Prince Ivan and Sofia paleologist. Sofia Paleologus: Byzantine blood in the Russian state

26.09.2019

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Sofia Paleolog: biography

Most historians agree that the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible, Grand Duchess Sophia (Zoya) Paleologus of Moscow played a huge role in the formation of the Muscovite kingdom. Many consider her the author of the concept “Moscow is the third Rome”. And together with Zoya Paleologina, a double-headed eagle appeared. At first it was the family coat of arms of her dynasty, and then migrated to the coat of arms of all the tsars and Russian emperors.

Zoe Palaeologus was born (presumably) in 1455 in Morea (as the current Greek Peloponnese peninsula was called in the Middle Ages). The daughter of the despot of Morea, Thomas Palaiologos, was born at a tragic and turning point - the time of the fall Byzantine Empire.

Sofia Paleolog |

After the capture of Constantinople by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II and the death of Emperor Constantine, Thomas Palaiologos, along with his wife Catherine of Achaia and their children, fled to Corfu. From there he moved to Rome, where he was forced to convert to Catholicism. In May 1465, Thomas died. His death occurred shortly after the death of his wife in the same year. The children, Zoya and her brothers - 5-year-old Manuel and 7-year-old Andrey, moved to Rome after the death of their parents.

The education of orphans was undertaken by the Greek scientist, Uniate Vissarion of Nicaea, who served as a cardinal under Pope Sixtus IV (he was the one who commissioned the famous Sistine Chapel). In Rome, the Greek princess Zoe Palaiologos and her brothers were raised in the Catholic faith. The cardinal took care of the maintenance of the children and their education. It is known that Vissarion of Nicea, with the permission of the pope, paid for the modest court of the young Palaiologos, which included servants, a doctor, two professors of Latin and Greek, translators and priests.

Sofia Paleolog received a fairly solid education for those times.

Grand Duchess of Moscow

Sofia Paleolog (painting) http://www.russdom.ru

When Sofia reached adulthood, the Venetian Signoria became concerned about her marriage. The king of Cyprus, Jacques II de Lusignan, was first offered to take the noble girl as his wife. But he refused this marriage, fearing a conflict with the Ottoman Empire. A year later, in 1467, Cardinal Vissarion, at the request of Pope Paul II, offered the hand of a noble Byzantine beauty to the prince and Italian nobleman Caracciolo. A solemn engagement took place, but for unknown reasons the marriage was canceled.

There is a version that Sofia secretly communicated with Athonite elders and stuck to Orthodox faith. She herself made an effort to avoid marrying a non-Christian, upsetting all the marriages offered to her.

Sofia Paleolog. (Fyodor Bronnikov. “Meeting of Princess Sofia Palaeologus by Pskov mayors and boyars at the mouth of the Embach on Lake Peipsi»)

In the turning point for the life of Sofia Palaeologus in 1467, the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, Maria Borisovna, died. In this marriage, the only son, Ivan Molodoy, was born. Pope Paul II, counting on the spread of Catholicism to Moscow, invited the widowed sovereign of All Rus' to take his ward as his wife.

After 3 years of negotiations, Ivan III, having asked for advice from his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, decided to get married. It is noteworthy that the papal negotiators prudently kept silent about Sophia Paleologus’s conversion to Catholicism. Moreover, they reported that the proposed wife of Paleologina is an Orthodox Christian. They didn't even realize that it was so.

Sofia Palaeologus: wedding with John III. 19th century engraving | AiF

In June 1472, in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, the betrothal of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus took place in absentia. After this, the bride's convoy left Rome for Moscow. The same Cardinal Vissarion accompanied the bride.

Bolognese chroniclers described Sofia as a rather attractive person. She looked 24 years old, had snow-white skin and incredibly beautiful and expressive eyes. Her height was no higher than 160 cm. The future wife of the Russian sovereign had a dense physique.

There is a version that in the dowry of Sofia Paleolog, in addition to clothes and jewelry, there were many valuable books, which later formed the basis of the mysteriously disappeared library of Ivan the Terrible. Among them were treatises by Plato and Aristotle, unknown poems by Homer.

At the end of a long route that ran through Germany and Poland, the Roman guides of Sophia Palaeologus realized that their desire to spread (or at least bring closer) Catholicism to Orthodoxy through the marriage of Ivan III to Palaeologus had been defeated. Zoya, as soon as she left Rome, demonstrated her firm intention to return to the faith of her ancestors - Christianity.

The main achievement of Sofia Paleolog, which turned into a huge benefit for Russia, is considered to be her influence on her husband’s decision to refuse to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Thanks to his wife, Ivan the Third finally dared to throw off the centuries-old Tatar-Mongol yoke, although local princes and elites offered to continue paying the quitrent to avoid bloodshed.

Personal life

Evgeny Tsyganov and Maria Andreichenko in the film “Sofia Paleolog”

Apparently, Sofia Paleologue’s personal life with Grand Duke Ivan III was successful. This marriage produced a significant number of offspring - 5 sons and 4 daughters. But it’s difficult to call the existence of the new Grand Duchess Sofia in Moscow cloudless. The boyars saw the enormous influence that the wife had on her husband. Many people didn't like it. Rumor has it that the princess had bad relationship with the heir born in the previous marriage of Ivan III, Ivan the Young. Moreover, there is a version that Sofia was involved in the poisoning of Ivan the Young and the further removal from power of his wife Elena Voloshanka and son Dmitry.

Evgeny Tsyganov and Maria Andreichenko in the film “Sofia Paleolog” | Region.Moscow

Be that as it may, Sofia Paleologus had a huge influence on the entire subsequent history of Rus', on its culture and architecture. She was the mother of the heir to the throne, Vasily III, and the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible. According to some reports, the grandson bore considerable resemblance to his wise Byzantine grandmother.

Maria Andreichenko in the film “Sofia Paleolog”

Death

Sophia Palaeologus, Grand Duchess of Moscow, died on April 7, 1503. The husband, Ivan III, survived his wife by only 2 years.

Sofia was buried next to the previous wife of Ivan III in the sarcophagus of the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral. The cathedral was destroyed in 1929. But the remains of the women of the royal house were preserved - they were transferred to the underground chamber of the Archangel Cathedral.

SOFIA PALEOLOGIST AND IVAN III

Introduction

Sofia Paleolog before marriage

Dowry of a Byzantine princess

New title

Code of Law of Ivan III

Overthrow the yoke of the Horde

Family and state affairs

Conclusion

Bibliography

Application

Introduction

The personality of Ivan III belongs to an extremely important historical period from Sergius of Radonezh to Ivan IV, which is of particular value. Because During this period of time, the birth of the Moscow state, the core of modern Russia, takes place. The historical figure of Ivan III the Great is more homogeneous than the bright and controversial figure of Ivan IV the Terrible, well known due to numerous disputes and a real war of opinions.

