User:Yankees from Canada/翻译条目1: 米海尔八世

米海尔八世·巴列奥略
罗马人的皇帝与独裁者
14世纪初期拜占庭史学家乔治·帕奇梅雷斯一卷名为《历史》（Historia）的手稿中皇帝米海尔八世的微缩画像
拜占庭皇帝
統治	1261年8月15日－1282年12月11日
前任	鲍德温二世（拉丁帝国）
繼任	安德洛尼卡二世
尼西亚皇帝
統治	1259年1月1日－1261年8月15日
前任	约翰四世
繼任	末任
出生	1224 尼西亚帝国
逝世	1282年12月11日（58岁） 拜占庭帝国帕克弥翁，位于利西馬其亞附近
配偶	狄奥多拉·巴列奥略吉娜
子嗣 更多...	伊琳娜·巴列奥略吉娜 安德洛尼卡二世 君士坦丁·巴列奥略 尤多基娅·巴列奥略格娜 狄奥多尔·巴列奥略 欧弗洛绪涅·巴列奥略吉娜 玛丽亚·巴列奥略吉娜
朝代	巴列奥略王朝
父親	安德洛尼卡·巴列奥略
母親	狄奥多拉·安吉丽娜·巴列奥略吉娜
宗教信仰	东正教

巴列奥略王朝
年表
米海尔八世		1259–1282
与安德洛尼卡二世共治， 1261–1282
安德洛尼卡二世		1282–1328
与米海尔九世（1294–1320）及安德洛尼卡三世（1321–1328）共治
安德洛尼卡三世		1328–1341
约翰五世		1341–1391
与约翰六世（1347–1354）、马修·坎塔库泽努斯（1342–1357）、曼努埃尔二世（1373–1391）共治
安德洛尼卡四世僭位		1376–1379
约翰七世僭位		1390
曼努埃尔二世		1391–1425
与安德洛尼卡五世 （1403–1407）及约翰八世（约1416–1425）共治
约翰八世		1425–1448
君士坦丁十一世		1448–1453
演替
上一王朝 拉斯卡里斯王朝（尼西亚帝国）		之后 奥斯曼征服

米海尔八世或米海尔八世·巴列奥略（希臘語：Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος，羅馬化：Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos；1224年－1282年12月11日）是1261年至1282年间的拜占庭皇帝，1259至1261年任尼西亚帝国共治皇帝。米海尔八世开创了巴列奥略王朝，这也是拜占庭帝国的最后一个王朝，其对帝国的统治直至1453年君士坦丁堡的陷落才告终结。1261年，米海尔八世击灭拉丁帝国，收复君士坦丁堡，拜占庭帝国复国。在他统治期间，扩大了拜占庭陆军与海军的规模，对君士坦丁堡进行了修葺，人口也有所增加，拜占庭帝国的国力得到很大恢复。米海尔八世重建君士坦丁堡大学，促进巴列奥略文艺复兴，使13至15世纪期间出现了一段文化繁荣时期。

然而也正是在他统治期间，帝国的战略重心转移至巴尔干半岛对抗保加利亚人，而安纳托利亚的边境防务则遭到忽视，给其继任者留下了隐患。之后的阿森尼乌斯派分裂、两安德洛尼卡内战以及两约翰内战破坏了拜占庭进一步收复与巩固失土的努力，耗尽帝国的国力、经济与资源。特拉布松、伊庇鲁斯、保加利亚和塞尔维亚等国的存在使1204年之前的拜占庭领土永久分裂，后塞尔柱时期的安纳托利亚诸贝伊赢得了越来越多开疆拓土的机会，其中最著名的便是奥斯曼一世，他是后来奥斯曼帝国的开创者。

