What is Constantine XI Palaiologos?
{{expert-subject|1=is Greek History.|date=February 2022}} {{no sources|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox royalty |name = Constantine XI Palaiologos |image =162 - Constantine XI Palaiologos (Mutinensis - color).png |title = [[Byzantine Emperor|Emperor of the Romans]] |succession = [[Byzantine emperor]] |successor = [[Thomas Palaiologos]] (as despot of the Morea) |predecessor = John VIII Palaiologos |reign = 6 January 1449{{snd}}29 May 1453 |spouse = Maria |birth_date = 8 February 1405 |death_date = 29 May 1453 (or May 30) (aged 48) |regnal name=Basileus Konstantinos Dragases Palaiologos}} '''Constantine XI Dragases Palaiologos''' or '''Dragaš''' '''Palaeologus''' ({{lang-el|Κωνσταντῖνος Δραγάσης Παλαιολόγος}}, ''Kōnstantînos Dragásēs Palaiológos''; 8 February 1405 – 29 May 1453) was the last [[Byzantine emperor]], started in 1449 until he died in the [[Fall of Constantinople]]. His death marked the end of the [[Byzantine Empire]] (Eastern Roman Empire) and of the [[Roman Empire]], founded by [[Augustus]] almost 1,500 years earlier. ==History== Constantine was the fourth son of Emperor [[Manuel II Palaiologos]] and Helena Dragaš, the daughter of Serbian ruler [[Konstantin Dejanović.]] His early life is unknown, but from the 1420s onward, he is shown to be a skilled general. Based on his career, Constantine must have been a soldier. He was trusted and liked by his older brother, [[Emperor John VIII Palaiologos]]. Constantine and John fended off an attack on the Morea (the [[Peloponnese]]) by [[Carlo I Tocco]], ruler of [[Epirus]]. In 1428 Constantine became Despot of the Morea and ruled the province together with his older brother Theodore and his younger brother Thomas. Together, they ruled almost the entire Peloponnese for the first time since the [[Fourth Crusade]] more than two hundred years before. They rebuilt the ancient [[Hexamilion]] wall, which defended the [[peninsula]] from outside attacks. Although ultimately unsuccessful, Constantine personally led a campaign into Cent