It does not cause controversy and somehow traditionally hides in the shadow of the image and name of the Terrible Tsar. Meanwhile, no one ever doubted that it was he who was the creator of the Moscow state. That it was from his reign that the principles of Russian statehood were formed, and the geographical outlines of the country familiar to everyone appeared. Ivan III was the greatest personality of the Russian Middle Ages, a major politician national history, during whose reign events occurred that forever determined the life of a huge nation. But what significance did Sophia Paleologue have in the life of Ivan III and the entire country?

The marriage of Ivan III and Sophia Palaeologus, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XII, had enormous political significance: we can talk not only about raising the prestige of the Russian state, but also about continuity with the Roman Empire. The expression “Moscow is the third Rome” is connected with this.

1. Sophia Paleolog before marriage

Sofia Fominichna Palaeologus (nee Zoya) (1443/1449-1503) - daughter of the ruler (despot) of Morea (Peloponnese) Thomas Palaeologus, niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, who died during the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. Born between 1443 and 1449 in the Peloponnese . Her father, the ruler of one of the regions of the Empire, died in Italy.

The Vatican took upon itself the education of the royal orphans, entrusting them to Cardinal Bessarion of Nicaea. Greek by birth, former Archbishop of Nicaea, he was a zealous supporter of the signing of the Union of Florence, after which he became a cardinal in Rome. He raised Zoe Paleologue in European Catholic traditions and especially taught her to humbly follow the principles of Catholicism in everything, calling her “the beloved daughter of the Roman Church.” Only in this case, he inspired the pupil, will fate give you everything. “It was very difficult to marry Sophia: she was without a dowry.”

Ivan III Vasilyevich (Appendix No. 5), was the son of Vasily II. WITH early years helped his blind father as much as he could government affairs, went hiking with him. In March 1462, Vasily II became seriously ill and died. Shortly before his death, he made a will. The will stated that the eldest son Ivan received the grand-ducal throne, and most of the state, its main cities. The remaining part of the state was divided among the remaining children of Vasily II.

By that time, Ivan was 22 years old. He continued the policies of his parent, primarily in matters of uniting the lands of Rus' around Moscow and fighting the Horde. A cautious, prudent man, he slowly but surely pursued his course towards the conquest of appanage principalities, the subjugation of various rulers, including his own brothers, to his power, and the return of Russian lands seized by Lithuania.

“Unlike his predecessors, Ivan III did not directly lead the troops on the battlefield, exercised general strategic direction of their actions, and provided the regiments with everything they needed. And this gave very good results. Despite his apparent slowness, when necessary, he showed determination and iron will.”

Fate Ivan III spanned more than six decades, was filled with stormy and important events, which had exceptional significance for the history of the Fatherland.

Marriage of Ivan III with Sophia Paleolog

In 1467, Ivan III's first wife, Maria Borisovna, died, leaving him with his only son, heir, Ivan the Young. Everyone believed that she had been poisoned (the chronicle says that she died “from a mortal potion, because her body was all swollen,” the poison is believed to have been in a belt given to the Grand Duchess by someone). “After her death (1467), Ivan began to look for another wife, further away and more important.”

In February 1469, the ambassador of Cardinal Vissarion arrived in Moscow with a letter to the Grand Duke, which proposed a legal marriage with the daughter of the Despot of Morea and, by the way, it was mentioned that Sophia (the name Zoya was diplomatically replaced with the Orthodox Sophia) had already refused two crowned suitors who had wooed her - to the French king and Duke of Milan, not wanting to marry a Catholic ruler - “does not want to go into Latin.”

The marriage of Princess Zoya, renamed Sophia in Russian Orthodox fashion, with the recently widowed young Grand Duke of the distant, mysterious, but, according to some reports, incredibly rich and powerful Moscow principality, was extremely desirable for the papal throne for several reasons:

1.Through his Catholic wife it was possible to influence the Grand Duke, and through him the Orthodox Russian Church in implementing the decisions of the Union of Florence - and the Pope had no doubt that Sophia was a devoted Catholic, for she, one might say, grew up on the steps of him throne.

.In itself, strengthening ties with distant Russian principalities is of great importance for all European politics.

And Ivan III, who strengthened the grand-ducal power, hoped that kinship with the Byzantine house would help Muscovy increase its international prestige, which had noticeably weakened over two centuries of the Horde yoke, and help increase the authority of the grand-ducal power within the country.

So, after much thought, Ivan sent the Italian Ivan Fryazin to Rome to “see the princess,” and if he liked her, then to give consent to the marriage for the Grand Duke. Fryazin did just that, especially since the princess happily agreed to marry the Orthodox Ivan III.

Together with Sophia, her dowry came to Russia. Many carts were accompanied by the papal legate Anthony, dressed in a red cardinal's dress and carrying a four-pointed Catholic cross as a sign of hope for the conversion of the Russian prince to Catholicism. Anthony’s cross was taken away upon entering Moscow by order of Metropolitan Philip, who did not approve of this marriage.

November 1472, having converted to Orthodoxy under the name of Sophia, Zoya was married to Ivan III (Appendix No. 4). At the same time, the wife “Catholicized” her husband, and the husband “Orthodoxized” his wife, which was perceived by contemporaries as a victory of the Orthodox faith over “Latinism.” “This marriage allowed Ivan III to feel (and declare this to the world) the successor to the once powerful power of the Byzantine emperors.”

4. Dowry of a Byzantine princess

Sofia brought a generous dowry to Rus'.

After the wedding Ivan III<#"justify">. Sophia Paleologue: Moscow princess or Byzantine princess

Sophia Paleologus, then known in Europe for her rare plumpness, brought a very subtle mind to Moscow and received very important importance here. “The boyars of the 16th century attributed to her all the unpleasant innovations that appeared over time at the Moscow court. An attentive observer of Moscow life, Baron Herberstein, who came to Moscow twice as the ambassador of the German Emperor under Ivan's successor, having listened to enough boyar talk, notes about Sophia in his notes that she was an unusually cunning woman who had great influence on the Grand Duke, who, at her suggestion, did a lot " Even Ivan III’s determination to throw off the Tatar yoke was attributed to her influence. In the boyars' tales and judgments about the princess, it is not easy to separate observation from suspicion or exaggeration guided by ill will. Sophia could only inspire what she valued and what was understood and appreciated in Moscow. She could have brought here the legends and customs of the Byzantine court, pride in her origin, annoyance that she was marrying a Tatar tributary. “In Moscow, she did not like the simplicity of the situation and the unceremoniousness of relations at court, where Ivan III himself had to listen, in the words of his grandson, “many obnoxious and reproachful words” from obstinate boyars. But in Moscow, even without her, not only Ivan III had a desire to change all these old orders, which were so inconsistent with the new position of the Moscow sovereign, and Sophia, with the Greeks she brought, who had seen both Byzantine and Roman styles, could give valuable instructions on how and why samples to introduce the desired changes. She cannot be denied influence on the decorative environment and behind-the-scenes life of the Moscow court, on court intrigues and personal relationships; but she could act on political affairs only through suggestions that echoed the secret or vague thoughts of Ivan himself.”

