用戶:Yankees from Canada/翻譯條目1: 米海爾八世

米海爾八世·巴列奧略
羅馬人的皇帝與獨裁者
14世紀初期拜占庭史學家喬治·帕奇梅雷斯一卷名為《歷史》（Historia）的手稿中皇帝米海爾八世的微縮畫像
拜占庭皇帝
統治	1261年8月15日－1282年12月11日
前任	鮑德溫二世（拉丁帝國）
繼任	安德洛尼卡二世
尼西亞皇帝
統治	1259年1月1日－1261年8月15日
前任	約翰四世
繼任	末任
出生	1224 尼西亞帝國
逝世	1282年12月11日（58歲） 拜占庭帝國帕克彌翁，位於利西馬其亞附近
配偶	狄奧多拉·巴列奧略吉娜
子嗣 更多...	伊琳娜·巴列奧略吉娜 安德洛尼卡二世 君士坦丁·巴列奧略 尤多基婭·巴列奧略格娜 狄奧多爾·巴列奧略 歐弗洛緒涅·巴列奧略吉娜 瑪麗亞·巴列奧略吉娜
朝代	巴列奧略王朝
父親	安德洛尼卡·巴列奧略
母親	狄奧多拉·安吉麗娜·巴列奧略吉娜
宗教信仰	東正教

巴列奧略王朝
年表
米海爾八世		1259–1282
與安德洛尼卡二世共治， 1261–1282
安德洛尼卡二世		1282–1328
與米海爾九世（1294–1320）及安德洛尼卡三世（1321–1328）共治
安德洛尼卡三世		1328–1341
約翰五世		1341–1391
與約翰六世（1347–1354）、馬修·坎塔庫澤努斯（1342–1357）、曼努埃爾二世（1373–1391）共治
安德洛尼卡四世僭位		1376–1379
約翰七世僭位		1390
曼努埃爾二世		1391–1425
與安德洛尼卡五世 （1403–1407）及約翰八世（約1416–1425）共治
約翰八世		1425–1448
君士坦丁十一世		1448–1453
演替
上一王朝 拉斯卡里斯王朝（尼西亞帝國）		之後 奧斯曼征服

米海爾八世或米海爾八世·巴列奧略（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年間的拜占庭皇帝，1259至1261年任尼西亞帝國共治皇帝。米海爾八世開創了巴列奧略王朝，這也是拜占庭帝國的最後一個王朝，其對帝國的統治直至1453年君士坦丁堡的陷落才告終結。1261年，米海爾八世擊滅拉丁帝國，收復君士坦丁堡，拜占庭帝國復國。在他統治期間，擴大了拜占庭陸軍與海軍的規模，對君士坦丁堡進行了修葺，人口也有所增加，拜占庭帝國的國力得到很大恢復。米海爾八世重建君士坦丁堡大學，促進巴列奧略文藝復興，使13至15世紀期間出現了一段文化繁榮時期。

然而也正是在他統治期間，帝國的戰略重心轉移至巴爾幹半島對抗保加利亞人，而安納托利亞的邊境防務則遭到忽視，給其繼任者留下了隱患。之後的阿森尼烏斯派分裂、兩安德洛尼卡內戰以及兩約翰內戰破壞了拜占庭進一步收復與鞏固失土的努力，耗盡帝國的國力、經濟與資源。特拉布松、伊庇魯斯、保加利亞和塞爾維亞等國的存在使1204年之前的拜占庭領土永久分裂，後塞爾柱時期的安納托利亞諸貝伊贏得了越來越多開疆拓土的機會，其中最著名的便是奧斯曼一世，他是後來奧斯曼帝國的開創者。

早年生活

米海爾八世·巴列奧略是大家內官安德洛尼卡·巴列奧略和狄奧多拉·安吉麗娜·巴列奧略吉娜之子，而後者是安格洛斯王朝拜占庭皇帝阿萊克修斯三世的孫女。根據德諾·耶阿納科普羅斯的研究，米海爾的家族與1204年第四次十字軍東征攻陷君士坦丁堡前統治拜占庭帝國數個世紀的三個王朝全有血緣聯繫。母親在米海爾的早年生活中並未扮演一個重要的角色，至少有一段時間他被交給大自己十歲的姐姐瑪莎撫養，後者是大家內官尼基弗魯斯·塔卡尼奧特斯的妻子。

掌權之路

米海爾的父親安德洛尼克在攻打保加利亞人的過程中，因其獨到的戰略眼光受到尼西亞皇帝約翰三世賞識，受命管理塞薩洛尼基地區。年紀輕輕便聲名鵲起的米海爾在父親的治下擔任色雷斯城鎮梅爾尼克和塞雷的總督。然而1253年秋天，父親去世後接任職位的米海爾被指控與保加利亞人勾結意圖謀反，在約翰三世面前，米海爾為了自證清白不得不採取神斷法，用手握住一根燒紅的鐵棍。而當皇帝命令他拿起鐵棍時，米海爾回答，如果支持指控的阿拉謝希爾大主教福卡斯能親手從祭壇上取下鐵棍，放到自己手中，那他會很高興地接住，相信真相定會大白。耶阿納科普羅斯對此評價道「機敏是他後來能成為皇帝的原因」。

