Hello everyone and welcome to the historyium, episode 298, the Providence of God.

Last time, we saw the aftermath of the Mongol invasions of Europe and the Middle East.

By attacking the Seljuks and Bulgarians, the men of the step inadvertently cleared the

field for Nicia to rise and rise. John Vatatsies was able to lead his troops all the way to the

outskirts of Daracium, seizing territory for his empire. He died after a long

reign in which he'd achieved much, but he left a complex legacy for his son.

The European territories of the Empire were not going to be easy to reincorporate into a centralized state, nor were the Roman aristocracy

of that region.

Confusingly, John Vatazzi's son is always referred to in the scholarship as Theodore Laskaris, the second.

You may recall that Vatasesees is used by scholars for

disambiguation. John actually used the name Dukas on most of his documents

to associate himself with that side of his lineage.

His son seems to have preferred his mother's name

and chose to associate himself with the founder of the Nician Revival.

We are now firmly in an era where choosing surnames to suit your political goals is the norm.

Theodor II was born around the time his father became Emperor, making him about 33 when he ascended to the throne.

He was given a first-rate education and took to the scholarly life.

We actually have more surviving texts self-authored by Theodore

than for any other emperor since Julian the Apostate back in the fourth century. He was not just a bookworm though. While his father

was campaigning in the Balkans, Theodore was left in charge of Anatolia,

traveling the length of the realm, inspecting troops and dispensing justice.

He was more than ready to take charge of the ship of state.

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