Family

Her father was Manuel Angelos Philanthropenos

Manuel Angelos Philanthropenos

Manuel Angelos Philanthropenos was a Byzantine Greek nobleman who ruled Thessaly from ca. 1390 until it was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1393, as a Byzantine vassal with the title of Caesar....

, Caesar

Caesar (title)

Caesar is a title of imperial character. It derives from the cognomen of Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator...

of the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 and ruler of Thessaly

History of Thessaly

-Ancient Thessaly:Thessaly was home to an extensive Neolithic culture around 2500 BC. Mycenaean settlements have also been discovered, for example at the sites of Iolcos, Dimini and Sesklo . Later, in ancient Greek times, the lowlands of Thessaly became the home of baronial families, such as the...

 from c. 1390 to 1394. The provincial capital of her father was in Trikala

Trikala

Trikala is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece. It is the capital of the Trikala peripheral unit, and is located NW of Athens, NW, of Karditsa, E of Ioannina and Metsovo, S of Grevena, SW of Thessaloniki, and W of Larissa...

. Thessaly was conquered by Bayezid I

Bayezid I

Bayezid I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Valide Sultan Gülçiçek Hatun.-Biography:Bayezid was born in Edirne and spent his youth in Bursa, where he received a high-level education...

 of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 in 1394.

Her paternal grandfather was Alexios Angelos Philanthropenos

Alexios Angelos Philanthropenos

Alexios Angelos Philanthropenos was a Byzantine Greek nobleman who ruled Thessaly from 1373 until ca. 1390 with the title of Caesar....

, also a Caesar. He was governor of Thessaly from c. 1373 to 1390. Her maternal grandmother was Maria Radoslava. Alexios succeeded his kinsman John Uroš

John Uroš

Jovan Uroš or John Ouresis Doukas Palaiologos was the ruler of Thessaly from c. 1370 to c. 1373, died 1422/3.John Uroš was the son of Emperor Simeon Uroš Palaiologos by Thomais Orsini. His maternal grandparents were John II Orsini and Anna Palaiologina Angelina.Between 1369 and 1372 he succeeded...

 after the latter abdicated in order to enter a monastery.

Maria was a daughter of Radoslav Hlapen. Radoslav was lord of Kastoria

Kastoria

Kastoria is a city in northern Greece in the periphery of West Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria peripheral unit. It is situated on a promontory on the western shore of Lake Orestiada, in a valley surrounded by limestone mountains...

 and Edessa

Edessa, Greece

Edessa , is a city in northern Greece and the capital of the Pella regional unit, in the Central Macedonia region of Greece. It was also the capital of the defunct province of the same name.-Name:...

. Radoslav is better known as a rival of Simeon Uroš

Simeon Uroš

Simeon Uroš Nemanjić, nicknamed Siniša , also known in Greek as Symeōn Ouresēs Palaiologos , was the Despot of Epirus from 1359 to 1366, and of Thessaly from 1359 until his death in 1370. He governed Epirus and Acarnania under his half-brother Emperor Dušan the Mighty Simeon Uroš Nemanjić,...

. His wife was Irene, widow of Caesar Gregorios Preljub, the Serbian

Serbian Empire

The Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...

 governor of Thessaly, who died in late 1355 or early 1356. Irene was the mother of Thomas II Preljubović

Thomas II Preljubovic

Thomas II Preljubović or Komnenos Palaiologos , was ruler of Epirus in Ioannina from 1366 to his death on December 23, 1384. He also held the title of Albanian-slayer .-Family:...

 by her previous wedding.

According to "The Late Medieval Balkans, A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest" (1994) by J. V. A. Fine, Irene was a daughter of Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia

Stefan Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan the Mighty , was the King of Serbia and Emperor of the Serbs and Greeks until his death on 20 December 1355. Dušan managed to conquer a large part of Southeast Europe, becoming one of the most powerful monarchs in his time...

 and Helena of Bulgaria

Helena of Bulgaria

Jelena or Helena of Bulgaria was the daughter of Sratsimir of Kran and Keratsa Petritsa and the sister of Tsar Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria....

.

Empress

In 1395, Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia

Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia

Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia was the first Empress consort of Manuel III of Trebizond. Her original name was Gulkhan Khatun. Eudokia was her Christian baptismal name.-Family:...

, Empress consort of Trebizond died. Manuel III of Trebizond, her widower, married Anna within the same year. Anna was a stepmother to his son, Alexios IV of Trebizond

Alexios IV of Trebizond

Alexios IV Megas Komnenos or Alexius IV , , Emperor of Trebizond from March 5, 1417 to October 1429. He was the son of Emperor Manuel III and Gulkhan-Eudokia of Georgia.- Reign :...

. Their marriage is considered childless. Manuel died on 5 March 1417. Whether Anna survived him is unknown.