Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy

Amadeus VI, often known as the Green Count (Italian: Il Conte Verde), held the position of Count of Savoy from 1343 to 1383. The individual in question was the firstborn offspring of Aymon, the Count of Savoy, and Yolande Palaeologina of Montferrat. Despite initially being under the control of a regency, he demonstrated himself to be a commanding leader, propelling Savoy’s rise as a dominant force in Europe both politically and militarily.

In 1366, Amadeus launched a small military campaign against Murad I of the Ottoman Empire. The purpose of this campaign was to support his cousin, John V Palaiologos, who was the Byzantine Emperor and the son of the Dowager Empress, Anne of Savoy. Amadeus led a fleet of 15 ships and 1,700 soldiers. Amadeus collaborated with Francesco I of Lesbos and the Hungarian monarch Louis the Great in this military operation, successfully repelled the Turks from Gallipoli. (However, this triumph was of brief duration, as they were ultimately defeated by the Turkish Sultan Murad I in Gallipoli a few years later.) During this period, John V was detained by the Bulgarian authorities. Amadeus strategically redirected his military troops towards Bulgaria, successfully seizing control of the Black Sea ports of Mesembria and Sozopolis. Subsequently, he initiated a siege on Varna and issued an ultimatum to Tsar Ivan Alexander, urging him to either free John V or face more defeat. The city was subjected to a fruitless siege; nonetheless, Ivan Alexander managed to liberate John V, prompting Amadeus to return to Mesembria for the winter season. Amadeus arrived in Mesembria alongside John V prior to the Christmas season.

Between 1372 and 1373, he participated in combat alongside Enguerrand VII, the Lord of Coucy, in Italy as a member of the Papal army, opposing the Visconti dynasty.

In the year 1377, he issued a directive for the implementation of the initial public mechanical clock within the area, and thereafter appointed an official to oversee its upkeep.18 He established a system of government-funded assistance for the impoverished, which was among the pioneering initiatives in the late medieval era.

In the year 1381, during his time in Turin, he had a role in facilitating negotiations between Genoa and Venice, ultimately facilitating the signing of a peace treaty that effectively concluded the War of Chioggia and wider Venetian-Genoese War.

Amadeus was then convinced by Antipope Clement VII, known as the Avignon Obedience, to join Louis I, the Duke of Anjou, on a voyage to Naples. In 1382, the Count achieved victory in the conquests of Abruzzi and Apulia, alongside Louis. On 27 February 1383, he passed away in close proximity to Castropignano and was subsequently laid to rest at Hautecombe Abbey on 15 June 1383.

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