Many Byzantine nobles found themselves in Constantinople in 1453, fighting against the Ottomans in their final attack. Some, such as Theophilos Palaiologos, lost their lives in the battle, whereas others were taken prisoner and executed. Nobles that could escape mostly did, many fleeing to the Morea where they had estates. There, they faced a dilemma. The Byzantine Empire had fallen and the rulers of the Morea, Thomas and Demetrios, appeared more interested in their own rivalry than in organizing resistance against the Ottomans. As such, many of them escaped into Western Europe either before or after the Morea fell in 1460.