Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris (Greek: Θεόδωρος Δούκας Λάσκαρις, romanized: Theodōros Doukas Laskaris; November 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John III Doukas Vatatzes and Empress Irene Laskarina. His mother was the eldest daughter of Theodore I Laskaris, who had established the Empire of Nicaea as a successor state to the Byzantine Empire in Asia Minor after the crusaders captured the Byzantine capital, Constantinople, during the Fourth Crusade in 1204. Theodore received an excellent education from two renowned scholars, Nikephoros Blemmydes and George Akropolites. He made friends with young intellectuals, especially with a page of low birth, George Mouzalon. Theodore began to write treatises on theological, historical and philosophical themes in his youth.
Emperor John III arranged for Theodore to marry Elena Asenina in 1235, to forge an alliance with her father, Ivan Asen II, Emperor of Bulgaria, against the Latin Empire of Constantinople. According to Theodore himself, their marriage was happy, and they had five or six children. From 1241, Theodore acted as his father's lieutenant in Asia Minor during his frequent military campaigns in the Balkan Peninsula. From around 1242, he was his father's co-ruler, but was not crowned as co-emperor. During this period, his relationship with some prominent aristocrats, particularly Theodore Philes and Michael Palaiologos, grew tense.
Theodore succeeded his father on 4 November 1254. He dismissed many high officials and army commanders of aristocratic origin, replacing them with loyal friends, including some of low birth. The same year, he made a defensive alliance with Kaykaus II, the Seljuk Sultan of Rum, against the Mongol Empire. In 1256, he repelled a Bulgarian invasion of Thrace and Macedonia and forced Michael II Komnenos Doukas, the ruler of Epirus, to cede Dyrrachium on the coast of the Adriatic Sea to Nicaea. He reformed the military, recruiting more soldiers from among the native peasantry of Asia Minor. Eventually, Michael II of Epirus forged an alliance with Stefan Uroš I, King of Serbia, and Manfred of Sicily against Nicaea. Theodore's newly appointed generals could not resist their joint invasion in 1257. Theodore fell seriously ill and could rarely take part in state administration during the last months of his life. He appointed George Mouzalon regent for his underage son, John IV, before dying of either chronic epilepsy or cancer. In ten days, Mouzalon fell victim to an aristocratic plot, and Michael Palaiologos assumed the regency, usurping the throne soon after.
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century, Laskaris Kananos wrote an account of his travels in northern Europe. In 1269 the daughter of Emperor TheodoreIILaskaris, Eudossia Laskaris, married...
TheodoreLaskaris or Lascaris may refer to: Theodore I Komnenos Laskaris, Byzantine Nicene emperor from 1205 to 1221 TheodoreII Doukas Laskaris, Byzantine...
Theodore I Laskaris or Lascaris (Greek: Θεόδωρος Κομνηνὸς Λάσκαρις, romanized: Theodōros Komnēnos Laskaris; c. 1175 – November 1221) was the first emperor...
John IV Doukas Laskaris (or Ducas Lascaris) (Greek: Ἰωάννης Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Iōannēs Doukas Laskaris; December 25, 1250 – c. 1305) was emperor of Nicaea...
Pope TheodoreII who reigned for twenty days during December 897 TheodoreII of Constantinople, Ecumenical Patriarch in 1214–1216 TheodoreIILaskaris, emperor...
Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known as TheodoreIILaskaris. John Doukas Vatatzes, born in about 1192 in Didymoteicho, was probably...
most territories lost to Nicea, but Vatatzes's son and successor, TheodoreIILaskaris, launched a successful counter-offensive, forcing Michael to sign...
brothers: Manuel Laskaris (died after 1256), Michael Laskaris (died 1261/1271), Georgios Laskaris, Theodore, Alexios Laskaris, and Isaac Laskaris. The last two...
official of the Empire of Nicaea under TheodoreIILaskaris (r. 1254–1258). Of humble origin, he became Theodore's companion in childhood and was raised...
Laskarina) was Empress consort of Nicaea. She was a daughter of Theodore I Laskaris, emperor of Nicaea and Anna Komnene Angelina. Her maternal grandparents...
Patriarch Theodore I of Constantinople (ruled 677–679) Theodore I Laskaris, Emperor of Nicaea (1204–1221 or 1205–1222) TheodoreIILaskaris, Emperor of...
earlier periods. Theodore I Laskaris (1204–1222) John III Ducas Vatatzes (1222–1254) TheodoreIILaskaris (1254–1258) John IV Laskaris (1258–1261) Michael...
from Isaac during his reign. These included: Alexios Branas Theodore Mangaphas Pseudo-Alexios II Basil Chotzas – initiated a rebellion at Tarsia, near Nicomedia...
Nicopolis on 25 September 1396. Manuel II had sent 10 ships to help in that Crusade. In October 1397, Theodore Kantakouzenos, Manuel's uncle, alongside...
Romanos II (Greek: Ῥωμανός, romanized: Rōmanos; 938 – 15 March 963) was Byzantine Emperor from 959 to 963. He succeeded his father Constantine VII at the...
Pope. Exarch Olympius excused himself from this task, but his successor, Theodore I Calliopas, carried it out in 653. Pope Martin was brought to Constantinople...
Angelov, Dimiter (2019). The Byzantine Hellene: The Life of Emperor TheodoreLaskaris and Byzantium in the Thirteenth Century. Cambridge: Cambridge University...
Tiberius II Constantine (Latin: Tiberius Cōnstantīnus; Greek: Τιβέριος Κωνσταντῖνος, translit. Tibérios Kōnstantĩnos; died 14 August 582) was Eastern Roman...
Aydinids captured Smyrna in 1310. The Empire's problems were exploited by Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria, who defeated Michael IX and conquered much of northeastern...
daughter of Emperor TheodoreIILaskaris of Nicaea, and his wife Elena of Bulgaria, and sister of Nicaean Emperor John IV Laskaris. Her maternal grandparents...
These included the former patriarch Nikephoros, Anthony the Confessor, and Theodore of Stoudios, who failed, however, to persuade the emperor to abandon iconoclasm...
Nikephoros II Phokas (Greek: Νικηφόρος Φωκᾶς, Nikēphóros Phōkãs; c. 912 – 11 December 969), Latinized Nicephorus II Phocas, was Byzantine emperor from...
against Epirus. After falling out of favour and being imprisoned by TheodoreIILaskaris, Strategopoulos sided with the aristocrats around Michael VIII Palaiologos...
its peak in the 1250s, when it enjoyed the patronage of Emperor TheodoreIILaskaris (r. 1254–1258), but was largely purged after his death by the great...
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