John Palaiologos

John Doukas Palaiologos (, 1225/30 – 1274) was a Byzantine aristocrat, brother to Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282), who served as the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army. He played a prominent part in his brother's military campaigns, most notably in the crucial victory at the Battle of Pelagonia, but also in repeated campaigns against Epirus and against the Turks in Asia Minor. He retired from active service after his defeat at Neopatras, and died shortly after. Biography Early life and first successes John Doukas Palaiologos was born sometime after 1225 and before 1230, the son of Andronikos Palaiologos, the megas domestikos of the Empire of Nicaea, and his first wife Theodora Palaiologina. John was their second son, after the future emperor Michael Palaiologos, and the fourth child overall.