Princess Sophia Paleologue of Moscow is known for playing almost the main role in the formation of the Russian Empire. She was the creator of the treatise "Moscow - the third Rome", and with her the coat of arms of her own dynasty - the two-headed eagle - became the coat of arms of all Russian sovereigns.
Sophia Palaeologus, also called Zoya Palaeologinea, was born in 1455 in the city of Mystra, Greece.
Princess childhood
The future grandmother of Ivan the Terrible was born into the family of a Moreysky despot named Thomas Palaeologus at a not very good time - in decaying times for Byzantium. When Constantinople fell to Turkey and was taken by Sultan Mehmed II, the girl's father Thomas Palaeologus fled to Kofra with his family.
Later in Rome, the family changed their faith to Catholicism, and when Sophia was 10 years old, her father died. Unfortunately for the girl, her mother, Ekaterina Ahaiskaya, died a year earlier, which knocked her father down.
The children of Palaeologus - Zoe, Manuel and Andrew, 10, 5 and 7 years old - settled in Rome under the tutelage of the Greek scientist Vissarion of Nicaea, who at that time served as a cardinal under the Pope. The Byzantine princess Sophia and her prince brothers were raised in Catholic traditions. With the permission of the Pope, Bessarion of Nicea paid for the servants of the Palaeologus, doctors, professors of language, as well as a whole staff of foreign translators and clergymen. The orphans received an excellent education.
Marriage
As soon as Sophia grew up, the Venetian subjects began to look for her noble husband.
- As a wife, she was prophesied to the Cypriot king Jacques II de Lusignan. The marriage did not take place in order to avoid quarrels with the Ottoman empire.
- A few months later, Cardinal Vissarion invited Prince Caracciolo of Italy to marry a Byzantine princess. The young got engaged. However, Sophia threw all efforts to avoid becoming engaged to a non-believer (she continued to adhere to Orthodoxy).
- By coincidence, in 1467, the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III died in Moscow. Only one son remained from the marriage. And Pope Paul II, with the aim of implanting the Catholic faith in Russia, invited the widower to the throne of the princess of All Russia to put a Greek Catholic princess.
Negotiations with the Russian prince lasted three years. Ivan III, having received the approval of his mother, churchmen and his boyars, decided to marry. By the way, during the negotiations about the transition of the princess to Catholicism that happened in Rome, the envoys from the Pope did not spread much. On the contrary, they slyly reported that the sovereign's bride is a true Orthodox Christian. Surprisingly, they could not even imagine that this is the true truth.
In June 1472, the newlyweds in Rome got engaged in absentia. Then, accompanied by Cardinal Vissarion, the princess of Moscow departed from Rome for Moscow.
Princess portrait
Bologna chroniclers with eloquent words characterized Sophia Palaeologus as an outwardly attractive girl. When she got married, she looked about 24 years old.
- Her skin is white as snow.
- The eyes are huge and very expressive, which corresponded to the canons of beauty of that time.
- The princess is 160 cm tall.
- Physique - knocked down, dense.
The dowry of Palaeologus contained not only jewels, but also a large number of valuable books, including treatises by Plato, Aristotle, and unknown works of Homer. These books became the main attraction of the famous library of Ivan the Terrible, which after a while disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
Besides, Zoya was very determined. She threw every effort to not convert to another faith, betrothed to a Christian person. At the end of her route from Rome to Moscow, when there was no turning back, she announced to her escorts that in marriage she would renounce Catholicism and accept Orthodoxy. So the desire of the Pope to spread Catholicism to Russia through the marriage of Ivan III and Paleologus collapsed.
The solemn wedding took place in Moscow on November 12, 1472 in the Assumption Cathedral.
Life in Moscow
The influence of Sophia Palaeologus on the married spouse was very great, it also became a great blessing for Russia, because the wife was very educated and incredibly devoted to her new homeland.
So, it was she who prompted her husband to stop paying tribute to the Golden Horde that weighed down on them. Thanks to his wife, the Grand Duke decided to throw off the Tatar-Mongol burden that had been weighing on Russia for many centuries. At the same time, his advisers and princes insisted on paying the rent, as usual, so as not to start a new bloodshed. In 1480, Ivan the Third announced his decision to the Tatar Khan Akhmat. Then there was a historic bloodless stand on the Ugra, and the Horde left Russia forever, never again demanding tribute from her.
In general, Sophia Palaeologus played a very important role in the subsequent historical events of Russia. Her broad outlook and bold innovative solutions allowed the country to make a noticeable breakthrough in the development of culture and architecture in the future. Sophia Paleologue opened Moscow to Europeans. Now Greeks, Italians, learned minds and talented craftsmen rushed to Muscovy. For example, Ivan the Third gladly took under the tutelage of Italian architects (such as Aristotle Fioravanti), who erected many historical masterpieces of architecture in Moscow. At the behest of Sophia, a separate courtyard and luxurious mansions were built for her. They were lost in a fire in 1493 (together with the Palaeologus treasury).
Zoe's personal relationship with her husband Ivan the Third was also successful. They had 12 children. But some died in infancy or from disease. So, in their family, five sons and four daughters survived to adulthood.
But the life of a Byzantine princess in Moscow can hardly be called rosy. The local elite saw the great influence that the spouse had on her husband, and was very unhappy with this.
Sophia's relationship with her adopted son from her deceased first wife, Ivan Molodoy, also went wrong. The princess really wanted her first-born Vasily to become the heir. And there is a historical version that she was involved in the death of the heir, having prescribed him an Italian doctor with poisonous potions, allegedly to treat a sudden onset of gout (he was later executed for this).
Sophia had a hand in the removal from the throne of his wife Elena Voloshanka and their son Dmitry. First, Ivan the Third sent Sophia herself into disgrace because she invited witches to her to create poison for Elena and Dmitry. He forbade his wife to appear in the palace. However, later Ivan the Third ordered to send already the grandson of Dmitry, already proclaimed heir to the throne, and his mother to prison for court intrigues, successfully and in a favorable light revealed by his wife Sophia. The grandson was officially stripped of his grand-ducal dignity, and his son Vasily was declared heir to the throne.
Thus, Princess of Moscow became the mother of the heir to the Russian throne, Vasily III, and the grandmother of the famous Tsar Ivan the Terrible. There is evidence that the famous grandson had many similarities both in appearance and character with his imperious grandmother from Byzantium.
Death
As they said then, “from old age” - at the age of 48, Sophia Palaeologus died on April 7, 1503. The woman was laid to rest in the sarcophagus in the Ascension Cathedral. She was buried next to Ivan's first wife.
By coincidence, in 1929, the Bolsheviks demolished the cathedral, but the Paleologini sarcophagus survived and was moved to the Archangel Cathedral.
Ivan III grievously endured the death of the princess. At the age of 60, this greatly crippled his health, moreover, recently he and his wife were in constant suspicion and quarrels. However, he continued to appreciate Sophia's intelligence and her love for Russia. Feeling the approach of his end, he made a will, appointing their common son Vasily the heir to power.
