MICHAEL VIII. PALAEOLOGUS (1234-1282) was the son of Andronicus Palaeologus Comnenus and Irene Angela, the grand daughter of Alexius Angelus, emperor of Constantinople. At an early age he rose to distinction, and ultimately became commander of the French mercenaries in the employment of the emperors of Nicaea. A few days after the death of Theodore Lascaris II. in 1259, Michael, by the assassination of Muzalon, became guardian of the young emperor, John Lascaris. Afterwards invested with the title of "despot," he was finally proclaimed joint-emperor and crowned alone at Nicaea on Jan. I, 1260. In July 1261 Michael conquered Constantinople through his general Strategopoulos. He thereupon had John Lascaris blinded and banished. For this last act he was excommunicated by Arsenius, and the ban was not re moved until the accession of a new patriarch (1268). In 1263 and 1264 respectively, Michael, with the help of Urban IV., con cluded peace with Villehardouin, prince of Achaia, and Michael, despot of Epirus, who had been decisively beaten at Pelagonia in Thessaly (1259) ; Villehardouin was obliged to cede Mistra, Mon emvasia and Maina in the Morea.
Subsequently Michael was involved in wars with the Genoese and Venetians, whose influence in Constantinople he sought to diminish by maintaining the balance of strength between them. In 1269 Charles of Sicily, aided by John of Thessaly, made war with the alleged purpose of restoring Baldwin to the throne of Con stantinople, and pressed Michael so hard that he consented to the papal supremacy at the council of Lyons in 1274. The union thus brought about between the two Churches was, however, extremely distasteful to the Greeks, and the persecution of his "schismatic" subjects to which the emperor was compelled to resort weakened his power so much that Martin IV. was tempted to enter into alli ance with Charles of Anjou and the Venetians for the purpose of reconquering Constantinople. The invasion, however, failed, and Michael so far had his revenge in the "Sicilian Vespers," which he helped to bring about. He died in Thrace in December 1282.