General Notes

Michael VIII Palaeologus (circa 1224-82), Byzantine emperor (1261-82), who
restored Greek rule over the Byzantine Empire, which had been conquered by the
Latins in 1204. An aristocrat, Michael served the emperors of Nicaea, a Greek
principality established after the Latin victory. When Emperor Theodore II
Lascaris died, Michael was named guardian of his son and successor, but soon
seized (1259) power for himself. In 1261 Michael's army captured
Constantinople from the Latins. With much of the Byzantine Empire now in his
hands, he had himself crowned emperor. The last years of his reign were spent
in a protracted struggle with Charles I, Angevin king of the Two Sicilies, who
was covetous of his domain. Michael fomented a plot by Sicilian rebels in
1282-the so-called Sicilian Vespers-which finally turned the tide in his
favor. He died later the same year on a campaign in Thrace.