Chapter Seven. The Byzantine Space

In answering the question as to what position was held by the Latin Empire in the Byzantine space, with regard to Asia Minor, this chapter focuses on the Empire of Nicaea and the Sultanate of Konya. It refers indirectly to the Byzantine state that was founded by Alexios I Komnenos - the so-called Empire of Trebizond. In the Balkans the authors devote attention to the Empire of Thessalonike, the Empire of Bulgaria, the Principality and subsequently Kingdom of Serbia, the Kingdom of Hungary, and the Russian Principalities. The chapter first examines whether the Latin emperors either subscribed to the foreign policy pursued by their predecessors prior to 1204 or opted for far-reaching innovations. Secondly, we ask ourselves how the neighbouring states looked upon the Latin Empire and to what extent they regarded this empire as the legitimate successor to the Byzantine Empire of pre-1204.Keywords: Asia Minor; Balkans; Byzantine space; Empire of Nicaea; Latin Empire; Sultanate of Konya