Andronikos III Palaiologos
East Roman (Byzantine) emperor
Years: 1297 - 1341
Andronikos III Palaiologos (March 25, 1297 – June 15, 1341), commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, is Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341.
Born Andronikos Doukas Angelos Komnenos Palaiologos, he is the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia.
He is proclaimed co-emperor in his youth, before 1313, and in April 1321 he rebels in opposition to his grandfather, Andronikos II Palaiologos.
He is formally crowned co-emperor on February 1325, before ousting his grandfather outright and becoming sole emperor on May 24, 1328.
His reign includes the last failed attempts to hold back the Ottoman Turks in Bithynia and the defeat at Rusokastro against the Bulgarians, but also the successful recovery of Chios, Lesbos, Phocaea, Thessaly, and Epirus.
His early death leaves a power vacuum that results in the disastrous civil war between his Empress-dowager, Anna of Savoy, and his closest friend and supporter, John VI Kantakouzenos.
