Piroska of Hungary
Encyclopedia
Adelaide of Rheinfelden
Adelaide of Rheinfelden , was a Queen Consort of Hungary; she was the daughter of Rudolf of Rheinfelden and Adelheid of Savoy; wife of King Ladislaus I of Hungary.-Life:Adelaide was born in the 1060s...
. Her maternal grandparents were Rudolf of Rheinfeld
Rudolf of Rheinfeld
Rudolf of Rheinfelden was Duke of Swabia and German antiking . He was the son of Count Kuno of Rheinfelden and eventually became the alternative king or antiking for the politically oriented anti-Henry German aristocrats, whose rebellion became known as the Great Saxon Revolt...
and his second wife Adelheid of Savoy. Adelheid was a daughter of Otto of Savoy
Otto of Savoy
Otto was Count of Savoy from 1051 until his death. He was son of Humbert I, the first Count of Savoy, and his wife Ancilla, and ascended the throne after the death of his elder brother, Amadeus I of Savoy.Otto substantially enlarged his lands through his marriage with Adelaide of Susa,...
and Adelaide of Turin. She was the mother of the future emperor Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
.
She was born in Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
. Her mother died in 1090 when Piroska was about two years old. Her father died on 29 July 1095. Ladislaus was succeeded by his nephew Coloman of Hungary who apparently was the new guardian of orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
ed Piroska.
In an effort to improve relations with Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
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...
, Coloman negotiated the marriage of Piroska to John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos
John II Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1118 to 1143. Also known as Kaloïōannēs , he was the eldest son of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos and Irene Doukaina...
. John II was the eldest son of Alexios I and Irene Doukaina
Irene Doukaina
Irene Doukaina or Ducaena was the wife of the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos, and the mother of the emperor John II Komnenos and of the historian Anna Komnene.-Succession of Alexios and Irene:...
. He was already co-ruler of his father since 1 September 1092 and was expected to succeed him. The negotiations were successful and Piroska married John in 1104. The marriage was recorded by Joannes Zonaras
Joannes Zonaras
Ioannes Zonaras was a Byzantine chronicler and theologian, who lived at Constantinople.Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery of St Glykeria, where he spent the rest of his...
and John Kinnamos
John Kinnamos
Joannes Kinnamos or John Cinnamus was a Greek historian. He was imperial secretary to Emperor Manuel I , whom he accompanied on his campaigns in Europe and Asia Minor...
.
Following her conversion to the Eastern Orthodox Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
and settlement in 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:...
, Piroska was renamed Irene. She and John had eight children. The primary source about their order of births is the chronicle of Niketas Choniates:
- Alexios Komnenos (February, 1106–1142), co-emperor from 1122 to 1142. His birth is recorded in the AlexiadAlexiadThe Alexiad is a medieval biographical text written around the year 1148 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexius I....
by Anna KomneneAnna KomneneAnna Komnene, Latinized as Comnena was a Greek princess and scholar and the daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium and Irene Doukaina...
. - Maria Komnene (twin to Alexios), who married John Roger Dalassenos.
- Andronikos KomnenosAndronikos Komnenos (son of John II Komnenos)Andronikos Komnenos was the third child and second son of the Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos and his Hungarian wife, Piroska .-Life and Death:Andronikos was made sebastokratōr at an unknown date...
(died 1142). - Anna Komnene, married Stephanos Kontostephanos.
- Isaac KomnenosIsaac Komnenos (d. 1154)Isaac Komnenos or Comnenus , was the third son of Byzantine Emperor John II Komnenos by Piroska of Hungary.-Life:Shortly before his death in 1143, John II Komnenos designated his fourth son Manuel as his heir, although the third son, Isaac, was still alive...
(died 1154). - Theodora Komnene (d. 12 May 1157), who married Manuel Anemas.
- Eudokia Komnene, who married Theodoros Vatatzes.
- Manuel I KomnenosManuel I KomnenosManuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
(died 1180), emperor from 5 April 1143 – 24 September 1180.
Irene played little part in government, devoting herself to piety and their many children. Irene died on August 13, 1134 and was later venerated as Saint Irene.
Sources
- Joannes ZonarasJoannes ZonarasIoannes Zonaras was a Byzantine chronicler and theologian, who lived at Constantinople.Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery of St Glykeria, where he spent the rest of his...
, Extracts of History. - John KinnamosJohn KinnamosJoannes Kinnamos or John Cinnamus was a Greek historian. He was imperial secretary to Emperor Manuel I , whom he accompanied on his campaigns in Europe and Asia Minor...
, Chronicle. - Anna KomneneAnna KomneneAnna Komnene, Latinized as Comnena was a Greek princess and scholar and the daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium and Irene Doukaina...
, AlexiadAlexiadThe Alexiad is a medieval biographical text written around the year 1148 by the Byzantine historian Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexius I.... - Niketas Choniates, Chronicle
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