List of Roman emperors

Roman or Byzantine Emperors were the rulers of the Roman Empire, whose medieval iteration was later known as the Byzantine Empire, the direct continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised sovereign authority are included, to the exclusion of junior co-emperors (symbasileis) who never attained the status of sole or senior ruler, as well as of the various usurpers or rebels who claimed the imperial title.
By the time of the 14th century, the standard imperial formula was "[Emperor's name] in Christ faithful, Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans". The formula varied in official correspondence and documents, and sometimes included titles such as "Equal to the Apostles" (Isapostolos), "Master of the Universe" (Kosmokrator), "Lord of Time" (Kronokrator) and even the ancient form of "Augustus", but the standard formula was always present.
In the medieval period, dynasties were common, but the principle of hereditary succession was never formalized in the Empire, and hereditary succession was a custom rather than an inviolable principle.
This is a list of all Roman and Byzantine emperors after the point of divergence in the Arthurverse. For a complete list of the previous rulers, Wikipedia is recommended.
==List of Emperors==
===Angelid Dynasty (1185–1218)===
	Name	Reign 	Notes
	Isaac II Angelos 
(Ἰσαάκιος Βʹ Ἄγγελος)	1185–1195	Born in September 1156, Isaac came to the throne at the head of a popular revolt against Andronikos I. His reign was marked by revolts and wars in the Balkans, especially against a resurgent Bulgaria. He was deposed, blinded and imprisoned by his elder brother, Alexios III.
	Alexios III Angelos 
(Ἀλέξιος Γʹ Ἄγγελος)	1195–1206	Born in 1153, Alexios was the elder brother of Isaac II. His reign was marked with misrule and the increasing power of provincial magnates. He was deposed by his nephew Alexios IV.
	Alexios IV Angelos 
(Ἀλέξιος Δʹ Ἄγγελος)	1206–1211	Born in 1182, the son of Isaac II. His short-lived reign was dominated by the powerful figure of his father-in-law Gregory Gabras. He was deposed and blinded by his uncle Alexios III.
	Alexios III Angelos 
(Ἀλέξιος Γʹ Ἄγγελος)	1211–1218	Restored to his throne. He ruled jointly with his son-in-law and co-emperor Theodore I Laskaris and mostly unsuccessfully faced the powerful and hostile Bulgarian emperor Kaloyan in war.
===Laskarid dynasty (1218–1245)===
	Name	Reign 	Notes
	Theodore I Laskaris 
(Θεόδωρος Αʹ Λάσκαρις)	1218 – 18 August 1222	Born c. 1174, he rose to prominence as the son-in-law of Alexios III, whose title he inherited after his death. Theodore I's reign was a period of revitalization of the Byzantine army and economy, and he successfully defended the empire against the hostile Bulgarians to the north.
	John III Doukas Vatatzes 
(Ἰωάννης Γʹ Δούκας Βατάτζης)	18 August 1222 – 1245	Born c. 1193, he became the son-in-law and successor of Theodore I. He conquered Iconium and Greater Armenia in Asia Minor, and pushed back the Bulgarians in Europe. During his reign the Byzantine economy thrived. John III was deposed by Andronikos II Palaiologos during the Scythian Wars, which he had failed to decisively act upon. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
===Interregnum (1245–1249)===
	Name	Reign 	Notes
	Andronikos II Palaiologos 
(Ἀνδρόνικος Βʹ Παλαιολόγος)	1245 – 1 September 1249	Born c. 1190, he served John III as Grand Domestic and scored a significant victory against the Mongols at the Battle of Adrianople. He later deposed John III and was one of the several pretenders to the Byzantine throne during the following civil war. As he ruled from Constantinople and bore all the significant symbols of office and sovereign control over Thrace and Bithynia, he is often considered a legitimate emperor, in spite of his usurpation.
