1224–1282 · Byzantine emperor (1259–1282)
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Emperor of Nicaea and founder of the Palaiologan dynasty; he recovered Constantinople from the Latins in 1261 and accepted church union at Lyon in 1274 against the threat of Charles of Anjou.
BIOGRAPHICAL DOSSIER
Life and historical role
Life and political setting
Michael came from one of the leading aristocratic families of the Empire of Nicaea. In 1258 he became regent for the young emperor John IV Laskaris, was proclaimed co-emperor in 1259, and later had John blinded and took sole power.
Role in the Crusades
A few months after he signed the Treaty of Nymphaion with Genoa in 1261, his commander Alexios Strategopoulos entered Constantinople on 25 July 1261 and the Latin Empire came to an end. Michael entered the city in ceremony on 15 August. In later years he negotiated with the papacy against King Charles of Anjou of Sicily's plans to restore the Latin Empire, and had church union accepted at the Second Council of Lyon in 1274.
Historical significance and source problems
Church union met with strong opposition in Byzantium. Michael's diplomacy is thought to have played a part in the Sicilian Vespers revolt of 1282, which ended Charles's plans. He died the same year. George Pachymeres and George Akropolites are the main Byzantine sources.
Biographical information is linked to the sources shown on the page and to the connected event records. Disputed dates are given as approximate, gaps are not filled by conjecture, and later literary or visual depictions are not treated as contemporary portraits.