Manuel Palaiologos

Manuel Palaiologos (or Palaeologus) (1455–1512) was the youngest child of Thomas Palaiologos and Catherine Zaccharia. He was brother of the de jure Byzantine Emperor Andrew Palaiologos, Zoe Palaiologina, Grand Duchess of Moscovy and Helena Palaiologina, wife of Despot Lazar Branković of Serbia. He was also a nephew of the Emperors John VIII Palaiologos and Constantine XI.

Born after the Fall of Constantinople (May 29, 1453) he spent his early childhood in the Morea (modern Peloponnese) till fleeing with his family in 1460 firstly to Corfu then Rome where his father was recognised as Byzantine Emperor. Sources claim after the death of Thomas Palaiologos in 1465, his children were placed under the guardianship of the renowned scholar, Johannes Bessarion.

Little is known about his life except he returned to Constantinople during the reign of Bayezid II and exchanged his rights to the Byzantine throne for a comfortable pension. Here he spent his life in luxury and pleasure, fathering two sons, an enigmatic John (Ioannes) and Andrew (Andreas) with a Turkish woman (possibly a slave in his household). Some sources also state that he converted to Islam and even served in the Sultan's navy.

He died in 1512.

Representations in popular culture

• In Assassin's Creed: Revelations (2011), Palaiologos plays a central role to the plot, secretly associated with the Knights Templar.

Ancestry