Editing Andronikos II Palaiologos

{{Short description|Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328}}
{{about|the Byzantine emperor|the emperor of Trebizond|Andronikos II of Trebizond}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Andronikos II Palaiologos
| title        = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans]]
| full name    = Andronikos Doukas Angelos Palaiologos<br/>{{langx|grc-x-medieval|Ἀνδρόνικος Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος}}
| image        = Miniature of Andronikos II.png
| caption      = Miniature from the manuscript of [[George Pachymeres]]' ''Historia''
| succession   = [[Byzantine emperor]]
| reign        = 11 December 1282 –<br/>24 May 1328
| coronation   = 8 November 1272
| investiture  = 
| regent1      = 1261 (as co-emperor)
| reg-type1    = [[Proclamation]]
| cor-type     = [[coronation of the Byzantine emperor|Coronation]]
| regent       = [[Michael IX Palaiologos]]
| reg-type     = Co-emperor
| predecessor  = [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] (alone)
| successor    = [[Andronikos III Palaiologos]]
| spouses      = [[Anna of Hungary (1260–1281)|Anna of Hungary]]<br/>[[Irene of Montferrat|Yolande of Montferrat]]
| issue        = [[Michael IX Palaiologos]]<br/>[[Constantine Palaiologos (son of Andronikos II)|Constantine Palaiologos]]<br/>[[John Palaiologos (son of Andronikos II)|John Palaiologos]]<br/>[[Theodore I, Marquis of Montferrat]]<br/>[[Demetrios Palaiologos (son of Andronikos II)|Demetrios Palaiologos]]<br/>[[Simonida|Simonis (Simonida Nemanjić), Queen of Serbia]]<br/>Irene Palaiologina (wife of John II Doukas), Sebastokratorissa of Thessaly
| issue-link   = #Family
| issue-pipe   = more...
| dynasty      = [[Palaiologos]]
| father       = [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]]
| mother       = [[Theodora Palaiologina (Byzantine empress)|Theodora Palaiologina]]
| birth_date   = 25 March 1259
| birth_place  = [[Nicaea]], [[Empire of Nicaea]]<br />(now [[İznik]], [[Bursa Province|Bursa]], [[Turkey]])
| death_date   = {{death date and age|1332|2|13|1259|3|25|df=y}}
| death_place  = [[Constantinople]], [[Byzantine Empire]]<br />(now [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]])
| burial_place = 
| religion     = [[Greek Orthodox]]
}}
'''Andronikos&nbsp;II Palaiologos''' ({{langx|el|Ἀνδρόνικος Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος|Andrónikos Doúkās Ángelos Komnēnós Palaiológos}}; 25 March 1259 – 13 February 1332),{{sfn|PLP|loc=21436. Παλαιολόγος, Ἀνδρόνικος II. Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνός}} [[Latinization of names|Latinized]] as '''Andronicus&nbsp;II Palaeologus''', reigned as [[Byzantine emperor]] from 1282 to 1328. His reign marked the beginning of the recently restored empire's final decline. The Turks conquered most of Byzantium's remaining Anatolian territories, and Andronikos spent the last years of his reign fighting his [[Andronikos III Palaiologos|own grandson]] in the [[First Palaiologan Civil War]]. The war ended in Andronikos' forced abdication in 1328, after which he retired to a monastery for the remainder of his life.

==Life==
{{Moresources|section|date=September 2022}}

=== Early life ===
Andronikos was born on 25 March 1259, at [[Nicaea]]. He was the eldest surviving son of [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] and [[Theodora Palaiologina (Byzantine empress)|Theodora Palaiologina]], grandniece of [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]].{{sfn|PLP|loc=21436. Παλαιολόγος, Ἀνδρόνικος II. Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνός}}

Andronikos was acclaimed co-emperor in 1261, after his father Michael VIII recovered [[Constantinople]] from the [[Latin Empire]], but he was not crowned until 8 November 1272.{{sfn|PLP|loc=21436. Παλαιολόγος, Ἀνδρόνικος II. Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνός}} During their joint rule, he was compelled to support his father's unpopular Church union with the [[Papacy]]. Made sole emperor by Michael's death in 1282, Andronikos immediately repudiated the union, but was unable to resolve the related schism within the Orthodox clergy until 1310.