Her husband consulted with her in making government decisions(in 1474 he bought half of the Rostov principality and concluded a friendly alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey). The idea that she, the princess, with her Moscow marriage was making the Moscow sovereigns the successors of the Byzantine emperors with all the interests of the Orthodox East that these emperors held, could be perceived especially clearly. Therefore, Sophia was valued in Moscow and valued herself not so much as the Grand Duchess of Moscow, but as a Byzantine princess. A silk shroud is kept in the Trinity Sergius Monastery, hand sewn this Grand Duchess, who embroidered her name on it. This veil was embroidered in 1498. After 26 years of marriage, Sophia, it seems, was already time to forget her maidenhood and her former Byzantine title; however, in the signature on the shroud, she still calls herself “the princess of Tsaregorod,” and not the Grand Duchess of Moscow. And this was not without reason: Sophia, as a princess, enjoyed the right to receive foreign embassies in Moscow.

Thus, the marriage of Ivan and Sophia acquired the significance of a political demonstration, which declared to the whole world that the princess, as the heir of the fallen Byzantine house, transferred his sovereign rights to Moscow as to the new Constantinople, where she shared them with her husband.

Education single state

Already at the end of the reign of Vasily II, Moscow began to restrict the independence of “Mr. Veliky Novgorod” - its foreign relations were placed under the control of the Moscow government. But the Novgorod boyars, led by Marfa Boretskaya, the widow of the mayor Isaac Boretsky, trying to maintain the independence of the republic, focused on Lithuania. Ivan III and the Moscow authorities regarded this as political and religious treason. The march on Novgorod by the Moscow army, the defeat of the Novgorodians on the Sheloni River, at Lake Ilmen (1471) and in the Dvina land led to the inclusion of vast lands of the republic among the Moscow possessions. This act was finally consolidated during the campaign against Novgorod in 1477-1478.

In the same 70s. “Great Perm” (the upper reaches of the Kama, the population of Komi, the campaign of 1472) became part of the Russian state; in the next decade - the lands on the Obi River (1489, Ugra and Vogul princes lived here with their fellow tribesmen), Vyatka (Khlynov, 1489 G.).

The annexation of the Novgorod lands predetermined the fate of the Tver principality. He was now surrounded on all sides by Moscow possessions. In 1485, the troops of Ivan III entered the Tver land, Prince Mikhail Borisovich fled to Lithuania. “The people of Tver kissed the cross for Prince Ivan Ivanovich the Young.” He received Tver from his father as an appanage possession.

In the same year, Ivan III took the official title of "Grand Duke of All Rus'". This is how a unified Russian state was born, and the name “Russia” appears for the first time in the sources of that time.

A quarter of a century later, already under Vasily III, the son of Ivan III, the lands of the Pskov Republic were annexed to Russia (1510). This act was of a formal nature, since in fact Pskov had been under the control of Moscow since the 1460s. Four years later, Smolensk with its lands was included in Russia (1514), and even later - the Ryazan principality (1521), which also actually lost its independence at the end of the previous century. This is how the territory of the united Russian state was formed.

True, there still remained the appanage principalities of the sons of Ivan III, the brothers of Vasily III - Yuri, Semyon and Andrey. But the Grand Duke consistently limited their rights (banning the minting of their own coins, reducing judicial rights, etc.)

New title

Ivan, having married a noble wife, the heiress of the Byzantine emperors, found the previous Kremlin environment boring and ugly. “Following the princess, craftsmen were sent from Italy who built Ivan a new Assumption Cathedral, the Palace of Facets and a new stone courtyard on the site of the previous wooden mansion. At the same time, at the court in the Kremlin, that complex and strict ceremony began to take place, which conveyed such stiffness and tension in Moscow court life. Just as at home, in the Kremlin, among his court servants, Ivan began to act with a more solemn gait in external relations, especially since the Horde yoke fell from his shoulders by itself, without a fight, with Tatar assistance. , which gravitated over northeastern Russia for two and a half centuries (1238-1480).” Since then, in Moscow government, especially diplomatic, papers, a new, more solemn language has appeared, and a magnificent terminology has developed, unfamiliar to the Moscow clerks of the appanage centuries. It is based on two ideas: the idea of the Moscow sovereign, the national ruler of the entire Russian land, and the idea of the political and church successor of the Byzantine emperors. In relations with Western courts, not excluding the Lithuanian one, Ivan III for the first time dared to show the European political world the pretentious title of “Sovereign of All Rus'”, previously used only in domestic use, in acts of internal use, and in the treaty of 1494 even forced the Lithuanian government to formally recognize this title. After the Tatar yoke fell from Moscow, in relations with unimportant foreign rulers, for example with the Livonian master, Ivan III titled himself Tsar of All Rus'. This term, as is known, is a shortened South Slavic and Russian form of the Latin word Caesar.

“The word Caesar came into Proto-Slavic through the Gothic “kaisar”. In Proto-Slavic it sounded like “cmsarь”, then shortened to “tssar”, and then “king” (analogues of this abbreviation are known in Germanic titles, for example, Swedish kung and English king from kuning).”

“The title of tsar in acts of internal government under Ivan III was sometimes, under Ivan IV, usually combined with the title of autocrat of similar meaning - this is the Slavic translation of the Byzantine imperial title autokrator. Both terms in Ancient Rus' did not mean what they began to mean later; they expressed the concept not of a sovereign with unlimited internal power, but of a ruler who was independent of any external authority and did not pay tribute to anyone. In the political language of the time, both of these terms were opposed to what we mean by the word vassal. Monuments of Russian writing before the Tatar yoke, sometimes Russian princes are called tsars, giving them this title as a sign of respect, not in the sense political term. The kings were predominantly Ancient Rus' until the half of the 15th century. called the Byzantine emperors and khans of the Golden Horde, the independent rulers best known to it, and Ivan III could accept this title only by ceasing to be a tributary of the khan.” The overthrow of the yoke removed the political obstacle to this, and the marriage with Sophia provided a historical justification for this: Ivan III could now consider himself the only Orthodox and independent sovereign remaining in the world, as the Byzantine emperors were, and the supreme ruler of Rus', which was under the rule of the Horde khans. “Having adopted these new magnificent titles, Ivan found that now it was no longer suitable for him to be called in government acts simply in Russian Ivan, Sovereign Grand Duke, but began to be written in church book form: “John, by the grace of God, sovereign of all Rus'.” To this title, as its historical justification, is attached a long series of geographical epithets, denoting the new boundaries of the Moscow state: “Sovereign of All Rus' and Grand Duke of Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Perm, and Ugra, and Bulgarian, and others”, i.e. lands." Feeling himself a successor to the fallen house of the Byzantine emperors in terms of political power, and Orthodox Christianity, and finally, and by marriage, the Moscow sovereign also found a clear expression of his dynastic connection with them: the Moscow coat of arms with St. George the Victorious was combined with a double-headed eagle - the ancient coat of arms of Byzantium (Appendix 2). This emphasized that Moscow is the heir of the Byzantine Empire, Ivan III is “the king of all Orthodoxy,” and the Russian Church is the successor of the Greek Church.

