John IV Laskaris

Type Figure Region Empire of Nicaea Time 1250–1305 Also known as John IV Laskaris、John IV Doukas Laskaris、Ἰωάννης Δούκας Λάσκαρις

John IV Laskaris (1250–c.1305) was the last emperor of the Laskaris dynasty of the Empire of Nicaea, acceding as a child after Theodore II's death in…

Timeline

1258–1259Nicaea · Empire of NicaeaAfter his father Theodore II died in 1258, the eight-year-old John IV succeeded him, becoming the nominal last emperor of the Laskaris dynasty, with real power held by the regent Michael VIII.
1259–1261Empire of Nicaea · Empire of NicaeaAfter Michael VIII proclaimed himself emperor in 1259, John IV retained the imperial title but held no real power; between 1260 and 1261 Michael planned and carried out the military operation against Constantinople.
1261Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAfter the recovery of Constantinople in 1261, Michael VIII, to eliminate the Laskaris claim to legitimacy, deposed John IV and had him blinded, as Byzantine law held that the blind were unfit to rule.
1261–1305Monastery in Anatolia · Byzantine EmpireAfter his deposition he was sent to a monastery in Anatolia for the rest of his life, long cut off from the outside world; his fate became a resource of political discourse challenging the legitimacy of Michael VIII's rule.

Sources

The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium — Alexander Kazhdan et al. (1991)
John IV Laskaris https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_IV_Laskaris