=== Military campaigns===
In 1283, the first military action of Andronikos II's reign occurred, against the town of [[Demetrias]] in [[Thessaly]]. At the time, Thessaly was ruled by [[John I Doukas of Thessaly|John Doukas]], and this attempt was another of many by the Byzantines in an effort to reclaim the region. The [[protovestiarios]] [[Michael Tarchaneiotes]] led a force to the town where they were met by the fleet under the command of Alexios Raoul and the ''[[megas stratopedarches]]'' [[John Synadenos (megas stratopedarches)|John Synadenos]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Bartusis |first=Mark C. |title=The late Byzantine army: arms and society, 1204 - 1453 |date=1997 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-1620-2 |series=Middle Ages series |location=Philadelphia |pages=67–68}}</ref> The siege was successful, however an epidemic spread which killed Michael Tarchaneiotes and much of the force. The remaining army had no choice but to abandon the town and withdraw from Thessaly.<ref name=":3" />

Upon his ascension to the throne, Andronikos II faced numerous challenges on every front. Financially, his fathers policies were unsustainable, and in 1285 he was forced to dismantle the imperial fleet. This action increased the Empire's maritime dependence on [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]], which was obligated to aid the Empire as per the [[Treaty of Nymphaeum (1261)|Treaty of Nymphaeum]]. In an effort to improve the treasury's position, Andronikos II devalued the Byzantine ''[[hyperpyron]]'', while the state treasury accumulated less than one seventh the revenue (in nominal coins) that it had previously. Seeking to increase revenue, Andronikos II raised taxes and reduced tax exemptions, exacerbating the economies already precarious positions.<ref name=":3" />

In 1291, [[Charles II of Naples|Charles II]], son of [[Charles I of Anjou|Charles of Anjou]], entered into an alliance with the Despot of Epirus [[Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas]]. This alliance reawakened Byzantine fears which had been dormant since the [[Sicilian Vespers]]. A Byzantine army was dispatched to Epirus, and in 1292 sieged [[Ioannina]]. Simultaneously, a Genoese fleet accompanied by Byzantine soldiers approached the capital of the [[Despotate of Epirus|Despotate]], [[Arta, Greece|Arta]]. The army at Ioannina retreated north at the approach of the prince of Achaia, [[Florent of Hainaut|Florent of Hainault]]. The fleet departed after some raiding in the area. Like the campaign in Thessaly, the war further stretched imperial resources with little to show for it.<ref name=":3" />

As a result of its alliance with Genoa, the empire was drawn into a [[Byzantine–Venetian War (1296–1302)|pointless war]] with Venice between 1296 and 1302. While the Genoese settled with the Venetians in 1299, Andronikos II continued the war in hopes of gaining something from it. By the end of the war in 1302, virtually nothing was changed except the loss of resources desperately needed on other fronts.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Laiou |first=Angeliki E. |title=Constantinople and the Latins: the foreign policy of Andronicus II, 1282-1328 |date=1972 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-16535-9 |series=Harvard historical studies |location=Cambridge, Mass}}</ref>

=== Asia Minor ===
Andronikos II Palaiologos sought to resolve some of the problems facing the [[Byzantine Empire]] through diplomacy. After the death of his first wife, Anne of Hungary, he married [[Irene of Montferrat|Yolanda (renamed Irene) of Montferrat]], putting an end to the Montferrat claim to the [[Kingdom of Thessalonica]].

