Which dynasty ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1261 until its fall in 1453?

The Palaiologos dynasty ruled the Byzantine Empire from the restoration of Constantinople in 1261 until the city fell to the Ottomans in 1453. It was the last imperial dynasty of Byzantium and presided over the empire’s final, turbulent centuries.

The dynasty’s founder was Michael VIII Palaiologos. His forces recaptured Constantinople from the Latin Empire in July 1261, ending the period of Latin rule that had begun after the Fourth Crusade captured the city in 1204. Michael then re-established the Byzantine imperial court in Constantinople and became the first Palaiologan emperor of the restored empire.

Palaiologan rulers faced severe pressures, including the loss of Byzantine territory in Anatolia to Turkish states, repeated civil wars, conflicts with Bulgaria and Serbia, and disputes with the papacy. Yet the period also saw a cultural revival known as the Palaiologan Renaissance, with renewed interest in classical Greek learning, art, and literature. Constantine XI Palaiologos, who died defending Constantinople in 1453, was the dynasty’s final emperor.