Palaiologan Empire

Roman Empire
Βασιλεία Ῥωμαίων
1261–1453
Dynastic Banner Dynastic Emblem
Motto Βασιλεύς Βασιλέων Βασιλεύων Βασιλευόντων Emperor of Emperors, Ruling over Rulers
The Byzantine Empire ca. 1265
Capital		Constantinople
Languages		Greek
Government
Emperor
•	1261–1282	Michael VIII
•	1448–1453	Constantine XI
History
•	Recapture of Constantinople from the Latins	July 25, 1261
•	Fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans	May 29, 1453
Preceded by Succeeded by Empire of Nicaea Latin Empire Despotate of Epirus Ottoman Empire

The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Palaiologoi dynasty in a period spanning from 1261 to 1453 AD, from the restoration of Roman rule to Constantinople by the usurper Michael VIII Palaiologos to the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire.

From the start, the régime faced numerous problems. The Turks of Asia Minor had since 1263 been raiding and expanding into Byzantine territory in Asia Minor. Anatolia, which had formed the very heart of the shrinking empire, was systematically lost to numerous Turkic ghazis, whose raids evolved into conquering expeditions inspired by Islamic zeal. With a decreasing source of food and manpower, the Palaiologoi were forced to fight on several fronts, most of them being Christian states: the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Serbian Empire, the remnants of the Latin Empire and even the Knights Hospitaller.

The loss of land in the east to the Turks and in the west to the Bulgarians was complemented by two disastrous civil wars, the Black Death and the 1354 earthquake at Gallipoli, whose destruction and evacuation allowed the Turks to occupy it. By 1380, the Byzantine Empire consisted of the capital Constantinople and a few other isolated exclaves, which only nominally recognized the Emperor as their lord. Nonetheless, Byzantine diplomacy coupled with the adroit exploitation of internal divisions and external threats among their enemies, and above all the invasion of Anatolia by Timur, allowed Byzantium to survive until 1453. The last remnants of the Byzantine Empire, the Despotate of the Morea and the Empire of Trebizond, fell shortly afterwards.