早年生活

米海尔八世·巴列奥略是大家内官安德洛尼卡·巴列奥略和狄奥多拉·安吉丽娜·巴列奥略吉娜之子，而后者是安格洛斯王朝拜占庭皇帝阿莱克修斯三世的孙女。根据德诺·耶阿纳科普罗斯的研究，米海尔的家族与1204年第四次十字军东征攻陷君士坦丁堡前统治拜占庭帝国数个世纪的三个王朝全有血缘联系。母亲在米海尔的早年生活中并未扮演一个重要的角色，至少有一段时间他被交给大自己十岁的姐姐玛莎抚养，后者是大家内官尼基弗鲁斯·塔卡尼奥特斯的妻子。

掌权之路

米海尔的父亲安德洛尼克在攻打保加利亚人的过程中，因其独到的战略眼光受到尼西亚皇帝约翰三世赏识，受命管理塞萨洛尼基地区。年纪轻轻便声名鹊起的米海尔在父亲的治下担任色雷斯城镇梅尔尼克和塞雷的总督。然而1253年秋天，父亲去世后接任职位的米海尔被指控与保加利亚人勾结意图谋反，在约翰三世面前，米海尔为了自证清白不得不采取神断法，用手握住一根烧红的铁棍。而当皇帝命令他拿起铁棍时，米海尔回答，如果支持指控的阿拉谢希尔大主教福卡斯能亲手从祭坛上取下铁棍，放到自己手中，那他会很高兴地接住，相信真相定会大白。耶阿纳科普罗斯对此评价道“机敏是他后来能成为皇帝的原因”。

尽管因为没有实证，米海尔逃过惩罚并在之后娶了皇帝的侄孙女，他依然遭到猜忌而从色雷斯的重要岗位上调离，被任命为尼西亚皇帝拉丁雇佣兵的马厩总管后前往比提尼亚任职。约翰三世的离世使米海尔愈发不安，他与几个朋友越过萨卡里亚河逃往罗姆苏丹国避难，1256年下旬至1258年期间，米海尔在苏丹凯考斯二世麾下作为基督雇佣兵的指挥官，参加了抵抗蒙古西征的战役，但大败于伊尔汗国将领拜住。随后继位的尼西亚皇帝狄奥多尔二世召回米海尔，在双方各自宣誓效忠和给予安全承诺后，米海尔回到尼西亚。

1258年8月25日，米海尔·巴列奥略联合愤怒的贵族发动政变，在皇帝狄奥多尔的追悼会上刺杀辅政大臣乔治·穆扎隆，随后获得了年仅八岁的幼主约翰四世的监护权。米海尔先是被任命为大都督，随后在同年12月13日获得专制公头衔，次年元月1日，他在尼姆菲翁正式加冕为尼西亚帝国皇帝（巴西琉斯），是为米海尔八世，而约翰四世很可能当时并未在场。

收复君堡

15世纪米海尔八世的一副微缩画像，俄罗斯国家图书馆藏

1259年，米海尔八世之弟约翰·巴列奥略在佩拉戈尼亚战役中大败亚该亚亲王威廉·德·维尔哈杜安和伊庇鲁斯专制公米海尔二世组成的联军，攻克伊庇鲁斯首都阿尔塔，重挫了长期骚扰尼西亚边境的米海尔二世，正如德诺·耶阿纳科普罗斯在他的著作中所说，“1261年尼西亚帝国收复君士坦丁堡之前，没有哪个事件比米海尔在佩拉戈尼亚取得的胜利更为重要了”。这不仅在短时间内消除了西部边境遭到敌袭的可能，同时展现出米海尔是一名合格的领导人，巩固了他登上帝位的合法性。

尽管取得了辉煌的胜利，然而米海尔知道只有一件事才能彻底从他的臣民心中洗刷掉作为篡位者的污名，那就是收复帝国已被拉丁人占领长达五十余年的前首都君士坦丁堡。1260年米海尔八世亲率大军兵围君堡，并攻克了拉丁帝国在城外的最后一处据点塞林布里亚，但之后由于城市久攻不下，加上西欧将会派出援军的谣言，他遂于八月与拉丁帝国君主鲍德温二世签订了为期一年的停战条约后撤兵。意识到自己需要一支海军才能达成目标的米海尔八世在次年3月与热那亚达成《尼姆法伊翁条约》，打算先建造水面部队。然而1261年7月25日，由于君堡内的拉丁人与威尼斯舰队前往攻打黑海的凯夫肯岛，一支阿莱克修斯·斯特拉特戈普洛斯率领的小部队意外进入城市，灭亡了拉丁帝国。

