was just as burdensome on the treasury. The result was that heavy taxes were levied on the peasantry, something that the Ottomans would later use to their advantage, winning over these poverty-stricken peasants with promises of lower taxes. The Second Council of Lyons and the ostensible union of the two Churches did little to avert Catholic aggression, while at the same time the Orthodox population, led by large parts of the priesthood, denounced Michael VIII as a traitor. His death in 1282 came as a relief to many, and his body was denied an Orthodox funeral, as a result of his policies towards Rome. Legacy Michael VIII was a very energetic, ambitious and capable emperor who had enlarged and preserved the Empire and had once again made Byzantium a power to be reckoned with in the region. His army, however, was still small, and diplomacy was relied upon more than ever. An extortionate tax system supported his ambitious and successful foreign policies of expansion, as well as his numerous bribes and gifts to various potentates. He had put Byzantium on the road of recovery, but his achievements were still perilously fragile, as events would soon show. Andronikos II Palaiologos, 1282–1328 Andronikos II was the son of Michael VIII. He ascended the throne in 1282, at the age of 24. Foreign policy Andronikos II was tied down with events in the West and the East. The Serbians under King Stefan Uroš II Milutin had begun invading the Balkans and took Skopje in 1282 and raids against Macedonia were launched throughout the 1290s. Byzantine counter-attacks failed to stop these, and as a result Andronikos was forced to resort to diplomacy, marrying his 5-year-old daughter to the Serbian King and ceding a number of forts from Ohrid to Stip to Strumica as a "dowry". Nonetheless, the Serbs continued their expansion. Unlike his father, Andronikos II recognized the gravity of the situation in Asia Minor, and tried to drive out the Turks, utilizing a variety of methods. His first action was to move his court to Asia Minor, where he could better oversee the construction of fortifications and raise troop morale. His General, Alexios Philanthropenos, was an able commander, campaigning with some success against the Turks in the Meander Valley. Unfortunately Byzantium was robbed of his services when he staged an unsuccessful coup, leading to his blinding. Next Andronikos sent his son, Michael IX,