 Theodore had been in the service of Nicaea, and Michael had requested Laskaris to send him to Epirus because his own son's position was weak.In the event, Theodore not only sidelined the young Michael II, but according to the hagiography of St. Theodora of Arta, sent him and his mother to exile in the Peloponnese for the duration of his reign.Theodore proved a powerful and warlike ruler, greatly expanding the Epirote state and capturing Thessalonica in 1224, where he was crowned emperor.