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Late Byzantine Empire

Type Object Region Eastern Mediterranean Time 1204–1453

The late Byzantine Empire refers to the Eastern Roman state from the 1204 Crusader capture of Constantinople through the Palaiologan recovery in 1261…

Timeline

  1. 1204–1261Nicaea · BithyniaAfter the fall of Constantinople in 1204, the Laskaris family established an exile empire at Nicaea, coexisting with Trebizond, Epirus, and other states, continuing Byzantine legitimacy and the Orthodox patriarchal tradition.
  2. 1261Constantinople · Eastern MediterraneanMichael VIII Palaiologos led forces to recapture Constantinople from the Latin Empire, founding the Palaiologan dynasty; the late Byzantine Empire reunified political and ecclesiastical centers within reduced borders.
  3. c. 1261–1354Eastern Mediterranean territories · AegeanThe empire relied on diplomacy, marriage alliances, and Catalan mercenaries to maintain maritime hegemony, but its Asia Minor territories were steadily nibbled away by the Ottomans; the fall of Gallipoli in 1354 marked the formal entry of Turkic forces into Europe.
  4. 1274–1439Constantinople · Eastern MediterraneanTo secure Western military aid, the court repeatedly pushed for union with Rome; the agreements of 1274 and 1439 met fierce resistance in Constantinople, deepening divisions between church and populace within the empire.
  5. 1453Constantinople · Eastern MediterraneanIn 1453 Ottoman sultan Mehmed II breached the walls; the last emperor Constantine XI died in battle, ending the late Byzantine Empire as a political entity; the Empire of Trebizond also fell in 1461.

Sources