Alexios Strategopoulos

Type Figure Region Nicaean Empire Time c. 1200–1275 Also known as Alexios Strategopoulos、Ἀλέξιος Στρατηγόπουλος

Byzantine general and in-law of Nicaean emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos; on 25 July 1261 he slipped into Constantinople via the Golden Horn and reco…

Timeline

c. 1240–1260Nicaea · Nicaean EmpireServed and distinguished himself in the Nicaean army in exile in Asia Minor; thanks to military merit and a royal marriage tie (his wife was a niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos) he gained favor and became one of the core military executors of the plan to recover Constantinople.
1261Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireApproached secretly with a small force across the Bosphorus, and taking advantage of Latin emperor Baldwin II being away on a raid and the city's garrison being thinly held, entered through a breach in the Golden Horn walls and seized the gates, recovering the thousand-year imperial capital with almost no resistance and ending Latin rule.
1262–1275Byzantine Empire · Byzantine EmpireAfter recovering the imperial capital he received rich rewards and honorary titles from the emperor, continued to serve the restored Palaiologos dynasty, took part in subsequent military operations against Latin remnants and in the Balkans, and died around 1275.

Sources

Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium — Alexander Kazhdan et al. (1991)
A History of the Byzantine State and Society — Warren Treadgold (1997)