Andronikos IV Palaiologos

Andronikos IV Palaiologos or Andronicus IV Palaeologus (Greek: Ανδρόνικος Δ' Παλαιολόγος, "Andronikos IV Paleologos", April 2, 1348 – June 28, 1385), was Byzantine emperor from 1376 to 1379.

Life

Andronikos IV Palaiologos was the eldest son of Emperor John V Palaiologos by his wife Helena Kantakouzene. His maternal grandparents were John VI Kantakouzenos and Irene Asanina.

Although he was associated as co-emperor by his father since the early 1350s, Andronikos IV rebelled when the Ottoman sultan Murad I forced John V into vassalage in 1373. Andronikos IV had allied with Murad's son who was rebelling against his own father, but both rebellions failed. Murad I blinded his son and demanded that John V have Andronikos IV blinded as well, but John V blinded Andronikos in only one eye.

In July 1376 the Genoese helped Andronikos to escape from prison. He went straight to sultan Murad II, and agreed to return Gallipoli in return for his support. Gallipoli had been retaken by the Byzantines ten years before, with the assistance of Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy. The sultan duly provided a mixed force of cavalry and infantry and with these Andronicus was able to take control of Constantinople. Here he was able to capture and imprison both John V and his son Manuel.

However, he made the mistake of favouring the Genoese too highly by awarding them Tenedos. The governor, however, refused to hand it over, and passed it on to Venice. In the same year 1377 he crowned his young son John VII as co-emperor. However in 1379 John and Manuel escaped to sultan Murad, and with the assistance of the Venetians overthrew Andronicus later in the year. The Venetians restored John V to the throne, with Manuel II. Andronicus fled to Galata, and stayed there until 1381, when he was once again made co-emperor and heir to the throne despite his treachery. Andronikos IV was also given the city of Selymbria (Silivri) as his personal domain, however he predeceased his father here in 1385, never to rule as legitimate emperor.

Family

By his wife Keratsa of Bulgaria (nun Makaria), a daughter of Emperor Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria and his second wife Sarah-Theodora, Andronikos IV had several children, including:
# John VII Palaiologos, emperor in 1390

Ancestry

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1= 1. Andronikos IV Palaiologos
2= 2. John V Palaiologos
3= 3. Helena Kantakouzene
4= 4. Andronikos III Palaiologos
5= 5. Anna of Savoy
6= 6. John VI Kantakouzenos
7= 7. Irene Asanina
8= 8. Michael IX Palaiologos
9= 9. Rita of Armenia
10= 10. Amadeus V, Count of Savoy
11= 11. Maria of Brabant
12= 12. Michael Kantakouzenos
13= 13. Theodora Palaiologina Angelina Kantakouzene
14= 14. Andronikos Asen
16= 16. Andronikos II Palaiologos
17= 17. Anna of Hungary
18= 18. Levon II of Armenia
19= 19. Keran of Armenia
20= 20. Thomas II, Count of Piedmont
21= 21. Beatrice di Fieschi
22= 22. John I, Duke of Brabant
23= 23. Margaret of Flanders
28= 28. Ivan Asen III of Bulgaria
29= 29. Eirene Palaiologina

References

* "Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium", 1991.