===Laskarid dynasty (1249–1285)===
	Name	Reign 	Notes
	Theodore II Laskaris 
(Θεόδωρος Βʹ Λάσκαρις)	1 September 1249 – 1 December 1278	Born in 1222 as the only son of John III and Eirene Laskarina, he was acclaimed emperor by his troops at Monemvasia in the Peloponnese in 1245. He lifted the Siege of Constantinople, overthrew Andronikos II Palaiologos and consecrated himself sole emperor in 1249. Theodore II was a scholar and patron of the letters, and is considered the most accomplished of the Laskarid rulers, having broken the power of the Byzantine aristocracy and healed the empire from the destruction of the Scythian Wars. Theodore II died of natural causes, although some historians claim he committed suicide, which was kept secret by his successors at the time. He is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
	John IV Laskaris 
(Ἰωάννης Δʹ Λάσκαρις)	1 December 1278 – March 1281 	Born in 1255 as the eldest son of Theodore II, he was named co-emperor at age 14 and succeeded his father to the throne. John IV was a withdrawn intellectual whose reign was dominated by his powerful chief minister and godfather George Mouzalon. He was deposed by his younger brother Skantarios and sent into monastic exile under the name of Eusebios. He later was one of the main agitators against Melissenid rule and became one of the most prominent Byzantine theologians of the Late Middle Ages. After the Council of Nymphaeum, he was appointed Patriarch of Constantinople as John XII.
	Skantarios Laskaris 
(Σκαντάριος Λάσκαρις)	March 1281 – 31 July 1285 	Born in 1257 as the second son of Theodore II. He was raised co-emperor by John IV upon his accession to the throne, but later rebelled against his elder brother and overthrew him, becoming sole emperor. Skantarios' short reign was plagued by a court purge at Constantinople and the war against the Latin Empire. He died at the Battle of Seleucia.
===Melissenid dynasty (1285–1312)===
	Name	Reign 	Notes
	Romanos V Melissenos 
(Ρωμανός Ε΄ Μελισσηνός)	31 July 1285 – 18 February 1292 	Born c. 1212, Romanos served Theodore II and John IV as Domestic of the Eastern Schools from 1254 onwards. He was the principal supporter of his grandson-in-law Skantarios Laskaris' rebellion and was raised to co-emperor at the outbreak of the war against the Latin Empire. He unexpectedly succeeded as sole emperor following Skantarios' death, but was widely perceived as an usurper and had to maintain the Laskarid dynasty close to power.
	Romanos VI Melissenos 
(Ρωμανός Ϛ΄ Μελισσηνός)	18 February 1292 – 18 August 1312	Born in 1257 as a grandson of Romanos V, he was raised to co-emperor following his marriage to Eudoxia Laskarina in 1285. Although he was the Emperor's grandson, Romanos VI drew legitimacy to rule from his wife's family, but he was still an unpopular ruler. During his successful reign Romanos VI completed the reconquest of Asia Minor. He was overthrown at the Constantinople bread riots with the support of his wife Eudoxia and son Theodore III, and exiled to a monastery on the Princes' Islands.
===Laskarid dynasty (1312–)===
	Name 	Reign	Notes
	Eudoxia Laskarina(Ευδοξία Λασκαρίνα)	18 February 1292
(incumbent)	Born in 1261 as the second daughter of Theodore II Laskaris, she became Empress in 1292 as her husband Romanos VI's co-ruler. For most of the duration of their joint rule, Eudoxia stood at the head of imperial civil administration at Constantinople. She overthrew Romanos VI in 1312 and installed her son Theodore III as emperor and her co-ruler.
	Theodore III Laskaris 
(Θεόδωρος Γʹ Λάσκαρις)	18 August 1312 
(incumbent)	Born in 1290 as the eldest son of Romanos VI and Eudoxia Laskarina, Theodore was raised to co-emperor shortly after his birth and baptism. Sponsored by his mother, he reluctantly deposed his father during the Constantinople bread riots and became sole emperor. Theodore III oversaw the Council of Nymphaeum and the subsequent establishment of the Exétasis.
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