Thomas Palaiologos was Despot of the Morea from 1428 until the fall of the despotate in 1460, although he continued to claim the title until his death five years later. He was the younger brother of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine emperor. Thomas was appointed as Despot of the Morea by his oldest brother, Emperor John VIII Palaiologos, in 1428, joining his two brothers and other despots Theodore and Constantine, already governing the Morea. Though Theodore proved reluctant to cooperate with his brothers, Thomas and Constantine successfully worked to strengthen the despotate and expand its borders. In 1432, Thomas brought the remaining territories of the Latin Principality of Achaea, established during the Fourth Crusade more than two hundred years earlier, into Byzantine hands by marrying Catherine Zaccaria, heiress to the principality.
Thomas, detail from the Pintoricchio fresco of Pius II's arrival at Ancona, in the Siena Cathedral
Miniature from an early 15th-century manuscript depicting Thomas's father Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, his mother Helena Dragaš and his three oldest brothers John (later Emperor John VIII), Theodore and Andronikos
Ruins of the Hexamilion wall, restored by Thomas and his brother Constantine to defend the Morea in 1444 and destroyed by the Ottomans in 1446
John Argyropoulos, sent as an envoy to the West by Thomas in 1456
Constantine XI Palaiologos
Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos or Dragaš Palaeologus was the last Roman (Byzantine) emperor, reigning from 1449 until his death in battle at the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. Constantine's death marked the definitive end of the Eastern Roman Empire, which traced its origin to Constantine the Great's foundation of Constantinople as the Roman Empire's new capital in 330.
Miniature from an early 15th-century manuscript depicting Constantine's father Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos, his mother Helena Dragaš and his three older brothers John, Theodore and Andronikos
Ruins of the castle at Patras, captured by Constantine in 1430
Contemporary sketches by Pisanello of the Byzantine delegation at the Council of Florence. The figure mounted on the horse is Constantine's brother, Emperor John VIII Palaiologos.
The Despot's Palace in Mystras, from which Constantine ruled as Despot of the Morea 1443–1449