The epilepsy of the Emperor Theodore II Lascaris (1254–1258)

Abstract

The study of contemporary historic sources affords us a clinical picture of the epilepsy of the Byzantine Emperor, Theodore II Lascaris (1254–1258). It appears that he suffered from an epileptic disorder of rather generalized tonic-clonic type (grand mal), which started to afflict him in all probability before the age of 30 years. Numerous incidents described by many historians of his entourage reveal that he also had serious behavior disorders that the famous Byzantine historian, George Pachymeres, directly attributed to his disease.