Andronikos II also attempted to marry off his son and co-emperor [[Michael IX Palaiologos]] to the Latin Empress [[Catherine I of Courtenay]], thus seeking to eliminate Western agitation for a restoration of the Latin Empire. Another marriage alliance attempted to resolve the potential conflict with [[Serbia]] in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], as Andronikos II married off his five-year-old daughter [[Simonida|Simonis]] to King [[Stefan Milutin]] in 1298.
[[Image:Andronikos II and Michael IX basilikon (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Silver [[basilikon]] depicting Andronikos II and [[Michael IX]]]]

In spite of the resolution of problems in [[Europe]], Andronikos II was faced with the collapse of the Byzantine frontier in [[Asia Minor]], despite the successful, but short, governorships of [[Alexios Philanthropenos]] and [[John Tarchaneiotes]]. The military victories of Philanthropenos and Tarchaneiotes against the Turks were largely dependent on a considerable contingent of Cretan escapees, or exiles from Venetian-occupied Crete, headed by Hortatzis, whom Michael VIII had repatriated to Byzantium through a treaty agreement with the Venetians ratified in 1277.<ref>Agelarakis, P.A. (2012), "Cretans in Byzantine foreign policy and military affairs following the Fourth Crusade", ''Cretika Chronika'', pp. 32, 41-78.</ref> Andronikos II had resettled those Cretans in the region of Meander river, the southeastern Asia Minor frontier of Byzantium with the Turks.
[[File:Entrada de Roger de Flor en Constantinopla (Palacio del Senado de España).jpg|thumb|The Catalan Company led by [[Roger de Flor]] entering Constantinople by [[José Moreno Carbonero]] (1888).]]

After the failure of the co-emperor Michael IX to stem the Turkish advance in Asia Minor in 1302 and the disastrous [[Battle of Bapheus]], the Byzantine government hired the [[Catalan Company]] of [[Almogavars]] (adventurers from [[Catalonia]]) led by [[Roger de Flor]] to clear Byzantine Asia Minor of the enemy.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} In spite of some successes, the Catalans were unable to secure lasting gains. Being more ruthless and savage than the enemy they intended to subdue, they quarreled with Michael IX and eventually turned on their Byzantine employers after the murder of Roger de Flor in 1305. Together with a party of willing Turks they devastated [[Thrace]], Macedonia, and [[Thessaly]] on their road to Latin occupied southern Greece. There they conquered the [[Duchy of Athens]] and [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]].

Meanwhile, the [[Anatolian beyliks]] continued to penetrate Byzantine territory. [[Bursa, Turkey|Prusa]] fell to the [[Ottoman Turks]] in 1326, and by the end of Andronikos II's reign much of Bithynia was in the hands of [[Osman I]] and his son and heir [[Orhan I|Orhan]].<ref name=":0">{{cite EB9 |wstitle=Andronicus II. |volume=2 |page=23 |short=x}}</ref> [[Karasids]] conquered [[Mysia]]-region with [[Balıkesir|Paleokastron]] after 1296, Germiyan conquered [[Simav]] in 1328, Saruhan captured [[Manisa|Magnesia]] in 1313, and [[Aydinids]] captured [[İzmir|Smyrna]] in 1310.

[[File:AndronicosIIGoldHyperpyron.jpg|thumb|Gold [[hyperpyron]] of Andronikos II, kneeling before Christ]]

=== Dethronement and death ===

The Empire's problems were exploited by [[Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria]], who defeated Michael IX and conquered much of northeastern Thrace in {{circa|1305–07}}. The conflict ended with yet another dynastic marriage, between Michael IX's daughter Theodora and the Bulgarian emperor. The dissolute behavior of Michael IX's son [[Andronikos III Palaiologos]] led to a rift in the family, and after Michael IX's death in 1320, Andronikos II disowned his grandson, prompting a [[First Palaiologan Civil War|civil war]] that raged, with interruptions, until 1328. The conflict precipitated Bulgarian involvement, and [[Michael Shishman of Bulgaria|Michael Asen III of Bulgaria]] attempted to capture Andronikos II under the guise of sending him military support. In 1328 Andronikos III entered Constantinople in triumph and Andronikos II was forced to abdicate.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Andronikos II died as a monk at Constantinople in 1332, and was buried in the [[Fenari Isa Mosque|Lips Monastery]] (now the Fenari Isa Mosque).<ref>Melvani, N., (2018) 'The tombs of the Palaiologan emperors', ''Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies'', 42 (2) pp. 237-260</ref> He is the only Emperor to have been found still in his tomb.

