Sphrantzes Palaiologos
Byzantine aristocrat and commander
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Sphrantzes Palaiologos (Greek: Σφραντζῆς Παλαιολόγος) was a Byzantine aristocrat and commander active in the 1330s.
A member of the minor aristocracy and a Senator,[1] in 1334 he was promised great rank and wealth by Emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos if he could capture or otherwise neutralise the renegade Syrgiannes Palaiologos.[1][2] He posed as a deserter and entered the Serbian camp and killed Syrgiannes, who had deserted to King Stefan Dušan, ending his advance and bringing the Serbian army into disarray.[3] Consequently, in August 1334, the king of Serbia made peace with Andronikos III Palaiologos and allowed his forces to retake control of captured parts of Macedonia.[4]
He was rewarded with the high court rank of megas stratopedarches, which he held until his death of typhus in 1339, leading a campaign in Acarnania.[1][2]