儘管因為沒有實證，米海爾逃過懲罰並在之後娶了皇帝的侄孫女，他依然遭到猜忌而從色雷斯的重要崗位上調離，被任命為尼西亞皇帝拉丁僱傭兵的馬廄總管後前往比提尼亞任職。約翰三世的離世使米海爾愈發不安，他與幾個朋友越過薩卡里亞河逃往羅姆蘇丹國避難，1256年下旬至1258年期間，米海爾在蘇丹凱考斯二世麾下作為基督僱傭兵的指揮官，參加了抵抗蒙古西征的戰役，但大敗於伊爾汗國將領拜住。隨後繼位的尼西亞皇帝狄奧多爾二世召回米海爾，在雙方各自宣誓效忠和給予安全承諾後，米海爾回到尼西亞。

1258年8月25日，米海爾·巴列奧略聯合憤怒的貴族發動政變，在皇帝狄奧多爾的追悼會上刺殺輔政大臣喬治·穆扎隆，隨後獲得了年僅八歲的幼主約翰四世的監護權。米海爾先是被任命為大都督，隨後在同年12月13日獲得專制公頭銜，次年元月1日，他在尼姆菲翁正式加冕為尼西亞帝國皇帝（巴西琉斯），是為米海爾八世，而約翰四世很可能當時並未在場。

收復君堡

15世紀米海爾八世的一副微縮畫像，俄羅斯國家圖書館藏

1259年，米海爾八世之弟約翰·巴列奧略在佩拉戈尼亞戰役中大敗亞該亞親王威廉·德·維爾哈杜安和伊庇魯斯專制公米海爾二世組成的聯軍，攻克伊庇魯斯首都阿爾塔，重挫了長期騷擾尼西亞邊境的米海爾二世，正如德諾·耶阿納科普羅斯在他的著作中所說，「1261年尼西亞帝國收復君士坦丁堡之前，沒有哪個事件比米海爾在佩拉戈尼亞取得的勝利更為重要了」。這不僅在短時間內消除了西部邊境遭到敵襲的可能，同時展現出米海爾是一名合格的領導人，鞏固了他登上帝位的合法性。

儘管取得了輝煌的勝利，然而米海爾知道只有一件事才能徹底從他的臣民心中洗刷掉作為篡位者的污名，那就是收復帝國已被拉丁人佔領長達五十餘年的前首都君士坦丁堡。1260年米海爾八世親率大軍兵圍君堡，並攻克了拉丁帝國在城外的最後一處據點塞林布里亞，但之後由於城市久攻不下，加上西歐將會派出援軍的謠言，他遂於八月與拉丁帝國君主鮑德溫二世簽訂了為期一年的停戰條約後撤兵。意識到自己需要一支海軍才能達成目標的米海爾八世在次年3月與熱那亞達成《尼姆法伊翁條約》，打算先建造水面部隊。然而1261年7月25日，由於君堡內的拉丁人與威尼斯艦隊前往攻打黑海的凱夫肯島，一支阿萊克修斯·斯特拉特戈普洛斯率領的小部隊意外進入城市，滅亡了拉丁帝國。

君士坦丁堡收復的消息先是傳到了米海爾的姐姐伊琳娜·巴列奧略吉娜處，皇帝被她叫醒後直到斯特拉特戈普洛斯親自帶着鮑德溫二世逃離宮殿時丟棄的皇冠與佩劍前來才確認了消息的真實性。8月15日，米海爾八世在君士坦丁堡被加冕為羅馬皇帝，拜占庭帝國正式復國。佔領君士坦丁堡後，米海爾下令清除一切拉丁化習俗，恢復第四次十字軍東征前拜占庭的一切儀典與制度。拉丁帝國的佔領使君士坦丁堡人口暴跌到原先的約十分之一，米海爾在位期間這個數量由35,000回復至70,000左右，他還修復了部分受損的教堂、修道院及公共建築。米海爾八世敏銳地意識到外部威脅，西方拉丁世界，尤其是意大利邦國可能會聯合起來與他為敵並試圖重新佔領君士坦丁堡。