Code of Law of Ivan III

In 1497, the Sovereign of All Rus', Ivan III, approved the national Code of Law, which replaced the Russian Truth. Sudebnik - the first code of laws united Russia- secured a unified structure and management in the state. “The highest institution was the Boyar Duma - the council under the Grand Duke; its members managed individual branches of the state economy, served as governors in regiments, and governors in cities. Volostels, from free people, exercised power in rural areas- volosts. The first orders appeared - central government bodies, they were headed by boyars or clerks, whom the Grand Duke ordered to manage certain matters.”

In the Code of Laws, the term “estate” was used for the first time to denote a special type of land ownership, issued for the performance of public service. For the first time on a national scale, the Code of Law introduced a rule limiting the exit of peasants; their transfer from one owner to another was now allowed only once a year, during the week before and the week after St. George’s Day (November 26), after the end field work. In addition, the immigrants were obliged to pay the owner the elderly - money for the “yard” - outbuildings. “The assessment of a peasant household during the transition at the time of the adoption of the Code of Law in the steppe zone was 1 ruble per year, and in the forest zone - half a ruble (50 kopecks). But as an elderly person, sometimes up to 5 or even 10 rubles were charged. Due to the fact that many peasants could not pay their dues, they were forced to remain on the lands of the feudal lords on their terms. The agreement was most often concluded orally, but written agreements have also been preserved.” Thus began the legal enslavement of peasants, which ended in the 17th century.

“The Code of Law puts local government in the person of feeders under the control of the center. Instead of squads, a single military organization is created - the Moscow army, the basis of which is made up of noble landowners. At the request of the Grand Duke, they must appear for service with armed men from their slaves or peasants, depending on the size of the estate. The number of landowners under Ivan III increased greatly due to slaves, servants and others; they were given lands confiscated from Novgorod and other boyars, from princes from unannexed regions.”

The strengthening of the power of the Grand Duke, the growing influence of the nobility, and the emergence of the administrative apparatus were reflected in the Code of Laws of 1497.

9. Overthrow the yoke of the Horde

paleologist byzantine prince nobility

Along with the unification of the lands of Rus', the government of Ivan III also solved another task of national importance - liberation from the Horde yoke.

The 15th century was the time of decline of the Golden Horde. Internal weakening and civil strife led it to disintegrate in the second and third quarter of the century into a number of khanates: Kazan and Astrakhan on the Volga, Nogai Horde, Siberian, Kazan, Uzbek - to the east of it, Great Horde and Crimean - to the west and southwest.

Ivan III in 1478 stopped paying tribute to the Great Horde, the successor to the Golden Horde. “Its ruler Khan Ahmed (Akhmat) in 1480 led an army to Moscow. He approached the Oka River at the confluence of the Ugra River, near Kaluga, expecting help from the Polish king and Grand Duke Casimir IV. The army did not come because of the troubles in Lithuania.”

In 1480, on the “advice” of his wife, Ivan III went with the militia to the Ugra River (Appendix No. 3), where the army of the Tatar Khan Akhmat was stationed. Attempts by the Khan's cavalry to cross the river were repelled by Russian warriors with fire from cannons, arquebuses, and archery. Also, the onset of frost and lack of food forced the khan and his army to leave. Having lost big number warriors, Akhmed fled from the Ugra to the southeast. He learned that his possessions in the Horde were attacked and pogromed - the Russian army sailed there along the Volga.

The Great Horde soon split into several uluses, Khan Ahmed died.

Rus' has finally thrown off the hated yoke that tormented its people for about two and a half centuries. The increased strength of Rus' allowed its politicians to put on the priority list the return of the ancestral Russian lands, lost foreign invasions and Horde rule.

10. Family and state affairs

April 1474 Sophia gave birth to her first daughter Anna (who died quickly), then another daughter (who also died so quickly that they did not have time to baptize her). Disappointments in family life compensated by activity in extra-household activities.

Sophia actively participated in diplomatic receptions (Venetian envoy Cantarini noted that the reception organized by her was “very stately and affectionate”). According to the legend given not only by Russian chronicles, but also English poet John Milton, in 1477 Sophia was able to outwit the Tatar khan by declaring that she had a sign from above about the construction of a temple to St. Nicholas on the place in the Kremlin where the house of the khan’s governors stood, who controlled the collection of yasak and the actions of the Kremlin. This story presents Sophia as a decisive person (“she kicked them out of the Kremlin, demolished the house, although she did not build a temple”).

But Sofya Fominichna grieved, she “cried, begged the Mother of God to give her an heir-son, gave out alms to the poor in handfuls, donated kitties to churches - and the Most Pure One heard her prayers: again, for the third time, a new life began in the warm darkness of her nature.

Someone restless, not yet a person, but only a still inseparable part of her body, demandedly poked Sofya Fominichna in the side - sharply, elasticly, palpably. And it seems that this was not at all the case, what happened to her twice already, and of a completely different order: the baby pushed hard, persistently, often.

“It’s a boy,” she believed, “a boy!” The baby hasn't been born yet, but she's already started great battle for his future. All the strength of will, all the sophistication of the mind, the entire arsenal of great and small tricks, accumulated for centuries in the dark labyrinths and nooks of the palaces of Constantinople, was used every day by Sophia Fominichna, in order to first sow in the soul of her husband the smallest doubts about Ivan the Young, who, although was worthy of the throne, but due to his age he undoubtedly was nothing more than an obedient puppet, in the skillful hands of skilled puppeteers - numerous enemies of the Grand Duke, and above all his brothers - Andrei Bolshoi and Boris.

And when, according to one of the Moscow chronicles, “in the summer of 6987 (1479 from the Nativity of Christ) March 25 at eight o’clock in the morning a son was born to the Grand Duke, and his name was named Vasily of Pariysky, and he was baptized by Archbishop of Rostov Vasiyan in the Sergeev Monastery in Verbnaya week."

Ivan III married his first-born Ivan the Young of Tverskoy to the daughter of the Moldavian ruler Stephen the Great, who gave the Young a son, and Ivan III a grandson - Dmitry.

