Maria Palaiologina Kantakouzena
Encyclopedia
Maria Palaiologina Kantakouzene was a Byzantine princess, niece of emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
, and empress consort of Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
and Ivaylo of Bulgaria
.
. According to George Pachymeres
, Maria was unusually perfidious and sly and she had a strong influence over the people and the clergy. He would have it that Maria supported her uncle's military coup d'etat
and she prompted him to blind the legitimate emperor John IV Laskaris
, who was brother of Bulgarian tsarina Irene
, second wife of tsar Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
.
by Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261 pitted Constantine Tikh
, as the brother-in-law of the deposed emperor, against Michael VIII.
After the death of tsarina Irene Laskarina
in 1268 Constantine Tikh sought a reconciliation with Michael VIII by proposing to marry a Byzantine princess related to Palaiologos, and Michael VIII offered his niece Maria. Maria had one previous marriage, to Alexios Philes
, and Constantine Tikh had two. As a condition for the marriage alliance, the Black Sea ports of Mesembria
and Anchialos were to be handed over as her dowry
.
Maria and Constantine Tikh married in 1269. However, quarrels over the surrender of Maria's promised dowry soured the improved relationship. Maria realized that the behaviour of her uncle would undermine her position in the Bulgarian court, so she openly put up her husband to attack Michael VIII. The Bulgarian government entered into an alliance with King Charles I of Sicily
who was planning a campaign against Michael VIII with the object of restoring the Latin Empire
. Michael VIII struck back, by marrying his illegitimate daughter Euphrosyne Palaiologina to Nogai Khan
of the Golden Horde
, who, as a Byzantine ally, pillaged Bulgaria in 1274.
In the last years of his reign, Constantine Tikh was partly paralyzed from a fall off his horse, and suffered from unspecified ailments. The government was firmly in the hands of Maria Kantakouzene, who crowned their son Michael Asen II co-emperor soon after his birth, in about 1272. Maria presided over relations with the Byzantine Empire in the 1270s, and engineered first the submission and then the murder (by poison) of the despotēs Yakov Svetoslav of Vidin
, a strong pretender for the Bulgarian crown, in 1275. The tsarina invited Yakov Svetoslav to Tarnovo, promising to adopt him and to allow him to participate in the governing of the country. In 1275 Yakov Svetoslav arrived at Tarnovo and he indeed proclaimed as the second son of Maria in an official ceremony, officiated by patriarch Ignatiy of Bulgaria. Yakov died soon after his return to Vidin. Georgre Pahymerus accused Maria for his death.
himself is credited with killing the emperor in his chariot. Although Ivaylo was able to extend his authority across much of the country, he also met with resistance, and the capital Tarnovo remained under the control of the legitimate emperor Michael Asen II and his mother Maria Kantakouzene.
Ivaylo's successes troubled the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, who married his eldest daughter Irene to Ivan Asen III, a descendant of Bulgaria's ruling dynasty living at the Byzantine court, and dispatched troops to place him on the throne. This caused an alliance between Ivaylo and Maria Kantakouzena, and the widowed empress married Ivaylo, who was recognized as Bulgarian emperor in 1278, without deposing or disinheriting the minor Michael Asen II. Maria's decision was defined by Byzantines as "indecent" and "impure", because she, a descendant of the noble Palaiologos
and Kantakouzenos
families, had married a swineherd, who had moreover killed her husband. In this connection Michael VIII declared openly that Maria "had brought disgrace on her family" and she "had destroyed her kingdom".
The marriage of Ivaylo
and Maria was unhappy. Pachymeres says that Ivaylo hated her endearments and he even had beaten Maria. Although Ivaylo proved to be an abusive husband, he led a successful defense of the Balkan passes against the Byzantine campaigns to establish Ivan Asen III on the Bulgarian throne. Ivaylo had also met with success against casual Mongol raids, but in 1279 a major Mongol army blockaded him in the fortress of Dorostolon (Silistra
) on the Danube
for three months. A rumor of Ivaylo's death caused panic in Tarnovo, where the nobility surrendered to a new Byzantine army and accepted Ivan Asen III as emperor. Ivan Asen III was enthroned, while Michael Asen II and Maria Kantakouzena, who was pregnant by Ivaylo, were sent into exile to Constantinople
.
Maria Kantakouzene and Ivaylo had an unnamed daughter.
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
, and empress consort of Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
Constantine I , which includes the shortened form of the name of his father as a patronymic), ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277....
and Ivaylo of Bulgaria
Ivaylo of Bulgaria
Ivaylo, also spelled Ivailo, , nicknamed Bardokva or Lakhanas in Greek, was a rebel leader and emperor of Bulgaria. In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising, and forced the nobles to accept him as emperor...
