born 0441; 1260, Constantinople
died Feb. 13, 1332, Constantinople
Byzantine emperor (12821328).
The son of Michael VIII Palaeologus , he was an intellectual and theologian rather than a soldier and statesman, and during his reign the Byzantine Empire declined to the status of a minor state. Ottoman Turks controlled Anatolia by 1300, and Serbs dominated the Balkans. By siding with Genoa in the war between Genoa and Venice, Andronicus provoked an attack by the Venetian navy. Despite the rising political disorder, he promoted Byzantine art and the independence of the Eastern Orthodox church. Deposed by his grandson Andronicus III Palaeologus , he entered a monastery.