君士坦丁堡收复的消息先是传到了米海尔的姐姐伊琳娜·巴列奥略吉娜处，皇帝被她叫醒后直到斯特拉特戈普洛斯亲自带着鲍德温二世逃离宫殿时丢弃的皇冠与佩剑前来才确认了消息的真实性。8月15日，米海尔八世在君士坦丁堡被加冕为罗马皇帝，拜占庭帝国正式复国。占领君士坦丁堡后，米海尔下令清除一切拉丁化习俗，恢复第四次十字军东征前拜占庭的一切仪典与制度。拉丁帝国的占领使君士坦丁堡人口暴跌到原先的约十分之一，米海尔在位期间这个数量由35,000回复至70,000左右，他还修复了部分受损的教堂、修道院及公共建筑。米海尔八世敏锐地意识到外部威胁，西方拉丁世界，尤其是意大利邦国可能会联合起来与他为敌并试图重新占领君士坦丁堡。

约翰四世一直留在尼西亚并且很大程度上已被米海尔的影响力所掩盖，根据拜占庭政治家乔治·阿克罗波利特斯的说法，公众从未将约翰真正视为皇帝，在其父狄奥多尔二世去世后，他实际上被排除出政府事务，并且也没有作为共治者出现在新皇的加冕典礼上。1261年12月，约翰四世遭人刺瞎后被关入修道院，从此与皇位无缘，而他的姐妹则很快分别被嫁给了两个意大利人和一位保加利亚贵族，以保证他们的后代无法对巴列奥略家族的皇位继承权产生威胁。尽管米海尔八世试图对刺瞎约翰一事保密，以假装男孩作为拜占庭皇帝的加冕只是被推迟了，然而消息还是泄露出去，君士坦丁堡普世牧首阿尔森尼乌斯对米海尔处以绝罚，开除教籍的禁制直到六年后才被新任牧首约瑟夫一世取消。

外交与征服

德诺·耶阿纳科普罗斯写道，“君士坦丁堡的收复不仅有损教宗的政治声望，而且对其宗教权威造成打击，由于希腊人成功维持了一个独立于罗马的教会，因此米海尔八世统治期间的六位罗马教皇都视结束教廷的分裂为己任”。米海尔也意识到教廷在西方世界的巨大影响力，因此即位后立刻派遣了两名使节组成使团前往觐见教皇乌尔巴诺四世，结果到达意大利后两人被抓，其中一人的皮被活剥，另一人则成功逃回友邦。

米斯特拉斯的帝国鹰徽，1263年拉丁人作为赎金将米斯特拉斯割让给威廉·德·维尔哈杜安，米海尔八世 (米海尔八世) 将这座城市设为新的摩里亚专制国首都，由他的亲戚统治

米海尔还与西西里的曼弗雷迪接触，希望达成某种协议。1262 年夏，米海尔提出与妻子狄奥多拉离婚，迎娶曼弗雷德的妹妹安娜。但这一提议以失败告终，不仅安娜拒绝了米海尔的求婚，皇后狄奥多拉也向大牧首阿尔森尼乌斯求助，后者与皇帝对峙迫使他放弃计划。米海尔最终屈服，将安娜送回她哥哥身边，并随赠了一些礼品，这一举动促使曼弗雷迪顺水推舟地释放了先前为伊庇鲁斯俘虏的斯特拉特戈普洛斯。

