The period 1259-1453

he period of the Laskaris family reign ended almost as soon as Theodore II Laskaris died. The next and last dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, the dynasty of the Palaiologoi came to the imperial throne after its founder, Michael VIII Palaiologos had usurped the authority.

The ascension of the Palaiologoi to the imperial throne signals the passage to a new period. The friendly policy that the Laskaris family had followed towards the lower class, was replaced by the support of the aristocrats, the landowners in particular, whom the Palaiologoi represented. In addition, the transfer of the capital of the Empire to Constantinople in 1261, created new needs in the sectors of foreign as well as domestic policy. A characteristic example of the Palaiologoi period is the fact that Michael VIII mostly neglected the eastern part of the state turning his interest towards the West and the Italian marine forces, in order to secure, if not expand, the borders of the Byzantine Empire.

It seemed that the state's effort to meet the new requirements, were beyond its power. In this way began the Empire's gradual decline. This decline was compounded by the two civil wars that pestered the state for many years and made of it a small weak state, while at the same time, preparing the ground for its final fall.