Anatolia, which had formed the very heart of the shrinking empire, was systematically lost to numerous Turkic ghazis, whose raids evolved into conquering expeditions inspired by Islamic zeal, the prospect of economic gain, and the desire to seek refuge from the Mongols[2] after the disastrous Battle of Köse Dağ in 1243.

Palaiologos was a leading noble of military standing and the main figure of the regency of John IV, who had used this role to propel himself to the throne, and set the stage for his becoming sole Emperor of the restored Byzantine Empire.

In 1261, while the bulk of the Latin Empire's military forces were absent from Constantinople, the Byzantine General Alexios Strategopoulos used the opportunity to seize the city with 600 troops.

[7] As a result, the greatest threat to Byzantium was not the Muslims but their Christian counterparts in the West — Michael VIII knew that the Venetians and the Franks would no doubt launch another attempt to establish Latin rule in Constantinople.

The downside however was that Michael's efforts in the West absorbed most of the Empire's manpower and resources, and neglected the Asian provinces, where a new and fateful threat was rising: the beylik of Osman I, who by 1263 had captured Sogut [citation needed].

The Second Council of Lyons and the ostensible union of the two Churches did little to avert Catholic aggression, while at the same time the Orthodox population, led by large parts of the priesthood, denounced Michael VIII as a traitor.

Byzantine counter-attacks failed to stop these, and as a result Andronikos was forced to resort to diplomacy, marrying his 5-year-old daughter to the Serbian King[13] and ceding a number of forts from Ohrid to Stip to Strumica as a "dowry".

[14] Next Andronikos sent his son, Michael IX, and the Heteriarch George Mouzalon to attack the Turks who were laying siege to Nicomedia, but they were beaten at the Battle of Bapheus in 1302.

Originating from Catalonia, these hardy mercenaries were used to skirmishing against the Moors in Spain and now, for an extraordinarily high price, they drove the Turks back in Asia Minor.

[14] Once again, these successes were nullified when their leader, Roger de Flor, was assassinated on his way to meet Andronikos; the Catalans then revolted against imperial authority, and began pillaging and raiding cities in Thrace, leaving Asia Minor open to Turkish incursions.

[16] Although ultimately unsuccessful, the reign of Andronikos III was one of the last bright spots in Byzantine history, as the Empire's position was becoming increasingly precarious.

Cities were full of social unrest between the corrupt wealthy (who had been exploiting the tax system for their own benefit) and the countless landless peasants burdened by the demands of the government.

[18] The Patriarch, aided by the ambitious Alexios Apokaukos, sparked the civil conflict when he convinced the Empress that John V's rule was threatened by the ambitions of Kantakouzenos.

Kantakouzenos hired Turks and Serbs — his main supply of Turkish mercenaries came from the Bey of Aydın, a nominal ally established by Andronikos III.

[21] Matthew Kantakouzenos, no doubt disappointed with his father's failure, continued to resist John V. Since the Ottoman Sultan Orhan was his brother-in-law, he was able to obtain troops from him, but had barely begun his campaign when he was captured in the summer of 1356.

Like his predecessors Alexios I Komnenos and Michael VIII, John V now turned to the Pope and offered the promise of a Union of the two Churches in the hopes of receiving military assistance.

[22] Sailing from Venice in June 1366 with dreams of initiating yet another Crusade, Amadeo VI of Savoy arrived at and seized the fortress of Gallipoli from the Ottomans and handed it back to the Byzantines, hoping that this would stem the tide of Turkish emigration into Thrace.

He made one grand tour of Europe in 1399, stopping at Venice, Padua, Milan, Paris and London, where he met the English King Henry IV; in England, he was well received[28] and treated to a jousting tournament.

Bayezid, his position in Europe secure, turned his attentions to Anatolia and attempted to bring the various Turcoman tribes under formal Ottoman control.

In addition, Thessalonica was handed back to the Byzantines by Prince Suleyman as a gesture of goodwill and in an effort to curry favour at a time the Ottoman Empire was weakened by the war with Timur and effectively split in two.

Manuel II Palaiologos was 70 years of age in 1421 and believed that the time had come for him to retire and give his eldest son, John VIII, the opportunity to rule with a more aggressive manner than he had done so.

Hungary began launching successful campaigns against the Turks in Serbia, leading to the Serbian Despot and the Albanian resistance leader George Kastrioti Skanderbeg into direct opposition with their former masters.

From this position, he had continued the aggressive policies of his father and his brothers against the Ottomans and their vassals, the Duchy of Athens, but had been forced to back down by Murad II.

Constantine XI charged at the oncoming Ottoman army; the last Roman Emperor died fighting, and since his body was never recognized, is assumed to have been buried in a mass grave.

It is difficult to determine what books were burned in the libraries of Constantinople, though one can only imagine that few would be available today were it not for the works of Demetrius Triclinius, Manuel Moschopoulos, Thomas Magister and Maximos Planudes.

Countless works are also included, such as the tragedians of Sophocles and Euripides, Ptolemy's Geography, Nonnus of Panaopolis' Dionysiaca, edits and "rediscoveries" on Plutarch and the Greek Anthology of epigrams.

This enthusiasm for the glorious past, contained elements that were also present in the movement that led to the creation of the modern Greek state, in 1830, after four centuries of Ottoman rule.

The acceptance of Arab astronomy was made harder by the fact that it had to be translated, and only entered through "lowlier social channels", namely by men who travelled between Constantinople and Trebizond.

However, by the late 14th century, the Byzantine Empire did not possess sufficient resources for the task, and in any case such Western undertakings would have required Byzantium to submit to Rome.

As a result, many attempts at driving back the Ottomans and Bulgarians failed, while the lack of territory, revenue and manpower meant that Byzantium's armies became increasingly obsolete and outnumbered.