(The Return of the Banished, 1844), (originally , 1841), is an opera by Otto Nicolai.
The libretto by Gaetano Rossi for Il proscritto, based on the play by Frédéric Soulié, had been given to Nicolai after being rejected by Verdi, this after Nicolai had rejected and given to Verdi Temistocle Solera's libretto for Nabucco. Whereas Verdi's opera was a triumph, Nicolai's, premiered 13 March 1841 at La Scala in Milan was a failure. On his return to Vienna Nicolai had Siegfried Kapper rework Rossi's libretto to produce Die Heimkehr des Verbannten, which premiered successfully on 3 February 1844 at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna.