Countering the Latin West: War, Diplomacy and the Contest of Empire between Michael VIII Palaiologos and Charles of Anjou, 1259-1282

This work offers a comprehensive reappraisal of the reign of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos and his foreign policy towards the Latin West. Focusing on a crucial period in Byzantine and Mediterranean history (1259-1282, it examines the intense struggle for political, military, and diplomatic supremacy in the Balkans and Aegean regions. This conflict unfolded between two coalitions: one led by Charles of Anjou, the king of Sicily, and the other by Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos himself. The resulting two-decade-long confrontation turned the Aegean into a contested sphere of influence, where the Latin European West and the Greek Byzantine East clashed. During this era, the Byzantines strived to restore their empire to its former hegemony. Through Michael VIII’s dynamic foreign policy, they forged cross-cultural diplomatic contacts with various states, stretching from western Europe to the Arab world and as far east as the Ural mountains. Notable actors included France, the Mamluks of Egypt, Catalonia-Aragon, and the Golden Horde. This work thoroughly examines Michael VIII’s foreign policy with the Latin West, tracing its roots from his ascension to the throne and detailing his strategic responses to every manifestation of the Latin threat throughout his reign. While traditional scholarship has often argued that Michael VIII’s diplomacy aimed to safeguard Constantinople from a crusader attack, I propose that the Byzantine narrative sources, knowingly or unknowingly, perpetuate a pro-Palaiologan perspective. The basileus was plagued by concerns over the legitimacy of his rule, which compelled him to justify every aspect of his foreign policy as a means of protecting the Queen of Cities from the Latin menace. The primary threat posed by Charles of Anjou to Byzantium predominantly affected the peripheral regions of their respective empires, particularly the Peloponnesus, Albania, the southern Aegean islands, and a network of vassal states in the Balkans and Aegean. As part of his grand strategy, Michael VIII pursued ecclesiastical union with Rome, believing that cordial relations with the papacy would enable him to assume the role of a catholicus rex. This position would facilitate the success of his diplomatic endeavors with other Latin states, circumventing interference from the papal curia. Furthermore, the union served as a public relations effort directed at the Latin West, promoting Byzantine participation in a potential future crusade and positioning the emperor as a papally-sponsored monarch of the Mediterranean.