Constantine XI Palaiologos

Constantine XI Palaiologos was the last Byzantine emperor, reigning from 1449 until his death in 1453. He was the fourth son of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of Serbian ruler Konstantin Dejanović. He spent his early career with his brothers Theodore and Thomas governing the Byzantine despotate of the Morea (Peloponnese) and completing its recovery from the Franks. He was proclaimed emperor in 1449 after the death of his brother John VIII Palaiologos, who had no children. Constantine faced the formidable challenge of defending Constantinople against the Ottoman Turks, who had conquered most of the Byzantine territories in Asia Minor and the Balkans. He tried to enlist the support of the West by acknowledging the obedience of the Greek church to Rome, but he received little help from the Christian powers. He organized the defense of the city with courage and energy, but he could not prevent the final assault of the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II on May 29, 1453. Constantine died fighting at the city walls, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire and the ancient Roman tradition. He is regarded as a national hero and a martyr by the Greeks, and his legend lives on in various forms of folklore and literature.