Andreas and his family moved to Rome, Italy during his childhood. Andreas and his brother Manuel soon became familiar with the Templar Order and joined their ranks, hoping to restore the fallen Byzantine Empire that had been crushed by the Ottomans in 1453. In the process, Andreas became a friend of Grand Master Rodrigo Borgia, and an acquaintance of Cem, the brother of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid II who was under house arrest in Italy.