Editing Michael VIII Palaiologos (section)

== Early life ==

Michael VIII Palaiologos was the son of the ''[[megas domestikos]]'' [[Andronikos Palaiologos (megas domestikos)|Andronikos Palaiologos]] by [[Theodora Angelina Palaiologina]], the granddaughter of Emperor [[Alexios III Angelos]] and [[Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina]]. According to Deno John Geanakoplos, Michael's ancestry could be traced back to all three imperial houses that ruled the empire in the centuries before the [[Sack of Constantinople]] in 1204 by the [[Fourth Crusade]].{{sfn|Geanakoplos|1959|p=17}} His mother does not appear to have played a significant role in his early life; at least for a time, he was brought up by his elder sister Martha, the wife of ''megas domestikos'' [[Nikephoros Tarchaneiotes]], although she was only ten years older than he.{{sfn|Geanakoplos|1959|pp=18f}}