Manuel II Palaiologos

Manuel II Palaiologos, also rendered Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1391 to 1425; shortly before his death he was tonsured a monk under the name Matthaios. A vassal of the Ottoman Empire, which at times threatened to seize his territory outright, he continued his father's practice of seeking Western European aid against the Ottomans and personally visited several foreign courts to plead his cause. Those efforts ultimately failed, though an Ottoman civil war and Byzantine victories against Latin neighbors helped his government survive and even slightly expand its influence. His wife, Helena Dragas, ensured that their sons John VIII and Constantine XI both became emperors in turn; he is commemorated by the Greek Orthodox Church on 21 July.