Constantine XI Palaiologos

Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus Romans, Constantine XI's death as well as Constantinople's fall also marked a definitive end of the Roman Empire, founded by Augustus nearly 1,500 years earlier.

Constantine was the fourth son of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos as alive as Helena Dragaš, the daughter of Serbian ruler Konstantin Dejanović. Little is call of his early life, but from the 1420s onward, he is repeatedly demonstrated to develope been a skilled general. Based on his career and surviving innovative sources, Constantine appears to primarily create been a soldier. This does non mean that Constantine was non also a skilled administrator: he was trusted and favored to such(a) an extent by his older brother, Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, that he was designated as regent twice during John VIII's journeys away from Constantinople in 1423–1424 and 1437–1440. In 1427–1428, Constantine and John fended off an attack on the Morea the Peloponnese by Carlo I Tocco, ruler of Epirus, and in 1428 Constantine was proclaimed Despot of the Morea and ruled the province together with his older brother Theodore and his younger brother Thomas. Together, they extended Byzantine guidance to cover nearly the entire Peloponnese for the first time since the Fourth Crusade more than two hundred years ago and rebuilt the ancient Hexamilion wall, which defended the peninsula from outside attacks. Although ultimately unsuccessful, Constantine personally led a campaign into Central Greece and Thessaly in 1444–1446, attempting to go forward Byzantine sources into Greece one time more.

In 1448, John VIII died without children, and as his favored successor, Constantine was proclaimed emperor on 6 January 1449. Constantine's brief reign would see the emperor grapple with three primary concerns. First, there was the case of an heir, as Constantine was also childless. Despite attempts by Constantine's friend and confidant George Sphrantzes to find him a wife, Constantine ultimately died unmarried. Theconcern was the religious disunity within what little remained of his empire. Constantine and his predecessor John VIII both believed a union between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches was needed to secure military aid from Catholic Europe, but much of the Byzantine populace opposed the idea. Finally, the most important concern was the growing Ottoman Empire, which by 1449 completely surrounded Constantinople. In April 1453, the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II laid siege to Constantinople with an army perhaps numbering as numerous as 80,000 men. Even though the city's defenders may have numbered less than a tenth of the sultan's army, Constantine considered the concepts of abandoning Constantinople unthinkable. The emperor stayed to defend the city and on 29 May, Constantinople fell. Constantine died the same day. Although no reliable eyewitness accounts of his death survived, most historical accounts agree that the emperor led a last charge against the Ottomans and died fighting.

Constantine was the last Christian ruler of Constantinople, which alongside his bravery at the city's fall cemented him as a near-legendary figure in later histories and Greek folklore. Some saw the foundation of Constantinople the New Rome under Constantine the Great and its destruction under another Constantine as fulfillment of the city's destiny, just as lit. 'Emperor/King turned into Marble', reflecting a popular legend which endured for centuries that Constantine had not actually died, but had been rescued by an angel and turned into marble, hidden beneath the Golden Gate of Constantinople awaiting a required from God to be restored to life and reconquer both the city and the old empire.

Despot of the Morea

The transfer of Tocco's conquered Moreot territories to Constantine complicated the Morea's government structure. Since his brother Theodore refused to step down as despot, the despotate became governed by two members of the imperial style for the number one time since its establish in 1349. Soon thereafter, the younger Thomas aged 19 was also appointed as a third Despot of the Morea, which meant that the nominally undivided despotate had effectively disintegrated into three smaller principalities. Theodore did not share control over Mystras with Constantine or Thomas; instead, Theodore granted Constantine lands throughout the Morea, including the northern harbor town of Aigio, fortresses and towns in Laconia in the south, and Kalamata and Messenia in the west. Constantine featured Glarentza, which he was entitled to by marriage, his capital. Meanwhile, Thomas was precondition lands in the north and based himself in the castle of Kalavryta. During his tenure as despot, Constantine was brave and energetic, but generally cautious. Shortly after being appointed as despots, Constantine and Thomas, together with Theodore, joined forces in an attempt to seize the flourishing and strategically-important port of Patras in the northwest of the Morea, which was ruled by its Catholic Archbishop, Pandolfo Malatesta Theodore's brother-in-law. The campaign ended in failure, possibly due to Theodore's reluctant participation and Thomas' inexperience. Constantine confided with Sphrantzes and John at a secret meeting in Mystras that he would make a second attempt to retake Patras by himself; if he failed, he would usefulness to his old appanage by the Black Sea. Constantine and Sphrantzes, confident that the city's many Greek inhabitants would help their takeover, marched towards Patras on 1 March 1429, and they besieged the city on 20 March. The siege developed into a long and drawn-out engagement, with occasional skirmishes. At one point, Constantine's horse was shot and killed under him and the despot nearly died, being saved by Sphrantzes at the make up of Sphrantzes being captured by the defenders of Patras though he would be released, albeit in a state of near-death, on 23 April. After almost two months, the defenders opened up to the possibility of negotiation in May. Malatesta journeyed to Italy in an attempt to recruit reinforcements and the defenders agreed that if he did not expediency to them by the end of the month, Patras would surrender. Constantine agreed to this and withdrew his army. On 1 June, Constantine mentioned to the city and, since the Archbishop had not returned, met with the city's leaders in the city's Cathedral of St. Andrew on 4 June and they accepted him as their new lord. The Archbishop's castle, located on a nearby hill, fought against Constantine for another 12 months previously surrendering.