== Military policy ==
The military policy of Andronikos II was fundamentally shaped by the financial constraints of the empire he inherited from Michael VIII. The treasury was empty, and the grand designs of Michael were simply no longer achievable. Nonetheless, Andronikos attempted to continue his father's military policies to the best of his abilities.

=== Serbia ===
The Serbian frontier of the empire was said to have been embroiled in intermittent war for over a decade since 1282. Andronikos sent an army there in 1298, though its inability to fight a "guerrilla war" made the Emperor sign a peace with Serbia in the following year, sending his five-year-old daughter [[Simonida|Simonis]] as a bride to [[Stefan Milutin]].

=== Alexios Philanthropenos ===
The empire's [[Anatolia|Anatolian]] holdings, under attack since the 1260s, became the foremost concern of Andronikos; his attention would shift largely away from the west and towards the east. Andronikos frequently toured Anatolia to raise the population's morale and restored many fortresses there, yet this could not stem the massive flows of refugees coming into the empire's European holdings. In 1293, Alexios Philanthropenos was appointed to command and govern all armies in Anatolia, barring the [[Ionia|Ionian]] coast. He was an effective general and would score a series of victories in 1294 and 1295 against the Meander Valley Turks. It was said that so many prisoners were taken as to lower the price of a Turkish slave beneath even that of a sheep. Other Turks surrendered and formed a part of Philanthropenos's army. The victories of Alexios Philanthropenos, in comparison to the central government's otherwise ineffective handling of the Turkish threat combined with high taxation, meant that Alexios would become regarded as the foremost leader, with particular loyalty stemming from his Cretan soldiers. The soldiers from [[Crete]] received a salary, but being "settled" in Anatolia probably also held land. It is not known, though, on what conditions they would have received this land. Reluctantly, amid massive popular support, Philanthropenos, in late 1295, accepted the challenge towards Andronikos II. Frightened, Andronikos offered Philanthropenos to become Caesar, though Alexios acted too slowly, and soon his support waned. Libadarios, the Governor of [[Neokastra]] and a loyalist of Andronikos, bribed the Cretans to blind and capture Alexios. The Cretans would never be heard of again—though John VI mentions a mysterious village in Thrace said to have been settled by an "army from Crete" before he arrived on the political scene in 1320.

=== John Tarchaneiotes ===
Following Philanthropenos, John Tarchaneiotes, a first cousin of Andronikos and an Arsenite, was sent to Anatolia. John was a general, but he was meant not to achieve quick victories but reform the military and economy of the region. It is said that many soldiers had lost their ''Pronoia'' holdings, while others had increased theirs through bribery of their superiors and stopped serving as soldiers. John sought to end this corruption and would reassess property holdings around the [[Büyük Menderes River|Meander Valley]]—a process known as ''exisosis.'' John's reforms in Anatolia were marked by success, revitalizing the army and even constructing a small fleet. However he faced opposition from the large landowners of Anatolia who his policies were principally aimed against as well as the Church who condemned him for being a supporter of the deposed Patriarch Arsenios. The enmity faced by Tarchaneiotes boiled over when a small number of ''Pronoia'' soldiers laid accusations of rebellion against John before the anti-Arsenite bishop of [[Alaşehir|Philadelphia]]. With these treason charges pending in around 1300, Tarchaneiotes fled to [[Thessaloniki]] and joined Andronikos II there. Tarchaneiotes's reforms would be swiftly abandoned under the combined pressure of high clerical and landowner opposition.

