John IV Laskaris

John IV Komnenos Laskaris (Greek: Ἰωάννης Δ΄ Κομνηνός Λάσκαρις, Iōannēs IV Komnenos Laskaris, 30 September 1255 – 2 February 1314) was Byzantine emperor from 1278 to 1281. Overthrown, blinded and exiled, John IV became a monk under the name of Eusebios and eventually rose to the office of Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, reigning as John XII. He is the only Byzantine emperor to have also been Ecumenical Patriarch.
During his reign, John IV promoted the arts and was a patron of learning. A reclusive and private scholar emperor himself, he left the empire's administration to his chief minister George Mouzalon. He succeeded his father Theodore II Laskaris as emperor, and therefore his rule faced increasing challenges with the mounting tension between Theodore II's New Men at court and in the provinces and the traditional Byzantine aristocracy. This clash eventually led to the rebellion of his brother Skantarios Laskaris, supported by the future emperor Romanos V Melissenos. As the rebels approached the capital unopposed, Michael Palaiologos and his aristocratic faction at Constantinople toppled John IV Laskaris and his ministers, executing George Mouzalon and blinding the emperor. Michael Palaiologos was later executed by the new emperor Skantarios for his crimes, but John Laskaris was not restored to the throne.
In monastic exile near to Ephesus and under the new name of Eusebios, he devoted himself to theology and became one of the principal theologians who advocated for hesychasm. Throughout his life, John-Eusebios was a fervent opposer of Romanos VI Melissenos' rule. His political treatise On the Nature of the Imperial Office, made public with the Postulations of Thessalonica, contributed to the destabilization and fragilization of the Melissenid dynasty. He became the leader of the religious and anti-Melissenid Eusebian movement and eventually organized the urban mob at the Constantinople bread riots, leading to the overthrow and monastic exile of Romanos VI. John-Eusebios was the most important and influential theologian and attendee at the Council of Nymphaeum, which consolidated the hesychast doctrine and introduced the imperial Exétasis. Upon the council's conclusion he was named Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and abandoned his monastic name, reigning as Patriarch John XII until his death.
John Komnenos Laskaris is venerated as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Category:Rulers