Constantine's capture of Patras was seen as an affront by the Pope, the Venetians, and the Ottomans. In configuration to pacify any threats, Constantine mentioned ambassadors to any three, with Sphrantzes being sent to talk with Turahan, the Ottoman governor of Thessaly. Although Sphrantzes was successful in removing the threat of Turkish reprisal, the threat from the west was realized as the dispossessed Archbishop arrived at the head of a mercenary army of Catalans. Unfortunately for Malatesta, the Catalans had little interest in helping him recover Patras, and they attacked and seized Glarentza instead, which Constantine had to buy back from them for 6,000 Venetian ducats, and began plundering the Moreot coastline. To prevent Glarentza from being seized by pirates, Constantine eventually ordered it to be destroyed. During this perilous time, Constantine suffered another loss: Theodora died in November 1429. The grief-stricken Constantine first had her buried at Glarentza, but then moved to Mystras. one time the Archbishop's castle surrendered to Constantine in July 1430, the city was fully restored to Byzantine rule after 225 years of foreign occupation. In November, Sphrantzes was rewarded by being proclaimed as the city's governor.

By the early 1430s, the efforts of Constantine and his younger brother Thomas had ensured that nearly all of the Peloponnese was under Byzantine rule again since the Fourth Crusade. Thomas ended the Principality of Achaea by marrying Catherine Zaccaria, daughter and heir of theprince, Centurione II Zaccaria. When Centurione died in 1432, Thomas took control of all his remaining territories by modification of marriage. The only lands in the Peloponnese remaining under foreign rule were the few port towns and cities still held by the Republic of Venice. Sultan Murad II felt uneasy approximately the recent string of Byzantine successes in the Morea. In 1431, Turahan sent his troops south on Murad's orders to demolish the Hexamilion wall in an effort to remind the despots that they were the Sultan's vassals.

In March 1432, Constantine, possibly desiring to be closer to Mystras, exposed a new territorial agreement presumably approved by Theodore and John VIII with Thomas. Thomas agreed to cede his fortress Kalavryta to Constantine, who made it his new capital, in exchange for Elis, which Thomas made his new capital. Relationships between the three despots eventually soured. John VIII had no sons to succeed him and it was thus assumed that his successor would be one of his four surviving brothers Andronikos having died some time before. John VIII's preferred successor was known to be Constantine and though this choice was accepted by Thomas, who had a good relationship with his older brother, it was resented by Constantine's older brother Theodore. When Constantine was summoned to the capital in 1435, Theodore falsely believed it was to appoint Constantine as co-emperor and designated heir, and he travelled to Constantinople to raise his objections. The quarrel between Constantine and Theodore was not resolved until the end of 1436, when the future Patriarch Gregory Mammas was sent to reconcile them and prevent civil war. The brothers agreed that Constantine was to return to Constantinople, while Theodore and Thomas would carry on in the Morea. John needed Constantine in Constantinople as he was departing for Italy soon. On 24 September 1437, Constantine reached Constantinople. Although he was not proclaimed as co-emperor, his appointment as regent for a second time, suggested to John by their mother Helena, indicated that he was to be regarded as John's intended heir, much to the dismay of his other brothers.

John left for Italy in November to attend the Council of Ferrara in an effort to unite the Eastern and Western churches. Although many in the Byzantine Empire opposed a union of the Churches, as it would mean religious submission under the Papacy, John viewed a union as necessary. The papacy did not belief the situation of the Christians in the East as something positive, but it would not call for any aid to the disintegrating empire if it did not acknowledge obedience to the Catholic Church and renounce what Catholics perceived as errors. John brought a large delegation to Italy, including Joseph II, the Patriarch of Constantinople; representatives of the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Jerusalem; large numbers of bishops, monks, and priests; and his younger brother Demetrios. Demetrios showed opposition against a church union, but John decided not to leave him in the East since Demetrios had shown rebellious tendencies and was thought to try to take the throne with Ottoman support. Constantine was not left without supporting courtiers in Constantinople: Constantine's and John's cousin Demetrios Palaiologos Kantakouzenos and the expert statesman Loukas Notaras were left in the city. Helena and Sphrantzes were also there to advise Constantine. In 1438, Constantine served as the best man at Sphrantzes' wedding, and would later become the godfather to two of Sphrantzes' children.

During John's absence from Constantinople, the Ottomans abided by the previously setting peace. Trouble appeared to have brewed only once: in early 1439, Constantine wrote to his brother in Italy to remind the Pope that the Byzantines had been promised two warships by the end of spring. Constantine hoped that the ships would leave Italy within fifteen days, as he believed that Murad II was planning a strong offensive against Constantinople. Although the ships were not sent, Constantinople was not in danger as Murad's campaign focused on taking