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John Palaiologos (Greek: Ἱωάννης Παλαιολόγος; 1288/89–1326) was a member of the reigning Palaiologos dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, who served as governor of Thessalonica.

Life

He was the son of the general Constantine Palaiologos, in turn a son of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (reigned 1259–1282), and his wife Irene Palaiologina Raoulaina.

In 1305 John received the court rank of panhypersebastos. By 1325/26, at a time of civil war, he was governor of Thessalonica. In 1326 he rebelled against his uncle, Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, and joined the forces of the Serbian ruler, Stephen Uroš III Dečanski, with whom he plundered the Byzantine domains in central Macedonia up to Serres. Andronikos II sought to placate him by sending envoys bearing the insignia of a Caesar, the second-highest title in Byzantine court hierarchy, and John agreed to give up his revolt and return to Thessalonica. However, he contracted an illness and died soon after at Skopje.

Shortly after 1305/06 John married a lady named Eirene, daughter of Theodoros Metochites. The couple had a daughter, Maria, who became Stephen Uroš's queen consort, and an unnamed son, who was killed at the Battle of Rusokastro in 1332.

References

1. ^ Trapp, Erich; Beyer, Hans-Veit; Kaplaneres, Sokrates; Leontiadis, Ioannis (1989). "21479. Παλαιολόγος Ἱωάννης". Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit (in German). Vol. 9. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 3-7001-3003-1.
2. Gaul, Niels (2016), "All the Emperor's Men (and His Nephews): Paideia and Networking Strategies at the Court of Andronikos II Palaiologos, 1290–1320.", Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 70: 245, 251, JSTOR 26497737, retrieved 25 April 2022

• 1280s births
• 1326 deaths
• 14th-century Byzantine government officials
• Byzantine governors of Thessalonica
• Byzantine defectors
• Caesars (Byzantine nobles)
• Palaiologos dynasty
• People from the Kingdom of Serbia (medieval)
• Panhypersebastoi