.
Family
Maria was the second daughter of John Kantakouzenos and Eulogia, sister of Michael VIII PalaiologosMichael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...
. According to George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres
Georgius Pachymeres , a Byzantine Greek historian and miscellaneous writer, was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, where his father had taken refuge after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204...
, Maria was unusually perfidious and sly and she had a strong influence over the people and the clergy. He would have it that Maria supported her uncle's military coup d'etat
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
and she prompted him to blind the legitimate emperor John IV Laskaris
John IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris was emperor of Nicaea from August 18, 1258 to December 25, 1261...
, who was brother of Bulgarian tsarina Irene
Irene Doukaina Laskarina
Irene Doukaina Laskarina was empress consort of Bulgaria . She was second wife of Tsar Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria.She was a daughter of Theodore II Laskaris, emperor of Nikaea, and his wife Elena of Bulgaria. Irene was a sister of Byzantine emperor John IV Laskaris...
, second wife of tsar Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
Constantine I , which includes the shortened form of the name of his father as a patronymic), ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277....
.
Wife of Constantine Tikh
The deposition and blinding of the minor Nicaean emperor John IV LaskarisJohn IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris was emperor of Nicaea from August 18, 1258 to December 25, 1261...
by Michael VIII Palaiologos in 1261 pitted Constantine Tikh
Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
Constantine I , which includes the shortened form of the name of his father as a patronymic), ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277....
, as the brother-in-law of the deposed emperor, against Michael VIII.
After the death of tsarina Irene Laskarina
Irene Doukaina Laskarina
Irene Doukaina Laskarina was empress consort of Bulgaria . She was second wife of Tsar Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria.She was a daughter of Theodore II Laskaris, emperor of Nikaea, and his wife Elena of Bulgaria. Irene was a sister of Byzantine emperor John IV Laskaris...
in 1268 Constantine Tikh sought a reconciliation with Michael VIII by proposing to marry a Byzantine princess related to Palaiologos, and Michael VIII offered his niece Maria. Maria had one previous marriage, to Alexios Philes
Alexios Philes
Alexios Philes was a Byzantine nobleman and general of the 13th century.He was the son of Theodore Philes, governor of Thessalonica and the first prominent member of the Philes family. Alexios married Maria Palaiologina Kantakouzene, the second daughter of John Kantakouzenos and Irene-Eulogia, the...
, and Constantine Tikh had two. As a condition for the marriage alliance, the Black Sea ports of Mesembria
Mesembria
Mesembria or Messembria or Mesambria may refer to:*Mesembria , modern Nesembar, an ancient Greek city on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria...
and Anchialos were to be handed over as her dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
.
Maria and Constantine Tikh married in 1269. However, quarrels over the surrender of Maria's promised dowry soured the improved relationship. Maria realized that the behaviour of her uncle would undermine her position in the Bulgarian court, so she openly put up her husband to attack Michael VIII. The Bulgarian government entered into an alliance with King Charles I of Sicily
Charles I of Sicily
Charles I , known also as Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily by conquest from 1266, though he had received it as a papal grant in 1262 and was expelled from the island in the aftermath of the Sicilian Vespers of 1282...
who was planning a campaign against Michael VIII with the object of restoring the Latin Empire
Latin Empire
The Latin Empire or Latin Empire of Constantinople is the name given by historians to the feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. It was established after the capture of Constantinople in 1204 and lasted until 1261...
. Michael VIII struck back, by marrying his illegitimate daughter Euphrosyne Palaiologina to Nogai Khan
Nogai Khan
Nogai , also called Isa Nogai, was a general and de facto ruler of the Golden Horde and a great-great-grandson of Genghis Khan. His grandfather was Baul/Teval Khan, the 7th son of Jochi...
of the Golden Horde
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...
, who, as a Byzantine ally, pillaged Bulgaria in 1274.
In the last years of his reign, Constantine Tikh was partly paralyzed from a fall off his horse, and suffered from unspecified ailments. The government was firmly in the hands of Maria Kantakouzene, who crowned their son Michael Asen II co-emperor soon after his birth, in about 1272. Maria presided over relations with the Byzantine Empire in the 1270s, and engineered first the submission and then the murder (by poison) of the despotēs Yakov Svetoslav of Vidin
Vidin
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
, a strong pretender for the Bulgarian crown, in 1275. The tsarina invited Yakov Svetoslav to Tarnovo, promising to adopt him and to allow him to participate in the governing of the country. In 1275 Yakov Svetoslav arrived at Tarnovo and he indeed proclaimed as the second son of Maria in an official ceremony, officiated by patriarch Ignatiy of Bulgaria. Yakov died soon after his return to Vidin. Georgre Pahymerus accused Maria for his death.
