[[Image:AndronicosIIGoldHyperpyron.jpg|thumb|Gold [[hyperpyron]] of Andronikos II, kneeling before Christ.]]
[[Image:Serres_IM_Prodromou_Andronicos.jpg|thumb|Emperor Andronikos II on a wall fresco in a monastery in [[Serres, Greece|Serres]].]]
'''Andronikos II Palaiologos''' or '''Andronicus II Palaeologus''' ([[Greek Language|Greek]]: '''{{polytonic|Ανδρόνικος Β' Παλαιολόγος}}''') ([[25 March]] [[1259]], [[Constantinople]] – [[February 13]], [[1332]], [[Constantinople]]), reigned as [[Byzantine emperor]] [[1282]]–[[1328]]. Andronikos II Palaiologos was the eldest surviving son of [[Michael VIII Palaiologos]] and [[Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina]], grandniece of [[John III Doukas Vatatzes]].

==Life==
Andronikos II Palaiologos was acclaimed co-emperor in [[1261]], after his father Michael VIII recovered [[Constantinople]] from the [[Latin Empire]], but he was crowned only in 1272. Sole emperor from 1282, Andronikos II immediately repudiated his father's unpopular Church union with the [[Papacy]] (which he had been forced to support while his father was still alive), but was unable to resolve the related schism within the Orthodox clergy until 1310. Andronikos II was also plagued by economic difficulties and during his reign the value of the Byzantine ''[[hyperpyron]]'' depreciated precipitously while the state treasury accumulated more than seven times less revenue (in nominal coins) than it had done previously. Seeking to increase revenue and reduce expenses, Andronikos II raised taxes and reduced tax exemptions, and dismantled the Byzantine fleet (80 ships) in 1285, thereby making the Empire increasingly dependent on the rival republics of [[Republic of Venice|Venice]] and [[Republic of Genoa|Genoa]]. In 1291, he hired 50-60 Genoese ships. Later, in 1320, he tried to resurrect the navy by constructing 20 galleys, but unfortunately he failed.

Andronikos II Palaiologos sought to resolve some of the problems facing the [[Byzantine Empire]] through diplomacy. After the death of his first wife, he married [[Eirene of Montferrat|Yolanda (renamed Eirene) of Montferrat]], putting an end to the Montferrat claim to the [[Kingdom of Thessalonica]]. Andronikos II also attempted to marry off his son and co-emperor [[Michael IX Palaiologos]] to the Latin Empress [[Catherine I of Courtenay]], thus seeking to eliminate Western agitation for a restoration of the [[Latin Empire]]. Another marriage alliance attempted to resolve the potential conflict with [[Serbia]] in [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]], as Andronikos II married off his five-year old daughter [[Simonida|Simonis]] to King [[Stefan Milutin]] in 1298.

[[Image:AndronikosIIandMichaelIXPalaeologusSilverBasilikon.jpg|thumb|left|Andronikos II and [[Michael IX Palaeologus]] (Silver basilikon).]]
In spite of the resolution of problems in [[Europe]], Andronikos II was faced with the collapse of the Byzantine frontier in [[Asia Minor]]. After the failure of the co-emperor Michael IX to stem the Turkish advance in Asia Minor in 1300, the Byzantine government hired the [[Catalan Company]] of [[Almogavars]] (adventurers from [[Aragon]] and [[Catalonia]]) led by [[Roger de Flor]] to clear Byzantine Asia Minor of the enemy. In spite of some successes, the Catalans were unable to secure lasting gains. They quarreled with Michael IX, and eventually turned on their Byzantine employers after the murder of Roger de Flor in 1305, devastating [[Thrace]], Macedonia, and [[Thessaly]] on their road to Latin Greece. There they conquered the [[Duchy of Athens]] and [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]]. The Turks continued to pentrate the Byzantine possessions, and [[Bursa, Turkey|Bursa]] fell in 1326. By the end of Andronikos II's reign, much of Bithynia was in the hands of the [[Ottoman Turks]] of Osman I and his son and heir [[Orhan I|Orhan]].

The Empire's problems were exploited by [[Theodore Svetoslav of Bulgaria]], who defeated Michael IX and conquered much of northeastern Thrace in c. 1305-1307. The conflict ended with yet another dynastic marriage, between Michael IX's daughter Theodora and the Bulgarian emperor. The dissolute behavior of Michael IX's son [[Andronikos III Palaiologos]] led to a rift in the family, and after Michael IX's death in 1320, Andronikos II disowned his grandson, prompting a civil war that raged, with interruptions, until 1328. The conflict precipitated Bulgarian involvement, and [[Michael Shishman of Bulgaria|Michael Asen III of Bulgaria]] attempted to capture Andronikos II under the guise of sending him military support. In 1328 Andronikos III entered Constantinople in triumph and Andronikos II was forced to abdicate. He died as a monk in 1332.

==Family==
In 1274 Andronikos II married as his first wife [[Anna of Hungary]], a daughter of King [[Stephen V of Hungary]] and [[Elizabeth the Cuman]], with whom he had two sons:
* [[Michael IX Palaiologos]]
* Constantine Palaiologos, ''[[despotes]]''
After Anna died in 1281, in 1284 Andronikos II then married [[Eirene of Montferrat|Yolanda (renamed Eirene)]], a daughter of Marquis William IX of Montferrat, with whom he had:
* John Palaiologos (c. 1286-1308), ''despotes''
* [[Theodore I of Montferrat|Theodore I, Marquis of Montferrat]] (1291-1338)
* Demetrios Palaiologos (d. after 1343), ''despotes''
* [[Simonida|Simonis Palaiologina]] (1294-after 1336), who married King [[Stefan Milutin]] of Serbia
Andronikos II also had at least two illegitimate daughters:
* Eirene, who married John II Doukas, ruler of [[Thessaly]]
* Maria, who married [[Toqta]], khan of the [[Golden Horde]]

==References==
* A.E. Laiou, ''Constantinople and the Latins: The Foreign Policy of Andronicus II, 1282-1328'', Harvard University Press, 1972
* Donald M. Nicol, ''The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 12061-1453'', Cambridge University Press, 1993, 2nd edition, pp. 93-147
*''[[Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium]]'', Oxford University Press, 1991.
*{{1911|article=Andronicus II|url=http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Andronicus_II_(Palaeologus)}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Palaiologos]] dynasty|Unknown|1259|13 February|1332}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Michael VIII Palaiologos]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[List of Byzantine Emperors|Byzantine Emperor]]|years=1272–1328
|regent1=[[Michael VIII Palaiologos]]|years1=[[1260]]–[[1282]]
|regent2=[[Michael IX Palaiologos]]|years2=[[1294]]–[[1320]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Andronikos III Palaiologos]]}}
{{end}}
{{Roman Emperors}}

[[Category:Byzantine emperors|Andronikos 02]]
[[Category:Palaeologus dynasty|Andronikos 02]]
[[Category:1259 births|Andronikos Palaiologos]]
[[Category:1332 deaths|Andronikos Palaiologos]]

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