Theodore II Laskaris
1222 – 1258 · Generation XXXIV · Emperor (r. 1254–1258) · Laskaris (Nicaea)
Theodore (AD 1222 – 1258). Emperor (r. 1254–1258). Married Elena around AD 1235. Emperor of Nicaea; son of John III and Irene Laskarina. Taught by the scholars Nikephoros Blemmydes and George Akropolites, he wrote treatises on theology, history, and philosophy and kept the company of young intellectuals. As emperor he dismissed aristocratic officials in favour of loyal friends, some of low birth, and rebuilt the army with recruits drawn from the peasantry of Asia Minor. He allied with the Seljuk sultan against the Mongols, drove back a Bulgarian invasion of Thrace and Macedonia in 1256, and forced Epirus to surrender Dyrrachium on the Adriatic. Gravely ill in his last months — of chronic epilepsy or cancer, the sources disagree — he named his friend George Mouzalon regent for his young son, a choice the aristocracy overturned within ten days.
One of 3 people of Laskaris (Nicaea) (1175–1258) in this archive. The emperors in exile at Nicaea, who kept the empire alive while Latins held Constantinople.
Line of descent: Basil Vatatzes → John III Vatatzes → Theodore II Laskaris.
Parents
- John III Vatatzes (1192 – 1254)
- Irene Laskarina (1190 – 1239)
Partners
- Married Elena Asenina (1223 – 1252) in 1235 — one child together
Children
- John IV Laskaris (1250 – 1305)
Life
- 1222 — Born
- 1235 — Married Elena
- 1258 — Died