In 1483, Sophia’s authority was shaken: she imprudently gave a precious family necklace (“sazhenye”) that previously belonged to Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III, to her niece, the wife of the Vereisky prince Vasily Mikhailovich. The husband intended an expensive gift for his daughter-in-law Elena Stepanovna Voloshanka, the wife of his son Ivan the Young from his first marriage. In the conflict that arose (Ivan III demanded the return of the necklace to the treasury), but Vasily Mikhailovich chose to escape with the necklace to Lithuania. Taking advantage of this, the Moscow boyar elite, dissatisfied with the success of the prince’s centralization policy, opposed Sophia, considering her the ideological inspirer of Ivan’s innovations, which infringed on the interests of his children from his first marriage.

Sophia began a stubborn struggle to justify the right to the Moscow throne for her son Vasily. When her son was 8 years old, she even made an attempt to organize a conspiracy against her husband (1497), but it was discovered, and Sophia herself was condemned on suspicion of magic and connection with a “witch woman” (1498) and, together with her son Vasily, fell into disgrace .

But fate was merciful to this irrepressible defender of the rights of her family (over the years of her 30-year marriage, Sophia gave birth to 5 sons and 4 daughters). The death of Ivan III's eldest son, Ivan the Young, forced Sophia's husband to change his anger to mercy and return those exiled to Moscow. To celebrate, Sophia ordered a church shroud with her name (“Princess of Tsargorod, Grand Duchess of Moscow Sophia of the Grand Duke of Moscow”).

According to Moscow ideas of that time, Dmitry had the right to the throne, who enjoyed the support of the Boyar Duma. In 1498, when Dmitry was not yet 15 years old, he was crowned with the Grand Duke's Monomakh cap in the Assumption Cathedral.

However, the very next year, Prince Vasily was proclaimed Grand Duke of Novgorod and Pskov. “Researchers are unanimous in their interpretation of these events, seeing them as the result of a fierce struggle between factions at court. After this, Dmitry’s fate was practically predetermined. In 1502, Ivan III took his grandson and his mother into custody, and three days later “he placed him in the Grand Duchy of Vladimir and Moscow and made him autocrat of all Russia.”

Ivan wanted to form some serious dynastic party for the new heir to the throne, but after several failures, on the advice of the Greeks from Sophia’s entourage, it was decided to hold a bride show. Vasily chose Solomonia Saburova. However, the marriage was unsuccessful: there were no children. Having accomplished a divorce with great difficulty (and Solomonia, having been accused of witchcraft, was tonsured into a monastery), Vasily married Elena Glinskaya.

Feeling like a mistress in the capital again, Sophia managed to attract doctors, cultural figures and especially architects to Moscow; Active stone construction began in Moscow. The architects Aristotle Fioravanti, Marco Ruffo, Aleviz Fryazin, Antonio and Petro Solari, who came from Sophia’s homeland and at her order, erected the Faceted Chamber, the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals in the Kremlin Cathedral Square Kremlin; The construction of the Archangel Cathedral was completed.

Conclusion

Sophia died on August 7, 1503 in Moscow two years earlier than Ivan III, having achieved many honors. She was buried in the Moscow Ascension nunnery of the Kremlin.

In December 1994, in connection with the transfer of the remains of the princes and royal wives to the basement chamber of the Archangel Cathedral, according to the well-preserved skull of Sophia, student M.M. Gerasimova S.A. Nikitin restored her sculptural portrait (Appendix No. 1).

With the arrival of Sophia, the Moscow court acquired the features of Byzantine splendor, and this was a clear merit of Sophia and her entourage. The marriage of Ivan III and Sofia Paleologus undoubtedly strengthened Moscow State, facilitating his conversion to the great Third Rome. Sophia's main influence on the course of Russian history was also determined by the fact that she gave birth to a man who became the father of Ivan the Terrible.

The Russian people could be proud of what was done in those glorious decades of the late 15th and early 16th centuries. The chronicler reflected these feelings of his contemporaries: “Our great Russian land freed itself from the yoke... and began to renew itself, as if it had passed from winter to quiet spring. She again achieved her majesty, piety and tranquility, as under the first prince Vladimir.”

The process of unification of lands and the formation of a single state contributed to the consolidation of Russian lands and the formation of the Great Russian nation. Its territorial base was the lands of the Vladimir-Suzdal principality, once inhabited by the Vyatichi and Krivichi, and the Novgorod-Pskov land, where the Novgorod Slavs and Krivichi lived. The growth of economic and political ties, common tasks in the struggle for national independence with the Horde, Lithuania and other opponents, historical traditions coming from the times of pre-Mongol Rus', the desire for unity became the driving factors for their unification within the framework of one nationality - the Great Russian. At the same time, other parts of the former ancient Russian nationality are being separated from it - in the west and southwest, as a result of the Horde invasions and seizures of Lithuanian, Polish, and Hungarian rulers, the formation of the Ukrainian (Little Russian) and Belarusian nationalities is taking place.

Bibliography

1.Dvornichenko A.Yu. Russian empire from ancient times until the fall of the autocracy. Tutorial. - M.: Publishing House, 2010. - 944 p.

Evgeny Viktorovich Anisimov “History of Russia from Rurik to Putin. People. Events. Dates"

Klyuchevsky V.O. Essays. In 9 volumes. T. 2. Course of Russian history. Part 2/Afterword and comment. Compiled by V.A. Alexandrov, V.G. Zimina. - M.: Mysl, 1987.- 447 p.

Sakharov A.N., Buganov V.I. History of Russia from ancient times to late XVII century: Proc. for 10th grade general education institutions / Ed. A.N. Sakharov. - 5th ed. - M.: Education, 1999. - 303 p.

Sizenko A.G. Great women of great Russia. 2010

Fortunov V.V. Story. Tutorial. Third generation standard. For bachelors. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2014. - 464 p. - (Series “Textbook for Universities”).

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Sophia Paleolog. Reconstruction of S.A. Nikitina.

Coat of arms of Russia under Ivan III.

Standing on the Ugra River. 1480

4. Wedding of Ivan III Byzantine princess Sophia. Abegyan M.

Ivan III. Engraving. XVI century.

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Ivan III and Sophia Paleolog

Ivan III Vasilyevich was the Grand Duke of Moscow from 1462 to 1505. During the reign of Ivan Vasilyevich, a significant part of the Russian lands around Moscow was united and turned into the center of the all-Russian state. The final liberation of the country from the power of the Horde khans was achieved. Ivan Vasilyevich created a state that became the basis of Russia until modern times.

The first wife of Grand Duke Ivan was Maria Borisovna, the daughter of the Tver prince. On February 15, 1458, a son, Ivan, was born into the family of the Grand Duke. The Grand Duchess, who had a meek character, died on April 22, 1467, before reaching the age of thirty. The Grand Duchess was buried in the Kremlin, in Voznesensky convent. Ivan, who was in Kolomna at that time, did not come to his wife’s funeral.

Two years after her death, the Grand Duke decided to marry again. After a conference with his mother, as well as with the boyars and the metropolitan, he decided to agree to the proposal recently received from the Pope to marry the Byzantine princess Sophia (in Byzantium she was called Zoe). She was the daughter of the Morean despot Thomas Palaiologos and was the niece of the emperors Constantine XI and John VIII.

