Baldwin II, Latin Emperor
Videos
Baldwin of Courtenay, also known as Baldwin II, was the last Latin emperor ruling in Constantinople. He was the only Latin emperor born in Constantinople.
Seal of Baldwin II
The Holy Crown of Jesus Christ was bought by Louis IX from Baldwin II. It was preserved in a 19th-century reliquary in Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, until recently relocating to the Louvre after the 2019 fire.
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Videos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine emperor from 1261 until his death in 1282, and previously as the co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea from 1259 to 1261. Michael VIII was the
Baldwin II, Latin Emperor
…seriously entertained the idea of conquering Constantinople, though his efforts were destroyed during the Sicilian Vespers, an event perhaps engineered by Michael VIII Palaeologus of Constantinople. To this intent, he signed the Treaty of Viterbo with Baldwin (May 1267). During the next year Baldwin and his son Philip lived on…
15th-century miniature of Michael VIII, National Library of Russia.
Imperial eagle in Mystras. In 1263 the Latins ceded Mystras as ransom for William II of Villehardouin, and Michael VIII Palaeologus made the city the seat of the new Despotate of Morea, ruled by his relatives.
The restored Byzantine Empire in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911)
Coin of Michael VIII, depicting the Virgin Mary rising over the walls of Constantinople, in commemoration of the capture of the city over the Latins.