=== The Alans ===
In late 1301, a group of [[Alans]] (a Christian Iranic people) crossed the empire's northern frontier. The Alans, last having fought for the empire in the late 11th century, were fleeing from the Mongol hordes and sought employment in the imperial army. Andronikos seized on this opportunity and hired them as supplemental mercenaries for two planned campaigns into Anatolia. In the spring of 1302, they were supplied with money, provisions, and horses. They would be divided into three groups: One led by the ''Megas Hetaireiarches'' [[Theodore Mouzalon]] to fight the Turks near [[Nicomedia]], another under Michael IX would march south to [[Magnesia on the Maeander|Magnesia]], and the third group being the wives and children of the warriors remained in Thrace. The first group under Mouzalon deserted almost as soon as it crossed into Anatolia — the deserters indiscriminately plundering Byzantine holdings — such that by July 1302, Mouzalon would only have under him a troop of 2,000 soldiers, perhaps half of which were Alans. Soon, a 5,000 strong army of light cavalry appeared between Nicaea and Nikomedia. These were led by Osman, the Turkish emir of [[Bithynia]] and founder of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Mouzalon would meet Osman on the plains near Mount Bapheus. Mouzalon was defeated and the empire's northwestern Anatolian holdings were ravaged only accelerating the already severe refugee crisis. In April 1302, Michael IX departed for Anatolia with a mixed army of Alans and other troops. His army remained intact until it reached Magnesia on [[Gediz River|the Hermos]]. But once there, without fighting a battle, the native Byzantine divisions would begin to desert and the Alans would likewise request permission to abandon the campaign. Michael convinced them to stay another 3 months and sent a request to Constantinople for more funds. After the three months, the Alans refused to stay any longer and departed for Thracian [[Gelibolu|Kallipolis]]. Michael was left in a dangerous position and fled in secrecy to [[Pergamon]]. Once this came out, his army and many of Magnesia's inhabitants followed suit in a scramble for safety. The Alans were eventually convinced to return their horses and weapons to Andronikos and left the empire.

=== Desperation ===
In 1303, the situation in Anatolia worsened to a point that Andronikos considered the most drastic of reforms that being to take all the lands from churches, monasteries, single monks and the imperial entourage and assign it to soldiers. This would have created more soldiers with more reasons not to desert, and even though there was no notable opposition to this plan the decrepit imperial administration in Anatolia and the ever worsening population flight prevented this from ever being realized. With the ever worsening Anatolian situation the remaining population felt abandoned by Constantinople and occasionally individuals took matters into their own hands. In 1303, amidst the flight of the soldiers, an officer named [[Kotertzes]] established an emergency defense and drew to him a following who were “as enemies of his enemies and friends of his friends”. Andronikos was incapable of aiding or stopping Kotertzes or a certain Attaleiates who with popular support seized Magnesia in 1304. Another curiosity was a certain [[John Choiroboskos]] named “Pigherd”. He gathered 300 peasants in Thrace wanting to campaign against the Turks in Anatolia. But the empire feared this would lead to a general insurrection and so he was Imprisoned. 9 months later, John fled from jail and together with Anatolian refugees campaigned in the east against the Turks, he was eventually captured in battle but escaped and fled back to Thrace. Having evidently proven himself he was then commissioned by Michael IX who gave him 1,000 peasants to fight the Catalans and Turks who were now in the empire's European holdings. This motley troop however only achieved the plunder of the environs of Thessalonica.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bartusis |first=Mark C. |title=The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204-1453 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |year=1992 |isbn=0-8122-1620-2 |pages=67–85 |language=en}}</ref>

== Fiscal policy ==
The economic destitution which plagued the reign of Andronikos II caused him to undertake drastic measures to cut state spending. These cuts included the native army, which was reduced to a near-token force and largely superseded, first by foreign mercenary companies and then by militias. As shown by the failed campaign of Andronikos's co-emperor Michael IX, these inexperienced militiamen made countering the Turkish advance a difficult and dangerous undertaking.

