Editing Theodore II Laskaris (section)

===Illness and death===

[[File:ShepherdByzempire1265.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|alt=Map showing the Byzantine Empire and its neighbors.|The [[Byzantine Empire under the Palaiologos dynasty|restored Byzantine Empire]] at the beginning of [[Michael&nbsp;VIII Palaiologos]]' rule (1265){{mdash}}most European territories had been seized by Theodore's father between 1246 and 1254]]

Theodore fell seriously ill in November 1257. George Pachymeres, who was less than sixteen years old at the time,{{sfn|Angelov|2019|p=381}} would diagnose his illness as [[epilepsy]], mentioning that Theodore had often lost consciousness and "collapsed to the ground". Pachymeres also described Theodore's unusual appointments and his attempts to forge marriage alliances between aristocrats and commoners as symptoms of his disease. Akropolites only noticed extreme weight loss, reducing Theodore's entire body to a skeleton; Blemmydes described Theodore's illness as "a scourge and a strange disease", also mentioning Theodore's melancholy and phobias. Theodore himself wrote of insufferable aching and paralysis in the arms. Modern historians of diseases have not agreed on a diagnosis of Theodore's illness. The medical historian John Lascaratos and the neurologist Panaghiotis Zis maintain that Pachymeres' diagnosis was correct, concluding that Theodore developed [[generalized tonic–clonic seizure|epilepsy of the tonic-clonic type]] in his late twenties.{{sfn|Lascaratos|Zis|1998|pp=297–298}}  The historian [[Donald M. Nicol]] proposes that Theodore's illness "made him the prey of his moods, and he compensated for his nervousness by an autocratic and obstinate temper".{{sfn|Nicol|1993|p=27}} The medical historian Georgios Makris concludes in his 1995 study on epilepsy in the Byzantine Empire that Theodore did not have epilepsy. The historian Dimiter Angelov, who does not accept Pachymeres' diagnosis, proposes that Theodore's symptoms—fits and loss of balance—indicate that he had cancer of the brain, the spine, or the lungs.{{sfn|Angelov|2019|pp=381–383}}

Theodore's illness prevented him from commanding his troops in person. The commanders of the army in Macedonia, most of them of humble origin, recently appointed by Theodore, could not prevent the Epirotes, Albanians and Serbians from raiding Nicaean territories. Stefan Uroš&nbsp;I defeated the Nicaean troops near [[Prilep]]. Michael&nbsp;II's sister-in-law, Maria Petraliphaina, entered into a correspondence with Theodore's commander, [[Constantine Chabaron]], making him believe that she was eager to marry him, but Chabaron was captured during their meeting. Theodore's newly assembled army of Anatolian peasants was routed at [[Edessa, Greece|Edessa]]. Michael Palaiologos, who had been allowed to return from his exile, led a new army to Macedonia. He defeated the Epirotes, but Theodore ordered him to return instead of marching to Prilep. Palaiologos' withdrawal enabled Michael&nbsp;II to seize Prilep and capture Akropolites, who was its governor. Michael&nbsp;II was planning to launch an attack against Thessalonica, but Manfred of Sicily renewed his predecessors' claim to Byzantine territories in the Balkans and invaded Epirus from the west. Michael&nbsp;II, who did not want to abandon his plan, concluded an alliance with Manfred who expelled the Nicaean garrisons from Dyrrachium and other fortresses on the Adriatic by the end of February 1258.{{sfn|Nicol|1993|p=28}}{{sfn|Angelov|2019|pp=175–176}}{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=161}}

Konstantin Tih of Bulgaria repudiated his first wife and sued for the hand of Theodore's eldest daughter, [[Irene Doukaina Laskarina|Irene]]. He knew that his marriage to Irene, who was Tzar Ivan Asen&nbsp;II's granddaughter, could strengthen his claim to rule. Theodore wanted to confirm his peace treaty with Bulgaria and accepted Konstantin Tih's offer. Irene went to Bulgaria to marry Konstantin Tih.{{sfn|Angelov|2019|p=67}}{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=172}}

Theodore rarely left his palace at Magnesia during the last months of his life. He was convinced that sorcery caused his illness and accused his courtiers of casting spells on him, sending many of them for trial. Michael Palaiologos's sister, Maria-Martha, was the most famous victim of Theodore's paranoia. Theodore had forced her daughter, Theodora, to marry the elderly Basil Kaballarios, but the marriage was never [[consummated]]. After Kaballarios had attributed his impotence to his mother-in-law's spells, Theodore had her put into a sack filled with cats that tore her flesh. She was only released because Theodore suddenly panicked, fearing her spells. Also fearing her brother's revenge, Theodore had Michael Palaiologos imprisoned on charges of poisoning, but soon set him free.{{sfn|Lascaratos|Zis|1998|p=297}} The dying emperor named his seven-year-old son, [[John IV Laskaris|John]] ({{reign|1254|1261}}), as his sole heir, appointing George Mouzalon regent until John came of age. Theodore became a [[Orthodox monk|monk]], but he kept his baptismal name. He summarized his sins in a treatise and asked the patriarchal synod to grant him absolution. He died in the imperial palace at Magnesia on 16&nbsp;August 1258.{{sfn|Angelov|2019|pp=179–180}}{{sfn|Angold|1991|p=2040}} He was buried next to his father in the Sosandra monastery on [[Mount Sipylus]]. His grave and the monastery were destroyed after the [[Rise of the Ottoman Empire|Turkish conquest]] of the region in the 14th&nbsp;century.{{sfn|Angelov|2019|p=180}}

The aristocrats had taken an oath of loyalty to Mouzalon at Theodore's deathbed, but they soon began conspiring against him. In ten days, Mouzalon was murdered, and Michael Palaiologos assumed the regency for the child-emperor, John&nbsp;IV Laskaris. Palaiologos convinced the aristocrats that an empire ruled by a boy could not resist enemy attacks, and he was proclaimed co-emperor as Michael&nbsp;VIII ({{reign|1259|1282}}) before the end of the year. When Michael&nbsp;VIII and John&nbsp;IV were crowned together early in 1259, the Patriarch put the crown first on Michael&nbsp;VIII's head. After concluding an [[Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261)|agreement]] with [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]] against the Latin Empire, he dispatched Alexios Strategopoulos to spy on the defences of Constantinople. Taking advantage of the absence of the bulk of the Latin army, Strategopoulos seized Constantinople by a surprise attack on 25&nbsp;July 1261. Michael&nbsp;VIII was crowned for the second time, alone, in the [[Hagia Sophia]].{{sfn|Fine|2009|p=161}}{{sfn|Treadgold|1997|p=722}}{{sfn|Nicol|1993|pp=29–36}} The child John&nbsp;IV was blinded on 25&nbsp;December 1261, which [[political mutilation in Byzantine culture|prevented him from ruling]].{{sfn|Failler|1980|p=65}} To emphasize that the Laskaris family had lost their imperial status, Michael&nbsp;VIII  married off John's three sisters to minor Italian and Bulgarian noblemen.{{sfn|Nicol|1993|pp=44–45}}