() at Thessalonica . The first ruler of Epirus to receive the title of despot was Michael II, from his uncle Manuel of Thessalonica in the 1230s, and then again, as a sign of submission and vassalage, from the Nicaean emperor John III Vatatzes. Use of a version of the title despot actually associated with territory began under the rule of the Orsini family, following the extinction of the original Komnenos Doukas dynasty. Of Italian descent, the Orsini rulers rendered their title as ("Despot of Romania"). Epirus was a part of Romania (not meaning the modern country, but essentially "the territories of the Roman Empire", i.e. Byzantium). Thomas II Preljubović, who was granted Epirus by its previous ruler, claimant Serbian emperor Simeon Uroš, was granted the dignity of despot by Simeon and titled himself as the "Despot of Ioannina" to designate his rule over his capital Ioannina and all of Epirus. Upon becoming the ruler of Ioannina in 1411, Carlo I Tocco assumed the title of despot, either as a reference to the Komnenos Doukas and Orsini despots, or to the title assumed by Thomas II Preljubović. The locals insisted that Carlo seek recognition of that title from the Byzantine emperor, and after having sent his brother Leonardo to Constantinople, Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos formally recognized him as despot. To Carlo, the title of despot meant that he could claim rulership over all of Epirus, not just Ioannina; he notably captured Arta, capital under the Komnenos Doukas and Orsini, in 1416. To the Byzantines in Constantinople, the granting of the title served more to buffer the lack of actual imperial control in the region, only being a nominal reference to the power previously exercised in Epirus by Greek despots. From 1418 onwards, Carlo rendered his title in Latin as Despotus Romaniae, as the Orsini despots had done before him. This title had also been used by Centurione II Zaccaria, Prince of Achaea, and Carlo might have assumed it in 1418 not as a reference to previous rulers of Epirus, but essentially as a usurpation of Centurione's (his former feudal overlord) title after the Prince of Achaea had suffered devastating losses of territory to the Byzantines in that same year. Epirote sources write that the title was confirmed by Manuel II, but contemporary Byzantine sources are silent on the matter. Documents from Ioannia and Arta give Carlo the full title ("Lord