The Times of India

Was Spain the true heir to the Byzantine Empire? The story of a lost imperial claim

After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the exiled Byzantine claimant Andreas Palaiologos bequeathed the imperial title in 1502 to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. Though the Spanish monarchy theoretically inherited the Byzantine claim, it remained purely symbolic as Spain focused on Atlantic expansion and Mediterranean power rather than attempting to restore the fallen empire.