For a time the Byzantine navy was completely disbanded, leaving the empire reliant on Genoese and Venetian forces who charged exorbitantly for their service. Many discharged Byzantine sailors and shipbuilders found employment with the Turkomans, who had just reached the western Anatolian coast and sought to build up their own naval forces. The resulting new fleets contributed greatly to the exploding problem of Turkic piracy in the Aegean Sea, ravaging trade routes and coastal lands alike.<ref name=":1" />

In 1320, as a result of heightened taxation and more rigorous policies of collection, Andronikos II was able to raise a total of 1 million Hyperpyra for the budgetary year of 1321. He intended to use the money to expand his army to some 3000 horsemen, and to recreate the Byzantine Navy by building 20 ships. This plan, militarily ambitious though still insufficient for the needs of the empire, was disrupted by Andronikos II's impending civil war with his grandson Andronikos III.<ref name=":0" />

For the sake of comparison, the Hyperpyron from 1320 was worth half as much as the undebased [[Solidus (coin)|Nomisma]] from the reign of [[Basil II]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=E. Laiou |first=Angeliki |title=The Economic History of Byzantium: From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century |publisher=Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection Washington,D.C. |year=2002 |isbn=9780884022886 |edition=1st |pages=816 |language=en}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Estimate of State Budget
 for 1321<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Treadgold |first=Warren |title=A History of the Byzantine State and Society |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1997 |isbn=9782036274082 |pages=841–843 |language=en}}</ref>
!Budgetary Item
!Estimated total
(millions of hyperpyra)
|-
|Bodyguards 
500 x 144hyp x 4/3
|0.096M hyp.
|-
|Soldiers
3000 x 144hyp x 4/3
|0.288M hyp.
|-
|Oarsmen
20ships x 5000hyp x 4/3
|0.1M hyp.
|-
|Army supplies
3500 x 20hyp
|0.07M hyp.
|-
|Navy supplies
3080 x 10hyp
|0.031M hyp.
|-
|fodder & horses
3500 x 10hyp
|0.035M hyp.
|-
|Catalan Campaign
|0.05M hyp.
|-
|Civil Expenses
|0.33M hyp.
|-
|Total
|1.0M hyp.
|}

== Early church policy ==
[[File:Chrysobull of Andronikos II Palaiologos.jpg|thumb|[[Chrysobull]] depicting Andronikos II alongside Christ, AD 1301.]]
As Andronikos broke the [[Second Council of Lyon|church union]] of his father he also removed many of his church appointments, including the pro-unionist [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Patriarch]] [[John XI of Constantinople|John XI]]. The new, anti-unionist Patriarch [[Joseph I of Constantinople|Joseph I]] resigned his office and died the following year, and was replaced by a Cypriot who took the name [[Gregory II of Constantinople|Gregory II]].

Andronikos also faced the [[Arsenite Schism]], a movement which was anti-union but otherwise had little common ground with the emperor. Its name was derived from the former Patriarch Arsenios, who was removed from office after [[Excommunication|excommunicating]] Michael VIII for having blinded and imprisoned [[John IV Laskaris|John IV]]. The Arsenites held that the captive John was the rightful Byzantine Emperor and that the Patriarchs John XI, Joseph I, and now Gregory II were illegitimate.

To try and mend this schism, Gregory called for a church synod to which he invited both the Patriarchs of Alexandria and Antioch, asking them to rescind their previous pro-unionist declaration. The Patriarch of Antioch refused, then abdicated from his office and fled to Syria. Gregory also extracted a public avowal from the Empress [[Theodora Palaiologina (Byzantine empress)|Theodora]], that she would never ask that her deceased husband Michael VIII receive a Christian burial. Though this Synod did much to satisfy the Orthodox Clergy, it failed to do the same with the Arsenites.

A few years later Gregory II was forced to resign, as some of his writings were deemed to be heretical. His replacement, chosen by Andronikos in order to distract from an ever-worsening political situation, was an [[Monastic community of Mount Athos|Athonite]] hermit who took the name [[Athanasius I of Constantinople|Athanasius]]. The new Patriarch was intensely [[Asceticism|ascetic]], and spent much of his time repudiating clergymen for their earthly possessions; eventually he sought to confiscate property from some of the wealthier churches and monasteries. Many clergymen responded with overt hostility, going as far as pelting him with stones as he walked the streets of Constantinople. Athanasius ceased to appear in public without a bodyguard.

