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John VIII Palaiologos

John VIII Palaiologos
Palaio.jpg
John VIII Palaiologos, by Benozzo Gozzoli
Emperor of the Byzantine Empire
Reign 1425–1448
Predecessor Manuel II Palaiologos
Successor Constantine XI Palaiologos
Born 18 December 1392
Died 31 October 1448 [aged 55]
Spouse Anna of Moscow
Sophia of Montferrat
Maria of Trebizond
Dynasty Palaiologos
Father Manuel II Palaiologos
Mother Helena Dragaš

John VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus (Greek: Ίωάννης Η' Παλαιολόγος, Iōannēs Ē' Palaiologos; 18 December 1392 – 31 October 1448) was the penultimate reigning Byzantine Emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448.

John VIII Palaiologos was the eldest son of Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of the Serbian prince Constantine Dragaš. He was associated as co-emperor with his father before 1416 and became sole emperor in 1425.

In June 1422, John VIII Palaiologos supervised the defense of Constantinople during a siege by Murad II, but had to accept the loss of Thessalonica, which his brother Andronikos had given to Venice in 1423. To secure protection against the Ottomans, he visited Pope Eugene IV and consented to the union of the Greek and Roman churches. The Union was ratified at the Council of Florence in 1439, which John attended with 700 followers including Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople and George Gemistos Plethon, a Neoplatonist philosopher influential among the academics of Italy. The Union failed due to opposition in Constantinople, but through his prudent conduct towards the Ottoman Empire he succeeded in holding possession of the city.


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