Damalas

The House of Zaccaria de Damalà—now Damalas— (Italian: Damalà, Greek: Δαμαλάς) is a formerly ruling family of Genoese origin, established in the 14th century on the Greek island of Chios, due to the marriage of Admiral Benedetto I Zaccaria with a sister of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos; it later received the hereditary dignity of “King and Despot of Asia Minor” by grant of the Latin emperor in 1325, and ultimately produced the last ruling dynasty of the Principality of Achaea in the 15th century.

After the dissolution of the family's Lordship of Chios in 1329, they concentrated their efforts on the Barony of Damalà in the Principality of Achaea, which they previously acquired through marriage to Jacqueline de la Roche, heiress of the dukes of Athens. In time, they became the principality's last titled rulers, marrying in the process with other major houses ruling over Greek territories and in the Balkans, most notably, the Palaiologos, Asen and Tocco families. In the decades following the loss of their domains in the mid-15th century, the Zaccaria element of their name was gradually dropped, reduced to Damalà in reference to their former Achaean seat, and by the early 19th century, Hellenized to Damalas.

From the 15th to 20th centuries, the family maintained noble standing under Ottoman and Venetian dominion, particularly on Chios until its 1913 induction into the independent Kingdom of Greece, where they also held prominence since its 1832 founding through civic leadership, recurring royal association, and integration into aristocratic and political life. Their presence was also distinctly marked in the cities of Ermoupoli, Constantinople, Athens, and Piraeus, where they remained influential into the 20th century.

The Damalas that are descended from the Zaccaria dynasty share their name with other unrelated families of purely Byzantine origin and Orthodox faith, bearing the name Damalas, and who appear as early as 1230 in the Thracesian Theme of the Eastern Roman Empire. Descendants of these Greek families also settled on Chios and other nearby regions, and are often confused with the Genoese-descended Zaccaria de Damalà.