Editing Constantine XI Palaiologos (section)

=== Family and background ===
[[File:Manuel II Helena sons.JPG|left|thumb|Miniature from an early 15th-century manuscript depicting Constantine's father Emperor [[Manuel II Palaiologos]], his mother [[Helena Dragaš]] and his three older brothers [[John VIII Palaiologos|John]], [[Theodore II Palaiologos|Theodore]] and [[Andronikos Palaiologos (son of Manuel II)|Andronikos]]]]
Constantine Dragases Palaiologos was born on 8 February 1404{{efn|Although modern sources often give 1405,{{Sfn|Kazhdan|1991|p=505}} 1404 is the most probable date. Contemporary historian [[George Sphrantzes]], who actually knew Constantine, begins his chronicle stating that Constantine was born on 8 February [[Byzantine calendar|AM]] 6913, that is, [[AD]] 1405. He later states that he lived 49 years, 4 months and 20 days, which would place his birth in 1404. This information is repeated by three small chronicles, all of which agree on the number of years (but vary on the months and days). Sphrantzes had also previously given the wrong year for the death of John VIII, which was a year off.{{Sfn|Philippides|2019|p=24-29}}|group="n"}} as the fourth son of Emperor [[Manuel II Palaiologos]] ({{Reign}}1391–1425), the eighth emperor of the [[Palaiologos]] dynasty.{{Sfn|Nicol|1992|p=2}} Constantine's mother (from whom he took his second last name) was [[Helena Dragaš]], member of the powerful [[Dejanović noble family|House of Dragaš]] and daughter of Serbian ruler [[Konstantin Dejanović]]. Through his paternal grandmother, [[Helena Kantakouzene|Helena]] (1333–1396), Constantine was related to the prominent [[Kantakouzenos]] family,{{sfn|Barker|1969|p=xix}} while his maternal lineage linked him to the Serbian imperial [[Nemanjić dynasty]]. Constantine is frequently described as ''[[Porphyrogénnētos]]'' ("born in the purple"), a distinction granted to sons born to a reigning emperor in the imperial palace.{{Sfn|Nicol|1992|p=4}}

Manuel ruled a disintegrating and dwindling [[Byzantine Empire]].{{Sfn|Nicol|1992|p=2}} The catalyst of Byzantium's fall had been the arrival of the [[Seljuq dynasty|Seljuk Turks]] in [[Anatolia]] in the 11th century. Though some emperors, such as [[Alexios I Komnenos|Alexios I]] and [[Manuel I Komnenos|Manuel I]], had successfully recovered portions of Anatolia through help from western crusaders, their gains were only temporary. Anatolia was the empire's most fertile, populated, and wealthy region, and after its loss, Byzantium more or less experienced constant decline. Although most of it was eventually reconquered, the Byzantine Empire was crippled by the 1204 [[Fourth Crusade]] and the loss of Constantinople to the [[Latin Empire]], formed by the crusaders. The Byzantine Empire, under the founder of the Palaiologos dynasty, [[Michael VIII Palaiologos|Michael VIII]], retook Constantinople in 1261. Over the course of the 14th century, the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Turks]] had conquered vast swaths of territories and by 1405, they ruled much of [[Anatolia]], Bulgaria, central Greece, [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], Serbia and [[Thessaly]]. The Byzantine Empire, once extending throughout the eastern [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]], was reduced to the imperial capital of [[Constantinople]], the [[Peloponnese]], and a handful of islands in the [[Aegean Sea]], and was also forced to pay tribute to the Ottomans.{{Sfn|Nicol|1992|p=2}}

As the empire dwindled, the emperors concluded that the only way to ensure that their remaining territory was kept intact was to grant some of their holdings to their sons, who received the title of [[Despot (court title)|despot]], as [[appanage]]s to defend and govern. Manuel's oldest son, [[John VIII Palaiologos|John]], was raised to co-emperor and designated to succeed his father. The second son, [[Theodore II Palaiologos|Theodore]], was designated as the [[Despot of the Morea]] (the prosperous province constituting the Peloponnese) and the third son, [[Andronikos Palaiologos (son of Manuel II)|Andronikos]], was proclaimed as Despot of [[Thessaloniki]] in 1408. The younger sons; Constantine, [[Demetrios Palaiologos|Demetrios]] and [[Thomas Palaiologos|Thomas]], were kept in Constantinople as there was not sufficient land left to grant them.{{Sfn|Nicol|1992|p=|pp=3–4}}

Little is known of Constantine's early life. From an early age, he was admired by [[George Sphrantzes]] (later a famed Byzantine historian), who would later enter his service, and later [[Encomium|encomiasts]] often wrote that Constantine had always been courageous, adventurous, and skilled in martial arts, horsemanship, and hunting.{{Sfn|Nicol|1992|p=4}} Many accounts of Constantine's life, both before and after he became emperor, are heavily skewed and eulogize his reign, as most of them lack contemporary sources and were composed after his death.{{sfn|Carroll|2017|pp=331–332}} Based on his actions and the surviving commentary from some of his advisors and contemporaries, Constantine appeared to have been more comfortable with military matters than with matters of state or diplomacy, though he was also a competent administrator—as illustrated by his tenures as regent—and tended to heed his councilors' advice on important matters of state.{{Sfn|Hellebuyck|2006|p=7}}{{better source needed|date=March 2023}} Aside from stylized and smudged depictions on seals and coins, no contemporary depictions of Constantine survive.{{Sfn|Nicol|1992|p=5}} Notable images of Constantine include a seal currently located in [[Vienna]] (of unknown provenance, probably from an imperial [[chrysobull]]), a few coins, and his portrait among the other Byzantine emperors in the [[Biblioteca Estense]] [[Mutinensis gr. 122|copy]] of the history of [[Zonaras]]. In the latter he is shown with a rounded beard, in noted contrast to his forked-bearded relatives, but it is unclear whether that reflects his actual appearance.{{sfn|Carroll|2017|pp=329–330}}