Theodore II Laskaris

Timeline

1. 1221–1230Nicaea · Empire of NicaeaBorn at Nicaea in 1221, son of Emperor John III and Irene Doukaina, he was established from childhood as heir of the Laskaris–Doukas dynasty.
2. 1231–1240Magnesia · LydiaUnder scholars including Blemmydes he received training in rhetoric, philosophy, and military arts, and from the late 1230s began participating in local governance, accumulating administrative and military experience for his personal rule in 1254.
3. 1241–1254Nicaea · Empire of NicaeaIn 1252 his father John III made him co-emperor; he took part in imperial military decisions and frontier operations against the Latin Empire, and succeeded to the throne after his father's death in 1254.
4. 1254–1258Nicaea · Empire of NicaeaReigned 1254–1258, reorganizing the bureaucracy and curbing the power of great landowners, launching campaigns against Bulgaria and the Latin Empire; he died on 18 August 1258 at only thirty-seven.