大约在这个时候，米海尔遇到了一件危险的事：塞尔柱土耳其苏丹凯考斯二世被佩瓦内·穆尔因丁·苏莱曼领导的联盟废黜，他前来向老朋友寻求帮助。但他大失所望地发现米海尔八世对伊朗的蒙古人更感兴趣，而后者则支持佩瓦内对抗北方俄罗斯地区的蒙古势力。此外在与更加危险的西欧处于敌对状态的情况下，米海尔也不可能冒险在亚洲边境发动战争。卡恩·克劳德认为，或许由于这位前苏丹尴尬的地位，也有可能是“他过于公开的指责”，导致其与皇帝关系紧张并遭到了囚禁。最终俄罗斯的蒙古军队释放凯考斯二世并带之前往克里米亚，他在那里度过了余生。

随之而来的是拜占庭的一系列军事挫败，1263年米海尔八世调集15,000人，包括5,000名塞尔柱雇佣兵进攻摩里亚，意图征服亚该亚亲王国，结果却在普里尼察（靠近古奥林匹亚）隘口遭遇伏击溃散，人员伤亡惨重。同年一支由48艘拜占庭帝国和热那亚船只组成的混合舰队在塞特波齐战役中被规模更小的威尼斯舰队击败。次年米海尔重整旗鼓再次远征伯罗奔尼撒半岛，结果塞尔柱雇佣兵因没有得到足够报酬临阵倒戈，帝国军队于马克里普拉吉战役重蹈覆辙。1265年春，米海尔遭遇了军事生涯最严重的低谷，正于色雷斯肆虐的那海率领鞑靼人和保加利亚人，在其返回君士坦丁堡的途中袭击了只有少量士兵护卫的皇帝。军官为了逃命抛下了米海尔，他只好越过加诺斯山，到达马尔莫海岸一带，那里他迅速登上了遇见的两艘拉丁船只并在两天后安全抵达君堡，这才得以侥幸逃脱。

The military advantages Michael enjoyed after capturing Constantinople had evaporated, but he would demonstrate his diplomatic skills to successfully recover from these drawbacks. After Settepozzi, Michael VIII dismissed the 60 Genoese galleys that he had hired earlier and began a rapprochement with Venice. Michael secretly negotiated a treaty with the Venetians to grant terms similar to those in the case of Nymphaeum, but Doge Raniero Zeno failed to ratify the agreement. He also signed a treaty in 1263 with the Egyptian Mamluk sultan Baibars and Berke, the Mongol Khan of Kipchak Khanate.

Michael and Charles of Anjou

The restored Byzantine Empire in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911)

The Battle of Benevento on 26 February 1266 brought forth a new challenger to Michael, one with whom he would struggle for the rest of his life: Charles of Anjou. Michael, as Geanaklopos emphasizes, "from 1266 until shortly before his death in 1282 ... was constrained to devote almost complete attention to the defeat of Charles, the fulfillment of whose ambition would have brought about the destruction of the Byzantine Empire and reimposition of Latin rule in Constantinople." Charles strengthened his hold on the kingdom of Sicily by defeating Conradin at the Battle of Tagliacozzo on 23 August 1268. And looking for help to restore the Latin Empire, on May 1267, Charles concluded the Treaty of Viterbo with the exiled Emperor Baldwin II and William II Villehardouin under the guidance of Pope Clement IV.

In many ways Michael and Charles were alike. Geanakoplos quotes Nicephorus Gregoras's comparison of the two men at length:

Charles, motivated not by small but great ambitions, implanted in his mind like a seed the resolution of taking Constantinople. He dreamed that if he could become the master of it, he would restore the entire monarchy, so to speak, of Julius Caesar and Augustus. He was very able not only in planning what he wished to do but in easily translating his thoughts into action. Clearly he surpassed all his predecessors in the strength of his nature and intelligence... Nevertheless, neither his actions against the Greeks nor those of Michael Palaeologus against the Latins could be brought to a successful conclusion. For the strength of both was for a long time so evenly matched that it was well said (this was the opinion of discerning people) that if at that time such an Emperor had not been directing Greek affairs, the Empire would easily have succumbed to Charles, the King of Italy [sic]; and, conversely, if such a King had not then been at the helm of Italian affairs, the hegemony of Italy would with little difficulty have passed to Michael Palaeologus.

