Editing John VIII Palaiologos

{{short description|Byzantine emperor from 1425 to 1448}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| image        = Palaio.jpg
| caption      = Detail from ''The Middle King'' by [[Benozzo Gozzoli]], in the [[Magi Chapel]] of [[Palazzo Medici|Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]], [[Florence]], 1459–1461. [[Balthazar (magus)|Balthazar]] is represented as John VIII; the portrait is based on contemporary drawings made in Italy.<ref>{{cite web |last=Horvat|first=Robert|date=7 May 2016|title=Portrait of an Emperor: John VIII Palaiologos.|url=https://the-rearview-mirror.com/2016/05/07/portrait-of-an-emperor-john-viii-palailogos/|access-date=3 April 2025}}</ref>
| succession   = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine emperor]]
| reign        = 21 July 1425 –<br/>31 October 1448
| coronation   = 19 January 1421
| cor-type     = [[Coronation of the Byzantine emperor|Coronation]]
| regent1      = {{circa}} 1407 ''as co-emperor''
| reg-type1    = [[Proclamation]]
| predecessor  = [[Manuel II Palaiologos]]
| successor    = [[Constantine XI Palaiologos]]
| spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Anna of Moscow]]|1414|1417|end=d.}}
* {{marriage|[[Sophia of Montferrat]]<br/>|1421|1426|end=}}
* {{marriage|[[Maria of Trebizond]]|1427|1439|end=d.}}
}}
| issue        = 
| dynasty      = [[Palaiologos]]
| father       = [[Manuel II Palaiologos]]
| mother       = [[Helena Dragaš]]
| birth_date   = 18 December 1392
| death_date   = {{dda|1448|10|31|1392|12|18|df=y}}
| title        = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans]]
| religion     = [[Eastern Catholicism]] <small><br> Previously [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Eastern Orthodox]]</small>
}}
'''John VIII Palaiologos''' or '''Palaeologus''' ({{langx|el|Ἰωάννης Παλαιολόγος|Iōánnēs Palaiológos}}; 18 December 1392&nbsp;&ndash; 31 October 1448) was the penultimate [[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine emperor]]. Ruling from 1425 to 1448, he attempted to bring about the reunification of the Orthodox and Catholic churches and prioritized the protection of Constantinople against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. He was succeeded by his brother, [[Constantine XI Palaiologos|Constantine XI]], who would become the final emperor.

==Biography==
John VIII was the eldest son of [[Manuel II Palaiologos]] and [[Helena Dragaš]],{{sfn|Çelik|2021|p=xx}} the daughter of the [[Serbia]]n prince [[Constantine Dragaš]]. He was associated as co-emperor with his father before 1416 and became sole emperor upon the death of his father on 21 July 1425,<ref>{{cite book|last=Norwich |first=John Julius |author-link=John Julius Norwich|title=Byzantium: The Decline and Fall|publisher=Viking|location=London|year=1995|page=387|isbn=978-0-670-82377-2}}</ref>{{sfn|Çelik|2021|p=578}} although he had already assumed full power on 19 January 1421.<ref>''[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]]'', p. [https://archive.org/details/the-oxfrod-dictionary-of-byzantium-vol.-1-oup-1991/The%20Oxfrod%20Dictionary%20of%20Byzantium_Vol.%202_OUP_1991/page/1047/mode/1up 1053]</ref><ref>''[[Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit]]'', "[https://archive.org/details/ErichTrappProsopographischesLexikonDerPALAIOLOGENZEIT/page/n3909 Palaiologos, Ioannes VIII.]"</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Speake|first=Graham|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ockEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA852|title=Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2021|isbn=9781135942069|pages=852}}</ref>

