Thomas Palaiologos or Palaeologus (Greek: Θωμᾶς Παλαιολόγος, translit. Thomas Palaiologos; 1409 – 12 May 1465) was Despot in Morea from 1428 until the Ottoman conquest in 1460. After the desertion of his older brother to the Turks in 1460, Thomas Palaiologos became the legitimate claimant to the Byzantine throne, a claim he maintained during his exile in Italy.