John II Orsini

John II Orsini, also John Komnenos Doukas (died 1335), was the second son of Count John I Orsini of Cephalonia. In 1323 he murdered his brother Nicholas, who had seized Epirus five years earlier, and succeeded him as count palatine and despot.

In 1324 John of Gravina annexed Cephalonia, so John submitted to Emperor Andronikos II, adopted Orthodoxy and married Anna Palaiologina. The emperor granted him the title of despot.

In 1332 he annexed Thessaly, but Emperor Andronikos III soon took its eastern part. John died suddenly in 1335, perhaps poisoned by Anna.