Wife of Ivaylo
Due to the expensive and unsuccessful wars, repeated Mongol raids, and economic instability, Maria's government was faced with a revolt in 1277. What is clear is that a swineherd or swine-owner named Ivaylo became a leader of the discontented and attracted many (presumably mostly lower-class) followers, asserting his control over a significant area. Tsar Constantine set out against Ivaylo with his guard, but was decisively defeated and slain in his chariot. IvayloIvaylo of Bulgaria
Ivaylo, also spelled Ivailo, , nicknamed Bardokva or Lakhanas in Greek, was a rebel leader and emperor of Bulgaria. In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising, and forced the nobles to accept him as emperor...
himself is credited with killing the emperor in his chariot. Although Ivaylo was able to extend his authority across much of the country, he also met with resistance, and the capital Tarnovo remained under the control of the legitimate emperor Michael Asen II and his mother Maria Kantakouzene.
Ivaylo's successes troubled the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, who married his eldest daughter Irene to Ivan Asen III, a descendant of Bulgaria's ruling dynasty living at the Byzantine court, and dispatched troops to place him on the throne. This caused an alliance between Ivaylo and Maria Kantakouzena, and the widowed empress married Ivaylo, who was recognized as Bulgarian emperor in 1278, without deposing or disinheriting the minor Michael Asen II. Maria's decision was defined by Byzantines as "indecent" and "impure", because she, a descendant of the noble Palaiologos
Palaiologos
Palaiologos , often latinized as Palaeologus, was a Byzantine Greek noble family, which produced the last ruling dynasty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Fourth Crusade, members of the family fled to the neighboring Empire of Nicaea, where Michael VIII Palaiologos became co-emperor in 1259,...
and Kantakouzenos
Kantakouzenos
The House of Kantakouzenos , latinized as Cantacuzenus and anglicized as Cantacuzene, was one of the most prominent noble families of the Byzantine Empire in the last centuries of its existence. The family was one of the Empire's wealthiest and provided several prominent governors and generals, as...
families, had married a swineherd, who had moreover killed her husband. In this connection Michael VIII declared openly that Maria "had brought disgrace on her family" and she "had destroyed her kingdom".
The marriage of Ivaylo
Ivaylo of Bulgaria
Ivaylo, also spelled Ivailo, , nicknamed Bardokva or Lakhanas in Greek, was a rebel leader and emperor of Bulgaria. In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising, and forced the nobles to accept him as emperor...
and Maria was unhappy. Pachymeres says that Ivaylo hated her endearments and he even had beaten Maria. Although Ivaylo proved to be an abusive husband, he led a successful defense of the Balkan passes against the Byzantine campaigns to establish Ivan Asen III on the Bulgarian throne. Ivaylo had also met with success against casual Mongol raids, but in 1279 a major Mongol army blockaded him in the fortress of Dorostolon (Silistra
Silistra
Silistra is a port city of northeastern Bulgaria, lying on the southern bank of the lower Danube at the country's border with Romania. Silistra is the administrative centre of Silistra Province and one of the important cities of the historical region of Southern Dobrudzha...
) on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
for three months. A rumor of Ivaylo's death caused panic in Tarnovo, where the nobility surrendered to a new Byzantine army and accepted Ivan Asen III as emperor. Ivan Asen III was enthroned, while Michael Asen II and Maria Kantakouzena, who was pregnant by Ivaylo, were sent into exile to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
Maria Kantakouzene and Ivaylo had an unnamed daughter.
Ancestors
| Andronikos Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos |
Theodora Angelina Palaiologina |
||||||||||||
| Joannes Komnenos Angelos Kantakouzenos |
Eulogia (Irene) Palaiologina |
||||||||||||
| 1 Constantine Tikh Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria Constantine I , which includes the shortened form of the name of his father as a patronymic), ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277.... |
Maria Paleologina Kantakuzena |
2 Ivaylo Ivaylo of Bulgaria Ivaylo, also spelled Ivailo, , nicknamed Bardokva or Lakhanas in Greek, was a rebel leader and emperor of Bulgaria. In 1277, he spearheaded a peasant uprising, and forced the nobles to accept him as emperor... |
|||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Michael Asen II Michael Asen II of Bulgaria Michael Asen II , ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1277 to 1279. Michael Asen II was the only known son of... |
daughter | ||||||||||||
Sources
- Vasil Zlatarski, "История на българската държава през средните векове. Том III. Второ българско царство. България при Асеневци (1187—1280)" издателство "Наука и изкуство", София 1972 г.
- Yordan Andreev, Ivan Lazarov, Plamen Pavlov, "Кой кой е в средновековна България", издателство "Петър Берон", 1999 г.