Michael was also faced with a challenge on his Asian frontier. Although the peace treaty with the Seljuk Turks continued to be honored by both parties, nomadic Turkmen had begun to infiltrate the Byzantine territories, and because of Michael's preoccupation with his Western foes, there was no organized response to this threat. Speros Vryonis also points out that due to his treatment of John IV Laskaris, "there resulted an outright alienation from Constantinople of large segments of Greek society in Bithynia and elsewhere." In 1269 Michael sent his brother the despotes John Palaiologos into the southern part of Byzantine Anatolia to clear the Maeander and Cayster valleys of Turkmen; their response was to fall back before the Byzantine army, and when John was eventually recalled to face foes in Europe, the Turkmen pushed back and resumed their conquests and settlement. Thus by 1269, the cities of Trachia Studia and Strobilos on the Carian coast were firmly Turkish possessions.

Michael's response to the Treaty of Viterbo was to attempt to weaken papal support for it; if the Pope was convinced Charles of Anjou's invasion was a just and holy war, then the forces Michael could call on could not prevent its success. Michael returned to negotiating a union of the churches with Pope Clement IV, which he had agreed to, but the latter's death in November 1268 put an end to this approach. According to Geanakoplos, only a lack of resources prevented Charles from immediately launching an attack against Michael. Looking for some restraint on Charles, Michael made a shrewd appeal to King Louis IX of France, the leading ruler of the West and the elder brother of Charles. Louis was more interested in a crusade against Muslims controlling the Holy Land than attacking a schismatic Christian. So he had Charles join his Tunisian crusade in 1270. When Louis died in Tunisia, Charles took command, negotiated a truce, and sailed to Sicily, planning to attack Byzantium. At this point a miracle saved Michael: a violent storm destroyed Charles' fleet. "To the Greeks of Byzantium," writes Geanakoplos, "it must have seemed as if the Virgin, their protector, had saved them from disaster."

After a three year interregnum, during which Charles of Anjou attempted to sway the election, a new pope was elected, Gregory X. When Michael restarted talks of union, Gregory proved to be less accommodating and negotiated from a position of strength. Michael attempted to reason with Patriarch Joseph and the synod of the importance of agreeing to this union, and that the principle of oikonomia (which Geanakoplos suggests is best translated here as "considerations of self-interest") required them to accede to papal demands. But despite a propaganda campaign over the winter of 1274–1275, Michael was forced to depose Patriarch Joseph and replace him with his own supporter John Bekkos in order to obtain a grudging consent to the union.

Council of Lyon and after

Coin of Michael VIII, depicting the Virgin Mary rising over the walls of Constantinople, in commemoration of the capture of the city over the Latins.

Byzantine envoys presented themselves at the Second Council of Lyon 24 June 1274, where they presented a letter from the Emperor, sealed with the imperial golden bull, and two others from his son Andronikos and the Byzantine clergy. On the fourth session of the Council the formal act of union was performed. The letters were read, and for the first time in two centuries representatives of the major Eastern and Western branches of Christianity were again in communion.

Michael VIII achieved an important advantage by this union, for now he gained legitimacy both for possessing Constantinople and for his claims to the lands occupied by Western invaders. Further, his antagonist Charles could not rely on the power of the pope calling for a crusade against his realm. Lastly, Pope Gregory was very favorable to Michael's proposal for a crusade against the Turks to restore the ancient Christian cities of Anatolia; however with Gregory's death (January 1276), these plans remained nothing more than talk.