When in the summer of 1293 Andronikos returned from a visit to his swiftly-dwindling Anatolian holdings, he was met by a delegation of leading clergyman who demanded the deposition of Athanasius. Andronikos was unwilling, but the strength of the opposition eventually forced him to comply. Meanwhile, Athanasius personally penned a [[Papal bull|church bull]] in which he excommunicated the clergymen who had denounced him, hiding it in a pillar in the northern gallery of [[Hagia Sophia]]. It was only found a few years later, causing much uproar.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Norwich |first=John Julius |title=Byzanz: Verfall und Untergang |publisher=Econ GmbH |year=1998 |isbn=3-430-17163-6 |location=Munich & Dusseldorf |pages=296–299 |language=de}}</ref>

==Family==
On 8 November 1273 Andronikos II married as his first wife [[Anna of Hungary (1260–1281)|Anna of Hungary]],<ref>{{cite book|first=C.W.|last=Previté-Orton|title=The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History. Vol. II.|publisher=Cambridge at the University Press|year=1962|page=922}}</ref> daughter of [[Stephen V of Hungary]] and [[Elizabeth the Cuman]], with whom he had two sons:
* [[Michael IX Palaiologos]] (17 April 1277{{snd}}12 October 1320).
* [[Constantine Palaiologos (son of Andronikos II)|Constantine Palaiologos]], ''[[despotes]]'' ({{circa|1278}}{{snd}}1335). Constantine was forced to become a monk by his nephew [[Andronikos III Palaiologos]].

Anna died in 1281, and in 1284 Andronikos married [[Irene of Montferrat|Yolanda (renamed Irene)]], a daughter of [[William VII of Montferrat]], with whom he had:
* [[John Palaiologos (son of Andronikos II)|John Palaiologos]] ({{circa|1286}}–1308), ''despotēs''.
* Bartholomaios Palaiologos (born 1289), died young.
* [[Theodore I of Montferrat|Theodore I, Marquis of Montferrat]] (1291–1338).
* [[Simonida|Simonis Palaiologina]] (1294 – after 1336), who married King [[Stefan Milutin]] of Serbia.
* Theodora Palaiologina (born 1295), died young.
* [[Demetrios Palaiologos (son of Andronikos II)|Demetrios Palaiologos]] (1297–1343), ''despotēs''.
* Isaakios Palaiologos (born 1299), died young.

Andronikos II also had at least three other daughters, illegitimate only in the sense that they married outside their clan. 3 out of 4 daughters of the king married Mongol khans, showcasing the reality of that time.
* Irene, who first married [[Ghazan]], Khan of Persia, and later [[John II Doukas]], ruler of [[Thessaly]].
* Maria, who married [[Toqta]], Khan of the [[Golden Horde]].
* A daughter known as Despina Khatun, who married [[Öljaitü]], Khan of the [[Ilkhanate]].<ref name=":2">{{cite book|first=Dimitri|last=Korobeinikov|title=Byzantium and the Turks in the Thirteenth Century|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2014|pages=212|isbn=978-0-198-70826-1}}</ref>

==Foundations==
* [[Ardenica Monastery]]
* [[Panagia Olympiotissa Monastery]]
* [[Zograf monastery]]

