Manuel Palaiologos

Manuel Palaiologos (1455 – 1512) was an heir to the Byzantine throne at the time of the collapse of the Byzantines. Following its breakdown, he surrendered his claim to the throne in exchange for a comfortable life as an Ottoman subject.

Early life
Manuel was born in 1455, two years after the Fall of Constantinople, as an heir to the Byzantine throne. He lived with his family in Morea, but they fled in 1460 to Corfu. The family later travelled to Rome, where his father, Thomas Palaiologos, was recognized as the Byzantine Emperor.

Templar Connection
Manuel and his brother later developed a relationship with the Templar Grand Master Rodrigo Borgia in the hopes of becoming one of Rodrigos pawns in furthering templar ambitions abroad and with the correct resources, even restoring control over the throne of Constantinople. Sadly however this came to nothing when Rodrigo lost interest in any kind of eastern uprising against the Ottomans.

Life in Constantinople
Under Sultan Bayezid II's rule, Manuel returned to Constantinople, where he received a pension in exchange for his rights to the Byzantine throne. Here he had two sons, Loannes and Andreas, and lived a luxurious life.

In 1511, surviving members of the Byzantine Empire, who were secretly Templars, aimed to remove the Ottomans from power and resurrect their empire. It was unclear to the Assassin Order whether or not Palaiologos was siding with the Templars, and thus the Grand Master of the Assassins, Ezio Auditore da Firenze, tasked himself with finding out about Manuel's true allegiance.

Work in Cappadocia and death
Ezio discovered Manuel was working for the Templars in Cappadocia, and went to the underground city to locate the Templar. While in Cappadocia, Ezio discovered that the Templars had an army stationed there, and that Manuel's lieutenant, Shahkulu, was torturing Ottoman spies. Ezio assassinated Shahkulu, and then chased after Manuel who fled and called for his guards. However, Ezio caught Manuel later and the two fought, with Ezio eventually killing Manuel.

In his final words, Manuel expressed his desire to be Byzantine emperor, and said he had devised many plans for the position. Ezio responded by saying that his empire was already dead and that Manuel's desire was only a dream. However, Manuel believed that his dream was also that of the Templars dream, which was of universal order and peace. Manuel gave the Assassin the key he held to Altaïr's library, but advised Ezio he could be killed before he even open the secret library.