Much ado has been made about Pope Benedict XVI's quoting of late 14th-century Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Paleologus. But who was Manuel II?
A scion of the last family to rule the Byzantine throne, the Paleologus (also Palaeologus or Palaiologos) clan, Manuel II (1350-1425) was a man of letters, a hostage, a diplomat and a general. Ruling from 1391 until his death, Manuel straddled the momentous 14th and 15th centuries. He lived in the shadow of his vigorous Turkish rival, the Ottoman Sultan Bajazet I (1354-1403) (also Bayezid), who himself fell under the shadow of the Mongol conqueror Tamerlane (1336-1405). But that is another story.
The Paleologoi originated in Macedonia, where they were petty rulers. They came to power shortly after the fall of Constantinople in 1204 to western crusaders. The family controlled the government in exile, especially after 1259, and retaking Constantinople in 1261. They also intermarried with western families, even using some western heraldry.
As the second son, Manuel didn't begin life in line for the throne. He was a diplomat to the West for his father during the 1360s and became governor of Thessalonika in 1369 at the age of 19. Usurpation attempts by his brother resulted in their father choosing Manuel to rule as co-emperor instead. The dynastic struggle continued until 1390, when Manuel was forced to attend Bajazet's court as a hostage. There, he was also forced to participate in campaigns against Byzantine territory. When his father died the following year, he escaped back to Constantinople, where he was proclaimed Emperor.
Miffed, Bajazet besieged Constantinople for eight years (1394-1402). In 1399, Manuel visited his allies in the West, seeking military aid. However, the siege did not lift until 1402 when Bajazet himself was captured in battle by Tamerlane. He died in captivity the next year, leaving the Ottoman Empire floundering in chaos.
This was an unexpected respite for Manuel. He used the time to bolster the Byzantine Empire's defenses. But he erred greatly in meddling in the contested succession to the Ottoman throne in the early 1420s. One of the rivals, Murad II, besieged Constantinople again in 1422. As a result, Manuel and his son were forced to sign a peace treaty in 1424 in which the Byzantine emperors agreed to pay tribute to the Ottoman sultans. It was the beginning of the end, both for Constantinople and for Manuel himself, who died in 1425.
