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The Empire Of Nicaea - Michael VIII Ducas Angelus Comnenus Paleologus
One of the towering figures of Byzantine history, Michael VIII founded the last of the great Byzantine dynasties and is credited with restoring the old empire when he recovered Constantinople from the Latin Emperor Baldwin II. A member of old nobility, his qualifications for leadership were extraordinary: he was a brilliant commander whose personality consistently won him supporters in all circles, including the army and the clergy.
His rise to power was typically Byzantine: when the Nicaean emperor Theodore II died young, at age 36, in August, 1258, he was succeeded by his seven-year-old son John IV Lascaris. Theodore had arranged for George Muzalon to serve as regent to the young emperor, but he was despised by the aristocracy, who nine days later attacked and murdered him before an altar at a ceremony being held for the deceased Theodore. Power passed to the popular aristocrat Michael VIII, who was first megas dux [Grand Duke], then Despot, and finally co-Emperor with John IV at the turn of 1258/9. It would seem that Michael's goal from the outset was to restore the former Byzantine Empire; to this end he re-captured Constantinople on July 25, 1261, and three weeks later was re-crowned in St. Sophia.
When Michael VIII re-took Constantinople, the centre of the Byzantine world shifted from Asia Minor to the old capital, which this emperor went to great lengths to fortify and defend by strengthening the army and rebuilding the navy. But all of these efforts exhausted the empire’s resources. It might be said with fairness that the grand scale of Michael's ambitions contributed directly to the downfall of the Byzantine Empire soon after it was restored, and that not all of the blame must be shouldered by later emperors, including his son and successor, Andronicus II.
We have particularly good sources for Michael VIII due to the history of George Pachymeres [1242 to c.1310], perhaps the greatest Byzantine scholar of the 13th century, which provides a detailed, contemporary, view of Michael's reign. The typicon of 1282 for the monastery of St. Demetrius in Constantinople and the typicon for the monastery of the Archangel Michael on Mt. Auxentius also contain useful information, with the former even providing insights into his personality.
One of the towering figures of Byzantine history, Michael VIII founded the last of the great Byzantine dynasties and is credited with restoring the old empire when he recovered Constantinople from the Latin Emperor Baldwin II. A member of old nobility, his qualifications for leadership were extraordinary: he was a brilliant commander whose personality consistently won him supporters in all circles, including the army and the clergy.
His rise to power was typically Byzantine: when the Nicaean emperor Theodore II died young, at age 36, in August, 1258, he was succeeded by his seven-year-old son John IV Lascaris. Theodore had arranged for George Muzalon to serve as regent to the young emperor, but he was despised by the aristocracy, who nine days later attacked and murdered him before an altar at a ceremony being held for the deceased Theodore. Power passed to the popular aristocrat Michael VIII, who was first megas dux [Grand Duke], then Despot, and finally co-Emperor with John IV at the turn of 1258/9. It would seem that Michael's goal from the outset was to restore the former Byzantine Empire; to this end he re-captured Constantinople on July 25, 1261, and three weeks later was re-crowned in St. Sophia.
When Michael VIII re-took Constantinople, the centre of the Byzantine world shifted from Asia Minor to the old capital, which this emperor went to great lengths to fortify and defend by strengthening the army and rebuilding the navy. But all of these efforts exhausted the empire’s resources. It might be said with fairness that the grand scale of Michael's ambitions contributed directly to the downfall of the Byzantine Empire soon after it was restored, and that not all of the blame must be shouldered by later emperors, including his son and successor, Andronicus II.
We have particularly good sources for Michael VIII due to the history of George Pachymeres [1242 to c.1310], perhaps the greatest Byzantine scholar of the 13th century, which provides a detailed, contemporary, view of Michael's reign. The typicon of 1282 for the monastery of St. Demetrius in Constantinople and the typicon for the monastery of the Archangel Michael on Mt. Auxentius also contain useful information, with the former even providing insights into his personality.