Gregory Maleinos, Caesar

Gregory Maleinos (1231-1299) was the brother-in-law of the Emperor Constantine X Palaiologos, having married the Emperor's sister Helena. From the early 1270s until his death, he was the dominant political figure in Constantinople.

Gregory's family, the Maleinoi, had long been prominent in Constantinople. His great-great-grandfather Niketas Maleinos had been a confidant of the Emperors Manuel and John II, and had fought at the Battle of Haram in 1130. Niketas' grandson Stephen had supported the regime of Eirene Nafpliotissa until its fall in 1212, but under Stephen's son (Gregory's father) Eusthatios, the family was rehabilitated politically, with the regime of Demetrios the Regent desperate to secure noble backing. Eusthatios did not participate in the Sebastean revolt of 1246, and for this he was rewarded by the Regency government. It was in this context that Gregory, then sixteen years old, was married to the thirteen year old Helena in 1247, The match may have been one of genuine mutual attraction, given Gregory had an elder brother Stephen.

From an early age, Gregory showed military prowess, and he was well known in Constantinople as a capable fighter. He first saw military action in 1251, as part of the imperial army sent to deal with the revolt of Paul of Messenia, where he displayed conspicuous courage in battle. Two years later, Helena delivered Gregory a son and heir, named Constantine for the Emperor. Though she suffered two miscarriages, a second son followed in 1259, named Demetrios for the Regent. In 1261, on his thirtieth birthday, Gregory was named Caesar by his brother-in-law, thus notionally becoming his heir apparent.

The newly made Caesar spent most of the 1260s in a series of military commands, with Gregory most notably commanding the defence of Laodicea in 1267, following the death of the city's notional protector, the Grand Duke of Cyprus George Evagoras. Between 1267 and 1271 he was based in Cyprus, as protector of Evagoras' young sons. He returned to Constantinople late in 1271, with the news that Demetrios Simeopoulos was ailing. Upon the death of the Regent a few months later, he assumed effective political power in the City, given the disinterest of his brother-in-law Constantine X.

He adopted a policy of aggression towards the newly crowned Ākǔttǎ Khan, a policy which initially was popular, and appeared to pay dividends, with the Jurchens apparently abandoning plans of attacking the Roman Empire and concentrating on expaning their rule over the Islamic world.