Constantine Lascaris

Byzantine emperor
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Quick Facts
Died:
1205?

Constantine (XI) Lascaris (died 1205?) was a titular Byzantine emperor, 1204–05. While the Latin crusaders were besieging Constantinople in April 1204, the emperor Alexius V slipped away into exile, and Constantine, one of the city’s leading defenders, was proclaimed emperor in the Cathedral of St. Sophia. Quickly, however, the city fell, and Constantine and other refugees fled to Nicaea, where they set up a rival empire. After his death he was succeeded by his brother, Theodore I Lascaris.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.