Greek Revolution: Where did the Greeks look for descendants of the Byzantine dynasties?

Question

I recall reading in a few books that during the early to mid 19th century, the Greeks where trying to find European nobles who had genealogies linked to the dynasties of the old Byzantine Empire (Paleologus, Laskaris, Doukas etc). The idea being that they could be potentially persuaded to join the cause of the Greeks in their plight to create a Christian empire centered in Constantinople. My question was, Where they ever able to find any? if so, who where these people? if not, are there any details on where they tried to look? Edit: To the best of my knowledge the most recent person to claim to be a descendant of the Paleologos dynasty (the last Byzantine Dynasty) was a man named Ferdinando Paleologos who died in 1678, Barbados

Answer 1

During the Greek War of Independence (1821–1832), many Greek intellectuals and leaders idealized the idea of reviving the Byzantine Empire and sought symbolic continuity with it. This included a search for legitimate heirs to the old Byzantine imperial dynasties such as the Palaiologos, Laskaris, Doukas, and Komnenos families. Their goal was to find a unifying, charismatic figure with a noble lineage who could serve as a monarch or symbolic leader for a reborn Christian state centered in Constantinople. No confirmed descendants of the Byzantine emperors were found to take up such a role, although there were several claims, fabrications, and romanticized searches.