==Ancestry==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center
|boxstyle_1=background-color: #fcc;
|boxstyle_2=background-color: #fb9;
|boxstyle_3=background-color: #ffc;
|boxstyle_4=background-color: #bfc;
|boxstyle_5=background-color: #9fe;
|1= 1. '''Andronikos II Palaiologos'''
|2= 2. [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]]
|3= 3. [[Theodora Palaiologina (Byzantine empress)|Theodora Palaiologina]]
|4= 4. [[Andronikos Palaiologos (governor-general)|Andronikos Palaiologos]]
|5= 5. [[Theodora Angelina Palaiologina]]
|6= 6. John Doukas Vatatzes
|7= 7. Eudokia Angelina
|8= 8. Alexios Palaiologos
|9= 9. Irene Komnene
|10= 10. [[Alexios Palaiologos (despot)|Alexios Palaiologos]]
|11= 11. Eirene Angelina
|12= 12. [[Isaac Doukas Vatatzes]]
|14= 14. John Komnenos Angelos
|15= 15. ...
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Byzantine Empire}}
*[[List of Byzantine emperors]]
*[[Rabban Bar Sauma]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book | first = Mark C. | last = Bartusis | title = The Late Byzantine Army: Arms and Society 1204–1453 | publisher = University of Pennsylvania Press | year = 1997 | isbn = 978-0-8122-1620-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rUs-hHd89xAC}}
* {{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Andronicus II |volume=1 |page=976 }}
* {{cite book | first = John Van Antwerp | last = Fine | author-link = John Van Antwerp Fine | title = The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest | publisher = University of Michigan Press | location = Ann Arbor | year = 1994 | isbn = 978-0-472-08260-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hh0Bu8C66TsC }}
* {{cite book | editor-first = Alexander | editor-last = Kazhdan | editor-link = Alexander Kazhdan | title = [[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]] | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1991 | isbn = 978-0-19-504652-6}}
* {{cite book | first = Angeliki E. | last = Laiou | author-link = Angeliki Laiou | title = Constantinople and the Latins: The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II, 1282–1328 | publisher = Harvard University Press | year = 1972 | isbn = 0-674-16535-7}}
* {{cite book | first = Αναστασία | last = Κοντογιαννοπούλου | title = Η εσωτερική πολιτική του Ανδρονίκου Β΄ Παλαιολόγου (1282–1328). Διοίκηση - Οικονομία | publisher = Κέντρο Βυζαντινών Ερευνών Θεσσαλονίκη | year = 2004 | isbn = 960-7856-15-5}}
* {{Cite book|last=Nicol|first=Donald M.|author-link=Donald M. Nicol|title=The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453|orig-year=1972|year=1993|location=Cambridge|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521439916|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2d6OHLqwEsC}}
* {{Cite book|last=Papadakis|first=Aristeides|title=Crisis in Byzantium: The Filioque Controversy in the Patriarchate of Gregory II of Cyprus (1283–1289)|year=1997|orig-year=1983|edition=Rev.|location=Crestwood, NY|publisher=St. Vladimir's Seminary Press|isbn=9780881411768|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUBllg0JpgUC}}
* {{Prosopographisches Lexikon der Palaiologenzeit}}
* {{cite book |title=A History of the Byzantine State and Society |last=Treadgold  |first=Warren T. |year=1997  |publisher=Stanford University Press  |isbn=0-8047-2630-2}}

==External links==
* {{commons category-inline|Andronikos II Palaiologos}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Palaiologos]] dynasty|25 March|1259|13 February|1332}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Michael VIII Palaiologos|Michael VIII]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[List of Byzantine emperors|Byzantine emperor]]
|years= 1272–1328
| regent1 = [[Michael VIII Palaiologos|Michael VIII]]
|years1=1272–1282
| regent2 = [[Michael IX Palaiologos|Michael IX]]
|years2=1294–1320
| regent3 = [[Andronikos III Palaiologos|Andronikos III]]
| years3 = 1325–1328
}}
{{s-aft
| after = [[Andronikos III Palaiologos|Andronikos III]]
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Roman emperors}}
{{Palaiologoi}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Andronikos 02 Palaiologos}}
[[Category:1259 births]]
[[Category:1332 deaths]]
[[Category:Palaiologos dynasty]]
[[Category:13th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:14th-century Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:Byzantine emperors who abdicated]]
[[Category:Eastern Orthodox monks]]
[[Category:Burials at Lips Monastery]]
[[Category:Founders of Christian monasteries]]
[[Category:Children of Michael VIII Palaiologos]]
[[Category:Byzantine people of the Byzantine–Ottoman wars]]
[[Category:Sons of Byzantine emperors]]
[[Category:Forcibly monasticised]]