, he studied medicine at the University of Montpellier, and married a local. A duelist and alleged infanticide, Heraclid fled over the border with the Holy Roman Empire before he could be executed for murder. He was slowly won over by the Reformation, serving the Protestant princes of the Upper Saxon Circle."
tagline: "Ruler of Moldavia (1511–1563)"
image: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:FilePath/Heraclid_Despot%2C_effigy_on_thaler%2C_1563.png?width=1200"
gender: "male"
category:
  name: "Historical Figures"
  slug: "historical-figures"
profileType:
  name: "Historical Figure"
  slug: "historical-figure"
  entityType: "https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2798645"
birthDate: "1511-11-18"
deathDate: "1563-11-15"
livingStatus: "DECEASED"
scores:
  popularity:           45.51
  momentum:             0
  historical:           11.15979333333333
  currentAttention:     0
  sourceConfidence:     60
  profileCompleteness:  60
  trendDirection:       "FALLING"
ranks:
  global:   null
  country:  null
  category: null
sources:
  - url: "https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%82_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5"
    title: "Деспот Воде"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D9%8A%D8%B9%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A8_%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AF"
    title: "يعقوب هيراكليد"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://arz.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%88%D8%A7%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%8A%D9%83%D9%88%D8%A8_%D9%87%D9%8A%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%83%D9%84%D9%8A%D8%AF"
    title: "ايوان ايكوب هيراكليد"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%99%CF%89%CE%AC%CE%BD%CE%BD%CE%B7%CF%82_%CE%99%CE%AC%CE%BA%CF%89%CE%B2%CE%BF%CF%82_%CE%97%CF%81%CE%B1%CE%BA%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%B4%CE%B7%CF%82"
    title: "Ιωάννης Ιάκωβος Ηρακλείδης"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iacob_Heraclid"
    title: "Iacob Heraclid"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_I_Despot-Vod%C4%83"
    title: "Juan I Despot-Vodă"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioan_Ier_Despot-Vod%C4%83"
    title: "Ioan Ier Despot-Vodă"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%99%D7%95%D7%90%D7%9F_%D7%99%D7%90%D7%A7%D7%95%D7%91_%D7%94%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A7%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%93"
    title: "יואן יאקוב הראקליד"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/II._J%C3%A1nos_moldvai_fejedelem"
    title: "II. János moldvai fejedelem"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ioan_Iacob_Heraclid"
    title: "Ioan Iacob Heraclid"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_II_Jakub_Heraklid_Despot"
    title: "Jan II Jakub Heraklid Despot"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Despot_Vod%C4%83"
    title: "Despot Vodă"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B5%D1%81%D0%BF%D0%BE%D1%82_%D0%92%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%8D"
    title: "Деспот Водэ"
    type:  "WIKIPEDIA"
  - url: "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1060091"
    title: "Wikidata"
    type:  "WIKIDATA"

# bio (long form, separated for readability)
bio: |
  Imported from discovery source: wikidata-dump