More disappointments followed as news of the Council filtered through the former Byzantine territories. While the union was opposed at all levels of society, it was especially opposed by the greater populace, led by the monks and the adherents of the deposed Patriarch Arsenios, known as the Arsenites. One of the chief anti-unionist leaders was Michael's own sister Eulogia, who fled to the court of her daughter Maria Palaiologina Kantakouzene, Tsarina of the Bulgars, from where she intrigued unsuccessfully against Michael. More serious was the opposition of the sons of Michael of Epirus, Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas and his half-brother John I Doukas: they posed as the defenders of Orthodoxy and gave support to the anti-unionists fleeing Constantinople. Michael at first responded with comparative leniency, hoping to win the anti-unionists through persuasion, but eventually the virulence of the protests led him to resort to force. Many anti-unionists were blinded or exiled. Two prominent monks, Meletios and Ignatios, were punished: the first had his tongue cut out, the second was blinded. Even imperial officials were harshly treated, and the death penalty was decreed even for simply reading or possessing pamphlets directed against the Emperor. "From the intensity of these disorders, tantamount almost to civil wars," concludes Geanakoplos, "it might appear that too great a price had been paid for the sake of union."

The religious situation only worsened for Michael. The Arsenite party found widespread support amongst the discontented in the Anatolian provinces, and Michael responded there with similar viciousness: according to Vryonis, "These elements were either removed from the armies or else, alienated, they deserted to the Turks". Another attempt to clear the encroaching Turkmen from the Meaender valley in 1278 found limited success, but Antioch on the Maeander was irretrievably lost as were Tralles and Nyssa four years later.

On 1 May 1277, John convoked a synod at Neopatras that anathematized the Emperor, Patriarch, and Pope as heretics. In response, a synod was convoked at the Hagia Sophia on 16 July where both Nikephoros and John were anathematized in return. John called a final synod at Neopatras in December 1277, where an anti-unionist council of eight bishops, a few abbots, and one hundred monks, again anathematized the Emperor, Patriarch, and Pope.

Michael's achievements on the battlefield were more positive, although still mixed. He tried to take advantage of a civil war in Bulgaria in the late 1270s, but the Byzantine armies suffered several major defeats at the hands of the peasant Emperor Ivaylo. The Emperor managed to temporarily impose his son-in-law Ivan Asen III on the Bulgarian throne, but after the Byzantine defeat at Devina he had to flee. However, Michael VIII later managed to conquer the Bulgarian portion of Thrace, while the internal situation of the Bulgarian Empire remained unstable. In 1275, Michael VIII sent an army against Thessaly and fleet of 73 ships to harass the Latin states in Greece. The army was crushingly defeated at the Battle of Neopatras, but the fleet won a similarly comprehensive victory at the Battle of Demetrias.

Last was his victory over Charles of Anjou in western Greece. Charles' general Hugh of Sully with 8,000 men (including 2,000 cavalry) captured Butrinto in 1280 and besieged Berat. A Byzantine army of relief under Michael Tarchaneiotes arrived in March 1281: Hugh of Sully was ambushed and captured, and his army put to flight. Geanaklopos considers that most scholars do not appreciate fully the importance of this victory: "this victory marked the complete failure of the attempt to launch a land expedition against the capital. Thus ... Charles had to shift his strategy to a sea attack against Constantinople".

Sicilian Vespers

主条目：Sicilian Vespers和War of the Sicilian Vespers

Gold hyperpyron of Michael VIII, shown (bottom left) kneeling before Christ (right), under the injunction of Archangel Michael (top left)

On 22 February 1281 a new Pope was selected, Pope Martin IV, a Frenchman Geanaklopos describes as "blindly subservient" to Charles of Anjou. Once again, Charles had no clear brake on his ambitions to conquer Constantinople, and he moved swiftly to prepare for this new offensive. One early move was taken by Pope Martin, who on 10 April 1281, excommunicated Michael without any warning or provocation, thus disrupting the union of Lyons.

