bby_626638 - JEAN VIII PALEOLOGUE Demi-hyperpère

JEAN VIII PALAIOLOGOS / PALAEOLOGUS

(01/10/1421-10/31/1448)

John VIII, is the eldest son of Manuel II (1391-1423). Associated with the throne from 1421, he succeeded his father two years later, the latter retired to a monastery. All that remained of the Byzantine Empire was the city of Constantinople. He tried to get closer to the West and made several trips to Italy in order to get help to save the second Rome. In 1439, in the cathedral of Florence, the union of the two Churches, Roman and Greek, was pronounced. The Byzantines refused to be subordinate to Rome. When John VIII died in 1448, his brother, Constantine XI succeeded him. There were only five years left before the city fell into the hands of the Turks.