The decisive factor in Zoya’s fate was the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Constantine XI died in 1453 during the capture of Constantinople. 7 years later, in 1460, Morea was captured by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, Thomas fled with his family to the island of Corfu, then to Rome, where he soon died. To gain support, Thomas converted to Catholicism in the last year of his life. Zoya and her brothers - 7-year-old Andrei and 5-year-old Manuel - moved to Rome 5 years after their father. There she received the name Sophia. The Palaiologos came under the patronage of Cardinal Vissarion, who retained his sympathies for the Greeks.

Zoya has turned over the years into attractive girl with dark shiny eyes and soft white skin color. She was distinguished by a subtle mind and prudence in behavior. According to the unanimous assessment of her contemporaries, Zoya was charming, and her intelligence, education and manners were impeccable. Bolognese chroniclers wrote enthusiastically about Zoe in 1472: “She is truly charming and beautiful... She was short, she seemed about 24 years old; the eastern flame sparkled in her eyes, the whiteness of her skin spoke of the nobility of her family.”

In those years, the Vatican was looking for allies to organize a new crusade, intending to involve all European sovereigns in it. Then, on the advice of Cardinal Vissarion, the pope decided to marry Zoya to the Moscow sovereign Ivan III, knowing about his desire to become the heir of the Byzantine basileus. The Patriarch of Constantinople and Cardinal Vissarion tried to renew the union with Russia through marriage. It was then that the Grand Duke was informed about the stay in Rome of a noble bride devoted to Orthodoxy, Sophia Palaeologus. Dad promised Ivan his support if he wanted to woo her. Ivan III's motives for marrying Sophia, of course, were related to status; the brilliance of her name and the glory of her ancestors played a role. Ivan III, who claimed the royal title, considered himself the successor of the Roman and Byzantine emperors.

On January 16, 1472, Moscow ambassadors set off on a long journey. In Rome, Muscovites were honorably received by the new Pope Sixtus IV. As a gift from Ivan III, the ambassadors presented the pontiff with sixty selected sable skins. The matter quickly came to an end. Pope Sixtus IV treated the bride with paternal concern: he gave Zoe, in addition to gifts, about 6,000 ducats as a dowry. Sixtus IV in St. Peter's Cathedral performed a solemn ceremony of Sophia's betrothal in absentia to the Moscow sovereign, who was represented by the Russian ambassador Ivan Fryazin.

On June 24, 1472, having said goodbye to the pope in the Vatican gardens, Zoe headed to the far north. The future Grand Duchess of Moscow, as soon as she found herself on Russian soil, while still on her way down the aisle to Moscow, insidiously betrayed all the hopes of the pope, immediately forgetting all her Catholic upbringing. Sophia, who apparently met in childhood with the Athonite elders, opponents of the subordination of the Orthodox to Catholics, was deeply Orthodox at heart. She immediately openly, brightly and demonstratively showed her devotion to Orthodoxy, to the delight of the Russians, venerating all the icons in all the churches, behaving impeccably at the Orthodox service, crossing herself as an Orthodox woman. The Vatican's plans to make the princess a conductor of Catholicism in Rus' failed, as Sophia immediately demonstrated a return to the faith of her ancestors. The papal legate was deprived of the opportunity to enter Moscow, carrying the Latin cross in front of him.

Early in the morning of November 21, 1472, Sophia Paleologus arrived in Moscow. On the same day, in the Kremlin, in a temporary wooden church, erected near the Assumption Cathedral under construction, so as not to stop services, the sovereign married her. The Byzantine princess saw her husband for the first time. Grand Duke he was young - only 32 years old, handsome, tall and stately. His eyes were especially remarkable, “formidable eyes.” And before, Ivan Vasilyevich was distinguished by his tough character, but now, having become related to the Byzantine monarchs, he turned into a formidable and powerful sovereign. This was largely due to his young wife.

Sophia became the full-fledged Grand Duchess of Moscow. The very fact that she agreed to go from Rome to distant Moscow to seek her fortune suggests that she was a brave, energetic woman.

She brought a generous dowry to Rus'. After the wedding, Ivan III adopted the coat of arms of the Byzantine double-headed eagle - a symbol of royal power, placing it on his seal. The two heads of the eagle face the West and the East, Europe and Asia, symbolizing their unity, as well as the unity (“symphony”) of spiritual and temporal power. Sophia's dowry was the legendary “Liberia” - a library (better known as the “library of Ivan the Terrible”). It included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, among which were unknown to us poems by Homer, works by Aristotle and Plato, and even surviving books from the famous Library of Alexandria.

According to legend, she brought with her a “bone throne” as a gift to her husband: its wooden frame was entirely covered with plates of ivory and walrus ivory with scenes on biblical themes carved on them. Sophia also brought with her several Orthodox icons.

With the arrival in the capital of Russia of the Greek princess, the heir to the former greatness of the Palaiologans, in 1472, a fairly large group of immigrants from Greece and Italy formed at the Russian court. Over time, many of them occupied significant government positions and more than once carried out important diplomatic assignments of Ivan III. They all returned to Moscow with large groups of specialists, among whom were architects, doctors, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths.

The great Greek woman brought with her her ideas about the court and the power of government. Sophia Paleolog not only brought about changes at court - some Moscow monuments owe their appearance to her. Much of what is now preserved in the Kremlin was built precisely under Grand Duchess Sophia.

In 1474, the Assumption Cathedral, built by Pskov craftsmen, collapsed. The Italians were involved in its restoration under the leadership of the architect Aristotle Fioravanti. With her, they built the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Faceted Chamber, so named on the occasion of its decoration in the Italian style - with facets. The Kremlin itself - the fortress that guarded the ancient center of the capital of Rus' - grew and was created before her eyes. Twenty years later, foreign travelers began to call the Moscow Kremlin a “castle” in European style, due to the abundance of stone buildings in it.

Thus, through the efforts of Ivan III and Sophia, the Paleologus Renaissance flourished on Russian soil.

However, Sophia's arrival in Moscow did not please some of Ivan's courtiers. By nature, Sophia was a reformer, participation in state affairs was the meaning of the life of the Moscow princess, she was decisive and smart person, and the nobility of that time did not like this very much. In Moscow, she was accompanied not only by the honors given to the Grand Duchess, but also by the hostility of the local clergy and the heir to the throne. At every step she had to defend her rights.