Charles had prepared a military force far larger than Michael could muster. According to Marino Sanudo, Charles had 100 ships in Sicily, and 300 more in Naples, Provence, and his Greek territories, which were to carry no fewer than 8,000 cavalrymen. Geanakoplos cites surviving documents that attest to the supplies Charles had accumulated. One Angevin rescript, dated 28 October 1281, lists a collection of tools to be gathered for the expedition, which includes "two thousand iron mattocks, three thousand iron stakes, sledges for smashing rocks, ropes, iron shovels, axes, and kettles for boiling pitch." Another orders the delivery of "four thousand iron stakes that are under construction in Venice." A third consists of instructions to a Pisan merchant for 2,500 shields of various sizes, all to be emblazoned with his royal emblem of lilies. Allied with Charles were a long list of powers. Besides having ties of kinship with the Kings of France and Hungary, the rulers of the Serbs and Bulgars were his allies, as well as the rulers of Epirus and dissidents of the Byzantine Empire, and the leading naval power of Europe, Venice.

Obviously Michael sought allies against Charles of Anjou, but they were few. Donald Nicol lists the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, who would "loan him ships", and the Tatars of the Golden Horde in South Russia who "could keep an eye on the Bulgarians". His ambassadors visited the court of Roman-German King Rudolph of Habsburg, but he was aloof. King Peter III of Aragon proved more welcoming, for he had his own reasons to hate Charles. According to Geanakoplos, Peter's wife Constance was the daughter of Manfred, and for this reason Peter considered Charles a usurper and Sicily the rightful property of Constance. Peter welcomed refugees from Sicily, most notably John of Procida, whom he made secretary of the royal chancery. Yet Aragon was at the other end of the Mediterranean, far from Michael.

Before Charles of Anjou could start for Constantinople, however, the Sicilian Vespers rebellion struck, on 30 March 1282. Charles sent four ships to handle the revolt, but when the rebels took control of Messina, he ordered the men and materiel assembled for use against Michael to besiege that city; meanwhile seventy Angevin ships at the arsenal of Messina were destroyed. Eventually Charles lifted the siege, and Peter of Aragon landed in Sicily to reclaim the island for his wife. Beginning with Pope Martin's bull dated 18 November 1282, wherein he again excommunicated Michael—as well as Peter of Aragon, John of Procida, and Michael's emissary Benedetto Zaccaria—as the author of the conspiracy that led to the Sicilian Vespers, Michael has been seen as the instigator. Geanakoplos, while admitting that Michael was in contact with the leaders of the revolt beforehand, asserts "that Michael Palaeologus, on his part, had nothing to do with the incident at the church of Santo Spirito is beyond question."

Furthermore, Michael VIII was instrumental in instigating revolts in Crete against the Venetians, the most famous of which was led by the Hortatzoi brothers Georgios and Theodore of Mesi in Rethymnon, with a duration of six years, causing most significant harm to the Venetian occupants and economic interests of Venice. Michael VIII had aimed to eventually bring Venice, an ally of Charles of Anjou, to the table of negotiations, as he did, at his court in Constantinople.

Death and legacy

Michael VIII died in Pachomios village, Thrace on 11 December 1282. He was denied burial in Constantinople due to his persecution of the Church in support of union with Rome, so was instead laid to rest in a monastery called Nea Mone in the region of Rhaidestos (modern Tekirdağ). Three years later, in 1285, his remains were moved to the monastery of Christ in Selymbria, where in 1260 he had reburied the body of Basil II.

In reconstituting the Byzantine Empire Michael VIII restored the old administration without endeavouring to correct its failures. In recovering Constantinople and investing in the defence of his European provinces, Michael VIII began to denude the Anatolian frontier of its troops and was forced to lower their pay or cancel their tax exemptions. This policy led to the gradual collapse of the frontier, which was infiltrated by Turkish bands even before his death. The Palaiologan dynasty he established ruled the Byzantine Empire for almost two centuries, longer than any other in Roman history. Also, during his reign there was a temporary naval revival in which the Byzantine navy consisted of 80 ships.

Family

Reproduction of a lost Byzantine miniature in the Peribleptos Monastery, Mystras, portraying Michael VIII alongside Theodora and Constantine.

