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The Fall of The Last Roman Emperor
And the end of a 1500 year old tradition
When Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos was coronated on January 6th, 1449, he had no way of knowing that he would be the last person in history to claim the title of Emperor of Rome. When Constantine XI Palaiologos took the throne in Constantinople, he was beset on all sides by massive problems. The Ottoman Turks were on the march, the once grand Byzantine Empire was crumbling, and religious dissent was affecting the ranks. To his credit, Constantine XI Palaiologos was not a bad emperor. He was rather simply the unlucky man who would be the last person to don the crown and scepter of the Roman Empire.
His death marked the end of the long and twisting line of Roman Emperors dating back to Julius Caesar himself. Emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos went out in a manner fitting of his station. Here is how Constantine XI Palaiologos died and how he took the mantle of Rome with him to the grave.
The Death Of The Roman Emperor
Constantine XI Palaiologos would only reign for four and a half years. In 1453, the fourth year of his reign, the Ottomans advanced to the…