The best way to establish oneself was, of course, childbearing. The Grand Duke wanted to have sons. Sophia herself wanted this. However, to the delight of her ill-wishers, she gave birth to three daughters in a row - Elena (1474), Elena (1475) and Theodosia (1475). Unfortunately, the girls died soon after birth. Then another girl was born, Elena (1476). Sophia prayed to God and all the saints for the gift of a son. There is a legend associated with the birth of Sophia’s son Vasily, the future heir to the throne: as if during one of the pilgrimage campaigns to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, in Klementievo, Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologus had a vision of the Venerable Sergius of Radonezh, who “was cast into the bowels of her as a young man floor." On the night of March 25-26, 1479, a boy was born, named Vasily in honor of his grandfather. For his mother, he always remained Gabriel - in honor of the Archangel Gabriel. Following Vasily, she gave birth to two more sons (Yuri and Dmitry), then two daughters (Elena and Feodosia), then three more sons (Semyon, Andrei and Boris) and the last, in 1492, daughter Evdokia.

Ivan III loved his wife and took care of his family. Before the invasion of Khan Akhmat in 1480, for the sake of safety, Sophia was sent first to Dmitrov and then to Beloozero with her children, court, noblewomen and princely treasury. Bishop Vissarion warned the Grand Duke against constant thoughts and excessive attachment to his wife and children. One of the chronicles notes that Ivan panicked: “I was in horror and wanted to run away from the shore, and sent my Grand Duchess Roman and the treasury with her to Beloozero.”

The main significance of this marriage was that the marriage to Sophia Paleologus contributed to the establishment of Russia as the successor to Byzantium and the proclamation of Moscow as the Third Rome, the stronghold of Orthodox Christianity. After his marriage to Sophia, Ivan III for the first time dared to show the European political world the new title of Sovereign of All Rus' and forced them to recognize it. Ivan was called “the sovereign of all Rus'.”

The question inevitably arose about the future fate of the offspring of Ivan III and Sophia. The heir to the throne remained the son of Ivan III and Maria Borisovna, Ivan the Young, whose son Dmitry was born on October 10, 1483 in his marriage to Elena Voloshanka. In the event of his father’s death, he would not hesitate to get rid of Sophia and her family in one way or another. The best they could hope for was exile or exile. At the thought of this, the Greek woman was overcome with rage and impotent despair.

Throughout the 1480s, Ivan Ivanovich's position as the legal heir was quite strong. However, by 1490, the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich, fell ill with “kamchyuga in the legs” (gout). Sophia ordered a doctor from Venice - “Mistro Leon”, who arrogantly promised Ivan III to cure the heir to the throne. Nevertheless, all the doctor’s efforts were fruitless, and on March 7, 1490, Ivan the Young died. The doctor was executed, and rumors spread throughout Moscow about the poisoning of the heir. Modern historians regard the hypothesis of the poisoning of Ivan the Young as unverifiable due to a lack of sources.

On February 4, 1498, the coronation of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich took place in the Assumption Cathedral in an atmosphere of great pomp. Sophia and her son Vasily were not invited.

Ivan III continued to painfully search for a way out of the dynastic impasse. How much pain, tears and misunderstanding his wife had to experience, this strong, wise woman who was so eager to help her husband build new Russia, Third Rome. But time passes, and the wall of bitterness that his son and daughter-in-law built with such zeal around the Grand Duke collapsed. Ivan Vasilyevich wiped away his wife’s tears and cried with her. Like never before, he felt that the white light was not nice to him without this woman. Now the plan to give the throne to Dmitry did not seem successful to him. Ivan Vasilyevich knew how all-consumingly Sophia loved her son Vasily. Sometimes he was even jealous of this maternal love, realizing that the son reigned entirely in the mother’s heart. The Grand Duke felt sorry for his young sons Vasily, Yuri, Dmitry Zhilka, Semyon, Andrei... And he lived together with Princess Sophia for a quarter of a century. Ivan III understood that sooner or later Sophia’s sons would rebel. There were only two ways to prevent the performance: either destroy the second family, or bequeath the throne to Vasily and destroy the family of Ivan the Young.

On April 11, 1502, the dynastic battle came to its logical conclusion. According to the chronicle, Ivan III “put disgrace on his grandson, Grand Duke Dmitry, and on his mother, Grand Duchess Elena.” Three days later, Ivan III “blessed his son Vasily, blessed him and made him autocrat of the Grand Duchy of Volodymyr and Moscow and All Rus'.”

On the advice of his wife, Ivan Vasilyevich released Elena from captivity and sent her to her father in Wallachia (good relations with Moldavia were needed), but in 1509 Dmitry died “in need, in prison.”

A year after these events, on April 7, 1503, Sophia Paleologus died. The body of the Grand Duchess was buried in the cathedral of the Kremlin Ascension Monastery. Following her death, Ivan Vasilyevich lost heart and became seriously ill. Apparently, the great Greek Sophia gave him the necessary energy to build a new power, her intelligence helped in state affairs, her sensitivity warned of dangers, her all-conquering love gave him strength and courage. Leaving all his affairs, he went on a trip to the monasteries, but failed to atone for his sins. He was overcome by paralysis: “... took away his arm and leg and eye.” On October 27, 1505, he died, “having been in the great reign for 43 and 7 months, and all the years of his life were 65 and 9 months.”

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Sofia Fominichna Paleolog, aka Zoya Paleologina (Greek Ζωή Σοφία Παλαιολογίνα). Born approx. 1455 - died April 7, 1503. Grand Duchess of Moscow, second wife of Ivan III, mother of Vasily III, grandmother of Ivan the Terrible. She came from the Byzantine imperial dynasty of the Palaiologos.

Sofia (Zoe) Paleologus was born around 1455.

Father - Thomas Paleologus, brother last emperor Byzantium Constantine XI, despot of Morea (Peloponnese peninsula).

Her maternal grandfather was Centurion II Zaccaria, the last Frankish prince of Achaia. Centurione came from a Genoese merchant family. His father was appointed to rule Achaia by the Neapolitan king Charles III of Anjou. Centurione inherited power from his father and ruled the principality until 1430, when the Despot of the Morea, Thomas Palaiologos, launched a large-scale attack on his domain. This forced the prince to retreat to his ancestral castle in Messenia, where he died in 1432, two years after the peace treaty in which Thomas married his daughter Catherine. After his death, the territory of the principality became part of the despotate.

The elder sister of Sophia (Zoe) - Elena Paleologina of Morea (1431 - November 7, 1473), from 1446 was the wife of the Serbian despot Lazar Branković, and after the capture of Serbia by Muslims in 1459, she fled to the Greek island of Lefkada, where she became a nun.

She also had two surviving brothers - Andrei Paleolog (1453-1502) and Manuel Paleolog (1455-1512).

The decisive factor in the fate of Sophia (Zoe) was the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Constantine died in 1453 during the capture of Constantinople, 7 years later, in 1460, Morea was captured by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, Thomas went to the island of Corfu, then to Rome, where he soon died.

She and her brothers, 7-year-old Andrei and 5-year-old Manuel, moved to Rome 5 years after their father. There she received the name Sofia. The paleologists settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV (the customer of the Sistine Chapel). To gain support, Thomas converted to Catholicism in the last year of his life.