約翰四世一直留在尼西亞並且很大程度上已被米海爾的影響力所掩蓋，根據拜占庭政治家喬治·阿克羅波利特斯的說法，公眾從未將約翰真正視為皇帝，在其父狄奧多爾二世去世後，他實際上被排除出政府事務，並且也沒有作為共治者出現在新皇的加冕典禮上。1261年12月，約翰四世遭人刺瞎後被關入修道院，從此與皇位無緣，而他的姐妹則很快分別被嫁給了兩個意大利人和一位保加利亞貴族，以保證他們的後代無法對巴列奧略家族的皇位繼承權產生威脅。儘管米海爾八世試圖對刺瞎約翰一事保密，以假裝男孩作為拜占庭皇帝的加冕只是被推遲了，然而消息還是泄露出去，君士坦丁堡普世牧首阿爾森尼烏斯對米海爾處以絕罰，開除教籍的禁制直到六年後才被新任牧首約瑟夫一世取消。

外交與征服

德諾·耶阿納科普羅斯寫道，「君士坦丁堡的收復不僅有損教宗的政治聲望，而且對其宗教權威造成打擊，由於希臘人成功維持了一個獨立於羅馬的教會，因此米海爾八世統治期間的六位羅馬教皇都視結束教廷的分裂為己任」。米海爾也意識到教廷在西方世界的巨大影響力，因此即位後立刻派遣了兩名使節組成使團前往覲見教皇烏爾巴諾四世，結果到達意大利後兩人被抓，其中一人的皮被活剝，另一人則成功逃回友邦。

米斯特拉斯的帝國鷹徽，1263年拉丁人作為贖金將米斯特拉斯割讓給威廉·德·維爾哈杜安，米海爾八世 (米海爾八世) 將這座城市設為新的摩里亞專制國首都，由他的親戚統治

米海爾還與西西里的曼弗雷迪接觸，希望達成某種協議。1262 年夏，米海爾提出與妻子狄奧多拉離婚，迎娶曼弗雷德的妹妹安娜。但這一提議以失敗告終，不僅安娜拒絕了米海爾的求婚，皇后狄奧多拉也向大牧首阿爾森尼烏斯求助，後者與皇帝對峙迫使他放棄計劃。米海爾最終屈服，將安娜送回她哥哥身邊，並隨贈了一些禮品，這一舉動促使曼弗雷迪順水推舟地釋放了先前為伊庇魯斯俘虜的斯特拉特戈普洛斯。

大約在這個時候，米海爾遇到了一件危險的事：塞爾柱土耳其蘇丹凱考斯二世被佩瓦內·穆爾因丁·蘇萊曼領導的聯盟廢黜，他前來向老朋友尋求幫助。但他大失所望地發現米海爾八世對伊朗的蒙古人更感興趣，而後者則支持佩瓦內對抗北方俄羅斯地區的蒙古勢力。此外在與更加危險的西歐處於敵對狀態的情況下，米海爾也不可能冒險在亞洲邊境發動戰爭。卡恩·克勞德認為，或許由於這位前蘇丹尷尬的地位，也有可能是「他過於公開的指責」，導致其與皇帝關係緊張並遭到了囚禁。最終俄羅斯的蒙古軍隊釋放凱考斯二世並帶之前往克里米亞，他在那裏度過了餘生。

隨之而來的是拜占庭的一系列軍事挫敗，1263年米海爾八世調集15,000人，包括5,000名塞爾柱僱傭兵進攻摩里亞，意圖征服亞該亞親王國，結果卻在普里尼察（靠近古奧林匹亞）隘口遭遇伏擊潰散，人員傷亡慘重。同年一支由48艘拜占庭帝國和熱那亞船隻組成的混合艦隊在塞特波齊戰役中被規模更小的威尼斯艦隊擊敗。次年米海爾重整旗鼓再次遠征伯羅奔尼撒半島，結果塞爾柱僱傭兵因沒有得到足夠報酬臨陣倒戈，帝國軍隊於馬克里普拉吉戰役重蹈覆轍。1265年春，米海爾遭遇了軍事生涯最嚴重的低谷，正於色雷斯肆虐的那海率領韃靼人和保加利亞人，在其返回君士坦丁堡的途中襲擊了只有少量士兵護衛的皇帝。軍官為了逃命拋下了米海爾，他只好越過加諾斯山，到達馬爾莫海岸一帶，那裏他迅速登上了遇見的兩艘拉丁船隻並在兩天後安全抵達君堡，這才得以僥倖逃脫。

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

主條目：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翻譯. Oxford University Press. 2007 [約 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 （英語）. 
• 本條目包含來自公有領域出版物的文本: Chisholm, Hugh (編). Michael (emperors). Encyclopædia Britannica 18 (第11版). London: Cambridge University Press: 359–360. 1911. 
• Kazhdan, Alexander (編). 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 （英語）. 
• 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 （德語）. 

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

• 維基共享資源上的相關多媒體資源：Yankees from Canada/翻譯條目1: 米海爾八世
• Coinage featuring Michael VIII Palaiologos

Yankees from Canada/翻譯條目1: 米海爾八世 Palaiologos dynasty 出生於：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