Manuel II Palaeologus

Manuel II Palaeologus

(born July 27, 1350—died July 21, 1425) Byzantine emperor (1391–1425). He was crowned coemperor with his father, John V Palaeologus, in 1373; his brother Andronicus IV seized the throne in 1376, but Manuel and his father regained it with Turkish aid in 1379. They were obliged to pay tribute to the sultan, who later helped them quash a rebellion by Andronicus's son (1390). Manuel was forced to live as a vassal at the Turkish court but escaped after his father's death (1391). A treaty in 1403 kept peace with the Turks until 1421, when Manuel's son and coemperor John VIII meddled in Turkish affairs. After the Turks besieged Constantinople (1422) and took southern Greece (1423), Manuel signed a humiliating treaty and entered a monastery.