Theodore Laskaris had not at first claimed…

Theodore Laskaris had not at first claimed the imperial title, perhaps because his father-in-law and his brother were both still living, perhaps because of the imminent Latin invasion, or perhaps because there was no Patriarch of Constantinople to crown him emperor.

Proclaimed emperor in 1205, he had invited Patriarch John Kamateros to Nicaea, but John had died in 1206 before crowning Theodore.

Theodore appoints Michael IV as the new Patriarch and is crowned by him in March 1208.