In June 1422, John VIII Palaiologos supervised the defense of Constantinople during a siege by [[Murad II]],{{sfn|Barker|1969|p=xxxiv}} but had to accept the [[Siege of Thessalonica (1422–30)|loss]] of [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]], which his brother [[Andronikos Palaiologos (son of Manuel II)|Andronikos]] had given to [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] in 1423. To secure protection against the Ottomans, he made two journeys to Italy in 1423 and 1439. During the second journey he visited [[Pope Eugene IV]] in Ferrara and consented to the union of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Greek]] and [[Catholic Church|Roman]] churches. The union was ratified at the [[Council of Florence]] in 1439, which John attended with 700 followers including [[Patriarch Joseph II of Constantinople]] and [[George Gemistos Plethon]], a [[Neoplatonism|Neoplatonist]] philosopher influential among the academics of [[Italy]]. The union failed due to opposition in [[Constantinople]], but through his prudent conduct towards the [[Ottoman Empire]] he succeeded in holding possession of the city.

John VIII Palaiologos named his brother Constantine XI, who had served as [[regent]] in Constantinople in 1437–1439, as his successor. Despite the machinations of his younger brother [[Demetrios Palaiologos]] his mother Helena was able to secure Constantine XI's succession in 1448.

John VIII died at Constantinople in 1448, becoming the last reigning Byzantine emperor to die of natural causes, and was buried in the [[Pantokrator Monastery]].<ref>Melvani, N., (2018) 'The tombs of the Palaiologan emperors', ''Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies'', 42 (2) pp.237-260</ref>

==Marriages==
John VIII Palaiologos was married three times. His first marriage was in 1414 to [[Anna of Moscow]], daughter of Grand Prince [[Vasili I of Russia|Basil I]] of [[Moscow]] (1389–1425) and [[Sophia of Lithuania]].{{sfn|Nicol|1992|p=5}} She died in August 1417 of plague.

The second marriage, arranged by his father Manuel II and Pope Martin V, was to [[Sophia of Montferrat]] in 1421.{{sfn|Nicol|1992|p=5}} She was a daughter of [[Theodore II, Marquess of Montferrat]], and his second wife Joanna of Bar. Joanna was a daughter of [[Robert I, Duke of Bar]], and [[Marie of Valois (1344-1404)|Marie de Valois]]. Her maternal grandparents were [[John II of France]] and [[Bonne of Bohemia]].

His third marriage, arranged by the future cardinal, Bessarion, was to [[Maria of Trebizond]] in 1427.{{sfn|Nicol|1992|p=5}} She was a daughter of [[Alexios IV of Trebizond]] and [[Theodora Kantakouzene, wife of Alexios IV of Trebizond|Theodora Kantakouzene]].{{sfn|Nicol|1992|p=5}} She died in the winter of 1439, also from plague.{{sfn|Runciman|1965|p=21}} None of the marriages produced any children.

==Representation in art==
John VIII Palaiologos was famously depicted by several painters on the occasion of his visit to Italy.<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080705230347/http://nauplion.net/CP-John-Pisanello.html Drawings of John VIII Palaiologos]}} by Pisanello, Florence 1439</ref> Perhaps the most famous of his portraits is the one by [[Benozzo Gozzoli]], on the southern wall of the [[Magi Chapel]], at the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]], in [[Florence]]. According to some interpretations, John VIII was also portrayed in [[Piero della Francesca]]'s [[Flagellation of Christ (Piero della Francesca)|''Flagellation'']]. A portrait of John appears in a manuscript at the [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]] in the [[Sinai Peninsula]].

