John VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( gr, Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος, Iōánnēs Palaiológos; 18 December 1392 – 31 October 1448) was the penultimate
Byzantine emperor
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as ...
, ruling from 1425 to 1448.
Biography
John VIII was the eldest son of
Manuel II Palaiologos and
Helena Dragaš, the daughter of the
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
n prince
Constantine Dragaš. He was associated as co-emperor with his father before 1416 and became sole emperor on 1 July 1425, although he had already assumed full power on 19 January 1421.
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
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, which his brother
Andronikos had given to
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
in 1423. To secure protection against the Ottomans, he made two journeys to Italy in 1423 and 1439. In 1423, he became the last Byzantine emperor (the first since emperor
Constans II
Constans II ( grc-gre, Κώνστας, Kōnstas; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), nicknamed "the Bearded" ( la, Pogonatus; grc-gre, ὁ Πωγωνᾶτος, ho Pōgōnãtos), was the Eastern Roman emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last ...
' visit in 663) to make a visit to Rome. During the second journey he visited
Pope Eugene IV
Pope Eugene IV ( la, Eugenius IV; it, Eugenio IV; 1383 – 23 February 1447), born Gabriele Condulmer, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 3 March 1431 to his death in February 1447. Condulmer was a Venetian, and ...
in Ferrara and consented to the union of the
Greek and
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
churches. The union was ratified at the
Council of Florence
The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...
in 1439, which John attended with 700 followers including
Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople and
George Gemistos Plethon, a
Neoplatonist
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...
philosopher influential among the academics of
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. The union failed due to opposition in
Constantinople
la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه
, alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, but through his prudent conduct towards the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
he succeeded in holding possession of the city.
John VIII Palaiologos named his brother
Constantine XI, who had served as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
in Constantinople in 1437–1439, as his successor. Despite the machinations of his younger brother
Demetrios Palaiologos his mother Helena was able to secure Constantine XI's succession in 1448.
John VIII died at Constantinople in 1448, becoming the last reigning Byzantine emperor to die of natural causes, and was buried in the
Pantokrator Monastery.
Marriages
John VIII Palaiologos was married three times. His first marriage was in 1414 to
Anna of Moscow, daughter of Grand Prince
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian ( el, Βασίλειος ὁ Μακεδών, ''Basíleios ō Makedṓn'', 811 – 29 August 886), was a Byzantine Emperor who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a lowly peasant in the theme of Macedonia, he rose in the ...
of
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
(1389–1425) and
Sophia of Lithuania
Sophia of Lithuania (1371–1453), also known as Sofia Vitovtovna, was a Grand Princess consort of Muscovy by marriage to Vasili I of Russia. She was regent of Muscovy during the minority of her son from 1425 to 1434.
Life
She was the daughter ...
. She died in August 1417 of plague.
The second marriage, arranged by his father Manuel II and Pope Martin V, was to
Sophia of Montferrat
Sophia of Montferrat (or Sophia Palaiologina; died 21 August 1434) was a Byzantine empress by marriage to John VIII Palaiologos.
Life
Sophia was a daughter of Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat, Theodore II Palaiologos, Marquess of Montferrat ...
in 1421. She was a daughter of
Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat
Theodore II Palaeologus (died 16 April 1418) was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1381.
Life
He was the thirdborn son of John II of Montferrat and Isabel of Majorca. Theodore was named governor of the margraviate after the death of his broth ...
, and his second wife Joanna of Bar. Joanna was a daughter of
Robert I, Duke of Bar
Robert I of Bar (8 November 1344 – 12 April 1411) was Marquis of Pont-à-Mousson and Count and then Duke of Bar. He succeeded his elder brother Edward II of Bar as count in 1352. His parents were Henry IV of Bar and Yolande of Flanders.
Whe ...
, and
Marie de Valois
Marie Marguerite de Valois (1444–1473) was the Illegitimate
Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain ...
. Her maternal grandparents were
John II of France
John II (french: Jean II; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed ...
and
Bonne of Bohemia.
His third marriage, arranged by the future cardinal, Bessarion, was to
Maria of Trebizond
Maria Megale Komnene ( el, Μαρία Μεγάλη Κομνηνή; died 17 December 1439), known as Maria of Trebizond ( el, Μαρία της Τραπεζούντας), was Byzantine Empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaio ...
in 1427. She was a daughter of
Alexios IV of Trebizond and
Theodora Kantakouzene. She died in the winter of 1439, also from plague. None of the marriages produced any children.
