John VIII Palaiologos [SEP] mother
John VIII Palaiologos
John VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 18 December 1392 – 31 October 1448) was the penultimate reigning Byzantine Emperor, ruling from 1425 to 1448.
Life.
John VIII Palaiologos was the eldest son of Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of the Serbian prince Constantine Dragaš. He was associated as co-emperor with his father before 1416 and became sole emperor in 1425.
In June 1422, John VIII Palaiologos supervised the defense of Constantinople during a siege by Murad II, but
he succeeded in holding possession of the city.
John VIII Palaiologos named his brother Constantine XI, who had served as regent in Constantinople in 1437–1439, as his successor. Despite the machinations of his younger brother Demetrios Palaiologos his mother Helena was able to secure Constantine XI's succession in 1448.
John VIII died at Constantinople in 1448, becoming the last reigning Byzantine emperor to die of natural causes.
Marriages.
John VIII Palaiologos was married three times. His first marriage was in 1414 to Anna of Moscow,