After the death of Thomas on May 12, 1465 (his wife Catherine died a little earlier in the same year), the famous Greek scientist, Cardinal Bessarion of Nicea, a supporter of the union, took care of his children. His letter has been preserved, in which he gave instructions to the teacher of orphans. From this letter it follows that the pope will continue to allocate 3600 ecus per year for their maintenance (200 ecus per month: for children, their clothes, horses and servants; plus they should have saved for a rainy day, and spent 100 ecus on the maintenance of a modest courtyard , which included a doctor, a professor of Latin, a professor of Greek, a translator and 1-2 priests).

After the death of Thomas, the crown of the Palaiologos was de jure inherited by his son Andrei, who sold it to various European monarchs and died in poverty. The second son of Thomas Palaiologos, Manuel, returned to Istanbul during the reign of Bayezid II and surrendered to the mercy of the Sultan. According to some sources, he converted to Islam, started a family and served in the Turkish navy.

In 1466, the Venetian lordship proposed Sophia as a bride to the Cypriot king Jacques II de Lusignan, but he refused. According to Fr. Pirlinga, the splendor of her name and the glory of her ancestors were a poor bulwark against the Ottoman ships cruising in the waters Mediterranean Sea. Around 1467, Pope Paul II, through Cardinal Vissarion, offered her hand to Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. They were solemnly engaged, but the marriage did not take place.

Wedding of Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III

The role of Sofia Paleologue was played by the actress.

“My heroine is a kind, strong princess. A person always tries to cope with adversity, so the series is more about strength than about women’s weaknesses. It’s about how a person copes with his passions, how he humbles himself, endures, and how love wins. It seems to me that this is a film about hope for happiness,” Maria Andreeva said about her heroine.

Also, the image of Sophia Paleologus is widely present in fiction.

"Byzantine"- novel by Nikolai Spassky. The action takes place in 15th-century Italy amid the aftermath of the fall of Constantinople. Main character intrigues to marry Zoya Paleologue to the Russian Tsar.

“Sofia Palaeologus - from Byzantium to Russia”- novel by Georgios Leonardos.

"Basurman"- a novel by Ivan Lazhechnikov about the doctor Sofia.

Nikolai Aksakov dedicated a story to the Venetian doctor Leon Zhidovin, which spoke about the friendship of the Jewish doctor with the humanist Pico della Mirandola, and about the journey from Italy together with the brother of Queen Sophia Andrei Paleologus, Russian envoys Semyon Tolbuzin, Manuel and Dmitry Ralev, and Italian masters, - architects, jewelers, gunners. - invited to serve by the Moscow sovereign.

The first wife of Grand Duke Ivan was Maria Borisovna, the daughter of the Tver prince. On February 15, 1458, a son, Ivan, was born into the family of the Grand Duke. The Grand Duchess, who had a meek character, died on April 22, 1467, before reaching the age of thirty. The Grand Duchess was buried in the Kremlin, in the Ascension Convent. Ivan, who was in Kolomna at that time, did not come to his wife’s funeral.

Zoya has grown over the years into an attractive girl with dark, sparkling eyes and soft white skin. She was distinguished by a subtle mind and prudence in behavior. According to the unanimous assessment of her contemporaries, Zoya was charming, and her intelligence, education and manners were impeccable. Bolognese chroniclers wrote enthusiastically about Zoe in 1472: “She is truly charming and beautiful... She was short, she seemed about 24 years old; the eastern flame sparkled in her eyes, the whiteness of her skin spoke of the nobility of her family.”

In those years, the Vatican was looking for allies to organize a new crusade against the Turks, intending to involve all European sovereigns in it. Then, on the advice of Cardinal Vissarion, the pope decided to marry Zoya to the Moscow sovereign Ivan III, knowing about his desire to become the heir of the Byzantine basileus. The Patriarch of Constantinople and Cardinal Vissarion tried to renew the union with Russia through marriage. It was then that the Grand Duke was informed about the stay in Rome of a noble bride devoted to Orthodoxy, Sophia Palaeologus. Dad promised Ivan his support if he wanted to woo her. Ivan III's motives for marrying Sophia, of course, were related to status; the brilliance of her name and the glory of her ancestors played a role. Ivan III, who claimed the royal title, considered himself the successor of the Roman and Byzantine emperors.

Early in the morning of November 21, 1472, Sophia Paleologus arrived in Moscow. On the same day, in the Kremlin, in a temporary wooden church, erected near the Assumption Cathedral under construction, so as not to stop services, the sovereign married her. The Byzantine princess saw her husband for the first time. The Grand Duke was young - only 32 years old, handsome, tall and stately. His eyes were especially remarkable, “formidable eyes.” And before, Ivan Vasilyevich was distinguished by his tough character, but now, having become related to the Byzantine monarchs, he turned into a formidable and powerful sovereign. This was largely due to his young wife.

Sophia became the full-fledged Grand Duchess of Moscow. The very fact that she agreed to go from Rome to distant Moscow to seek her fortune suggests that she was a brave, energetic woman.

Thus, through the efforts of Ivan III and Sophia, the Paleologus Renaissance flourished on Russian soil.

However, Sophia's arrival in Moscow did not please some of Ivan's courtiers. By nature, Sophia was a reformer, participation in state affairs was the meaning of life for the Moscow princess, she was a decisive and intelligent person, and the nobility of that time did not like this very much. In Moscow, she was accompanied not only by the honors given to the Grand Duchess, but also by the hostility of the local clergy and the heir to the throne. At every step she had to defend her rights.

On February 4, 1498, the coronation of Prince Dmitry Ivanovich took place in the Assumption Cathedral in an atmosphere of great pomp. Sophia and her son Vasily were not invited.

Ivan III continued to painfully search for a way out of the dynastic impasse. How much pain, tears and misunderstanding his wife had to experience, this strong, wise woman who was so eager to help her husband build a new Russia, the Third Rome. But time passes, and the wall of bitterness that his son and daughter-in-law built with such zeal around the Grand Duke collapsed. Ivan Vasilyevich wiped away his wife’s tears and cried with her. Like never before, he felt that the white light was not nice to him without this woman. Now the plan to give the throne to Dmitry did not seem successful to him. Ivan Vasilyevich knew how all-consumingly Sophia loved her son Vasily. Sometimes he was even jealous of this maternal love, realizing that the son reigned entirely in the mother’s heart. The Grand Duke felt sorry for his young sons Vasily, Yuri, Dmitry Zhilka, Semyon, Andrei... And he lived together with Princess Sophia for a quarter of a century. Ivan III understood that sooner or later Sophia’s sons would rebel. There were only two ways to prevent the performance: either destroy the second family, or bequeath the throne to Vasily and destroy the family of Ivan the Young.

Prince Ivan and Sofia paleologist. Sofia Paleologus: Byzantine blood in the Russian state

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Wedding of Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III