The recovery of Constantinople

short while after the crowning of the emperor in January 1259, Michael VIII Palaiologos had to confront the alliance formed against him by Michael II of Epiros, King Manfred of Sicily and the Prince of Achaea, William II Villehardouin, who had also won the support of the Serbs and the Albanians.

Michael managed to rise to the occasion. He appointed as commander-in-chief of the imperial army his brother John, who succeeded in defeating the allied forces at the battle of Pelagonia in the autumn of 1259.

Michael's next step was to attempt to recover Constantinople. To prevent a possible reaction on the part of Venice, which supported the Latin Empire, Michael, on 13 March 1261, signed an agreement with Genoa - the treaty of Nymphaion - by which special privileges were granted to the Genoese merchants in return for their military assistance against Venice. This treaty consolidated the power of Genoa in the East.

Genoa's aid, however, finally proved unnecessary. Taking advantage of the absence of Latin forces from Constantinople, the Byzantine general, Alexios Strategopoulos, during a reconnaissance operation along the Bulgarian border, launched a sudden attack against the city on 25 July 1261 and took it, without meeting any resistance. Thus, after 57 years of Latin occupation, the city of Constantine the Great returned to Byzantium and, on 15 August 1261, Michael Palaiologos entered the city in triumph and was crowned emperor in the church of Hagia Sophia.