In 1253, Michael VIII Palaiologos married Theodora Palaiologina, a grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes, Emperor of Nicaea. Orphaned in childhood, she was raised by her great-uncle John III, who was said to have "loved her like a daughter", and who arranged for her marriage to Michael. Their children were:

• Manuel Palaiologos (c. 1255–before 1259)
• Irene Palaiologina (c. 1256–before 1328), who married emperor Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria
• Andronikos II Palaiologos (1259–1332), Byzantine emperor
• Anna Palaiologina (c. 1260–1299/1300), who married Demetrios/Michael Komnenos Doukas, third son of Michael II of Epirus
• Constantine Palaiologos (1261–1306), who married Eirene Raoulaina his second cousin
• Theodora Palaiologina, who married King David VI of Georgia
• Eudokia Palaiologina, who married Emperor John II of Trebizond
• Theodore Palaiologos (c. 1263 – after 1310)

By a mistress, a Diplovatatzina, Michael VIII also had two illegitimate daughters:

• Euphrosyne Palaiologina, who married Nogai Khan of the Golden Horde
• Maria Palaiologina, who married Abaqa Khan of Ilkhanid Persia

See also

• List of Byzantine emperors

Sources

• Akropolites, George. The History. 由Ruth Macrides翻译. Oxford University Press. 2007 [约 1261]. ISBN 978-0191568718. 
• Geanakoplos, Deno John. Emperor Michael Palaeologus and the West, 1258–1282: A Study in Byzantine-Latin Relations. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. 1959. OCLC 1011763434 （英语）. 
• 本条目包含来自公有领域出版物的文本: Chisholm, Hugh (编). Michael (emperors). Encyclopædia Britannica 18 (第11版). London: Cambridge University Press: 359–360. 1911. 
• Kazhdan, Alexander (编). Michael VIII Palaiologos. The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium. Oxford University Press. 1991: 1367. 
• Nicol, Donald M. The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261–1453 Second. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993. ISBN 978-0-521-43991-6 （英语）. 
• Talbot, Alice-Mary. Empress Theodora Palaiologina, Wife of Michael VIII. Dumbarton Oaks Papers (Washington, D.C.). 1992, 46: 295–303. JSTOR 1291662. doi:10.2307/1291662. 
• Spatharakis, Ioannis, The Portrait in Byzantine Illuminated Manuscripts, Brill, 1976, ISBN 978-9633862971 
• Trapp, Erich; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Walther, Rainer; Sturm-Schnabl, Katja; Kislinger, Ewald; Leontiadis, Ioannis; Kaplaneres, Sokrates. Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 1976–1996. ISBN 3-7001-3003-1 （德语）. 

Further reading

• Charanis, Peter. "The Jews in the Byzantine Empire under the First Palaeologi." Speculum, 22 (1947), 75–77.
• Harris, Jonathan, Byzantium and the Crusades (Bloomsbury, 2nd ed., 2014). ISBN 978-1-78093-767-0
• Heath, Ian, Byzantine Armies, AD 1118–1461 (Osprey Publishing, 1995). ISBN 1-85532-347-8
• Vannier, J-F. Les premiers Paléologues (Etudes prosopographiques), 1989

External links

• 维基共享资源上的相關多媒體資源：Yankees from Canada/翻译条目1: 米海尔八世
• Coinage featuring Michael VIII Palaiologos

Yankees from Canada/翻译条目1: 米海尔八世 Palaiologos dynasty 出生于：1224逝世於：11 December1282
統治者頭銜
前任者： Baldwin II 為Latin Emperor	Byzantine emperor 1261–1282 與Andronikos II Palaiologos同時在任 （1272–1282）	繼任者： Andronikos II Palaiologos
前任者： John IV Laskaris	Emperor of Nicaea 1 January 1259 – 11 December 1282 與John IV Laskaris同時在任 （1258–1261）	Byzantine Empire restored