Byzantine scholar and diplomat. Born in Constantinople in 1445, he died in Rome in 1534. After the Fall of Constantinople he fled to Italy and studied at Padua and Florence under the guidance of Chalkokondiles. He was Lorenzo Di Medici's librarian and under his command he travelled to Greece to collect Greek manuscripts (1489, 1491-92). From 1492 he served the King of France Charles VIII, who was planning an expedition against the Ottomans based on the information provided by Laskaris. This expedition never took place. From then on Laskaris resorted to every means possible to initiate the organization of a European crusade, and in 1525 he addressed a 'Pledge' to Emperor Charles V of Germany. He taught Greek, published ancient Greek writers, and in 1513 organized the Greek Gymnasium at Rome.