Representation in art
John VIII Palaiologos was famously depicted by several painters on the occasion of his visit to Italy.
Drawings of John VIII Palaiologos
by Pisanello, Florence 1439 Perhaps the most famous of his portraits is the one by Benozzo Gozzoli
Benozzo Gozzoli (4 October 1497) was an Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. A pupil of Fra Angelico, Gozzoli is best known for a series of murals in the Magi Chapel of the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, depicting festive, vibrant processions ...
, on the southern wall of the Magi Chapel
The Magi Chapel is a chapel in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi of Florence, Italy. Its walls are almost entirely covered by a famous cycle of frescoes by the Renaissance master Benozzo Gozzoli, painted around 1459 for the Medici family, the effective ...
, at the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, in Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
. According to some interpretations, John VIII would be also portrayed in Piero della Francesca's ''Flagellation''. A portrait
A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...
of John appears in a manuscript at the Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...
in the Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula, or simply Sinai (now usually ) (, , cop, Ⲥⲓⲛⲁ), is a peninsula in Egypt, and the only part of the country located in Asia. It is between the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south, and is a ...
.
Gallery
John VIII Palaiologos, Sinai.jpg, Portrait of John VIII Palaiologos from a manuscript at Saint Catherine's Monastery
Saint Catherine's Monastery ( ar, دير القدّيسة كاترين; grc-gre, Μονὴ τῆς Ἁγίας Αἰκατερίνης), officially the Sacred Autonomous Royal Monastery of Saint Katherine of the Holy and God-Trodden Mount Sinai, ...
circa 1440
File:Pisanello, medaglia di giovanni paleologo, I esemplare del bargello.JPG, Medal of the Emperor John VIII Palaiologos during his visit to Florence, by Pisanello
Pisanello (c. 1380/1395c. 1450/1455), born Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto, also erroneously called Vittore Pisano by Giorgio Vasari, was one of the most distinguished painters of the early Italian Renaissance and Quatt ...
(1438). The legend reads, in Greek: "John the Palaiologos, ''basileus
''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean " monarch", referring to either a " king" or an "emperor" and ...
'' and ''autokrator
''Autokrator'' or ''Autocrator'' ( grc-gre, αὐτοκράτωρ, autokrátōr, , self-ruler," "one who rules by himself," whence English "autocrat, from grc, αὐτός, autós, self, label=none + grc, κράτος, krátos, dominion, power ...
'' of the Romans".
Sketches of John VIII Palaiologos during his visit at the council of Florence in 1438 by Pisanello.jpg, Sketches of John VIII Palaiologos during his visit at the Council of Florence
The Council of Florence is the seventeenth ecumenical council recognized by the Catholic Church, held between 1431 and 1449. It was convoked as the Council of Basel by Pope Martin V shortly before his death in February 1431 and took place in ...
in 1438, by Pisanello
Pisanello (c. 1380/1395c. 1450/1455), born Antonio di Puccio Pisano or Antonio di Puccio da Cereto, also erroneously called Vittore Pisano by Giorgio Vasari, was one of the most distinguished painters of the early Italian Renaissance and Quatt ...
Piero - The Flagellation.jpg, Piero della Francesca's ''Flagellation'', possibly depicting John VIII Palaiologos as Pontius Pilatus (the leftmost figure)
File:Palaeologoi eagle XV c Byzantine miniature.jpg, Device of the Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, featuring the double-headed eagle
In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle (or double-eagle) is a charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the symbol are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, origi ...
with the ''sympilema'' (family cypher) of the Palaiologos dynasty
File:161 - John VIII Palaiologos (Mutinensis - color).png, Portrait of John VIII Palaiologos from Mutinensis gr. 122
Ancestry
See also
*List of Byzantine emperors
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empire, to Fall of Constantinople, its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. On ...
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
Further reading
* Harris, Jonathan, ''The End of Byzantium''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2010.
* Kolditz, Sebastian, ''Johannes VIII. Palaiologos und das Konzil von Ferrara-Florenz (1438/39).'' 2 Vol., Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann Verlag 2013–2014, .
* Lazaris, Stavros, "L’empereur Jean VIII Paléologue vu par Pisanello lors du concile de Ferrare – Florence", ''Byzantinische Forschungen'', 29, 2007, p. 293-32
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Palaiologos, John 08
1392 births
1448 deaths
John 08
Converts to Eastern Catholicism from Eastern Orthodoxy
Greek Eastern Catholics
Former Greek Orthodox Christians
John 08
Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars
Sons of Byzantine emperors