=== Gallery ===
<gallery>
File:Manuel II Helena sons.JPG|Miniature depicting a young John VIII (far left) with his family, {{Circa}} 1404.
File:Jan VIII. Palaiologos.jpg|Anonymous drawing of John VIII during his visit in [[Buda]], 1424
File:Pisanello, medaglia di giovanni paleologo, I esemplare del bargello.JPG|[[Medal of John VIII Palaeologus|A famous portrait medal]] by [[Pisanello]] made in Florence, 1438 
File:Sketches of John VIII Palaiologos during his visit at the council of Florence in 1438 by Pisanello.jpg|Sketches of John VIII at the [[Council of Florence]], by [[Pisanello]]
File:Sketch of Emperor John VIII Palaeologus.jpeg|Another portrait by Pisanello, 1438.
File:John VIII Palaiologos, Sinai.jpg|Portrait of John VIII from a manuscript at [[Saint Catherine's Monastery]], [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]], {{Circa|1440}}.
File:Piero - The Flagellation.jpg|[[Flagellation of Christ (Piero della Francesca)|Piero della Francesca's ''Flagellation'']], possibly depicting John VIII as [[Pontius Pilatus]] (the leftmost figure)
File:John VIII Palaiologos, Par. Suppl. gr. 1118 (detail).jpg|Anonymous portrait of an elder John VIII, likely made in Italy.
File:Palaeologoi eagle XV c Byzantine miniature.jpg|Device of John VIII featuring the [[double-headed eagle]] with the ''sympilema'' ([[Royal cypher|family cypher]]) of the Palaiologoi
File:161 - John VIII Palaiologos (Mutinensis - color).png|Portrait of John VIII from the ''[[Mutinensis gr. 122]]'', completed shortly after the [[Fall of Constantinople]]
File:Benozzo Gozzoli - Procession of the Middle King (detail) - WGA10260.jpg|''The Middle King'' by [[Benozzo Gozzoli]], {{Circa}} 1460.
</gallery>

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''John VIII Palaiologos'''
|2= 2. [[Manuel II Palaiologos]]
|3= 3. [[Helena Dragaš]]
|4= 4. [[John V Palaiologos]]
|5= 5. [[Helena Kantakouzene]]
|6= 6. [[Constantine Dragaš]]
|8= 8. [[Andronikos III Palaiologos]]
|9= 9. [[Anna of Savoy]]
|10= 10. [[John VI Kantakouzenos]]
|11= 11. [[Irene Asanina]]
|12= 12. [[Dejan (despot)|Dejan]]
|13= 13. [[Theodora Nemanjić|Theodora of Serbia]]
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Byzantine Empire}}
*[[List of Byzantine emperors]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*{{cite book |title=Manuel II Palaeologus (1391-1425): A Study in Late Byzantine Statesmanship |first=John W. |last=Barker |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=1969 }}
*{{cite book |title=Manuel II Palaiologos (1350–1425): A Byzantine Emperor in a Time of Tumult |first=Siren |last=Çelik |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2021  }}
*{{cite book |title=A History of the Crusades:The Impact of the Crusades on Europe |volume=6 |editor-first1=Harry W. |editor-last1=Hazard |editor-first2=Norman P. |editor-last2=Zacour |chapter=The Crusade of Varna |first=Martin |last=Chasin |publisher=University of Wisconsin Press |year=1989 }}
*{{cite book |title=The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans |first=Donald M. |last=Nicol |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1992  }}
*{{cite book |first=Steven |last=Runciman |title=The Fall of Constantinople, 1453 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1965 }}

==Further reading==
* Harris, Jonathan, ''The End of Byzantium''. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-300-11786-8}}
* Kolditz, Sebastian, ''Johannes VIII. Palaiologos und das Konzil von Ferrara-Florenz (1438/39).'' 2 Vol., Stuttgart: Anton Hiersemann Verlag 2013–2014, {{ISBN|978-3-7772-1319-4}}.
* Lazaris, Stavros, "L’empereur Jean VIII Paléologue vu par Pisanello lors du concile de Ferrare – Florence", ''Byzantinische Forschungen'', 29, 2007, p.&nbsp;293-324 [http://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00366073/]
* {{Cite book|last=Nicol|first=Donald M.|author-link=Donald M. Nicol|title=The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453|orig-year=1972|year=1993|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521439916|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2d6OHLqwEsC}}

{{commons category|Ioannes VIII Palaiologos}}

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{{s-hou|[[Palaiologos]] dynasty|18 December|1392|31 October|1448}}
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{{s-bef|before=[[Manuel II Palaiologos]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Byzantine Emperors|Byzantine Emperor]]|years=1425–1448}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Constantine XI Palaiologos|Constantine XI Palaiologos Dragases]]}}
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