Which of the kings had a wife, Sophia? Sofia Paleologue: truth and film fiction about the Grand Duchess

The last flower of Byzantium

10 facts about the Russian Tsarina Sophia Paleolog / World History

How Byzantine princess deceived the Pope, and what she changed in the life of Russia.

"Sofia". Still from the series

1. Sofia Paleolog was the daughter of the despot of Morea (now the Peloponnese Peninsula) Thomas Palaiologos and niece last emperor Byzantine Empire Constantine XI.

2. At birth, Sofia was named Zoey. She was born two years after Constantinople was captured by the Ottomans in 1453, and Byzantine Empire ceased to exist. Five years later, Morea was also captured. Zoe's family was forced to flee, finding refuge in Rome. To receive the support of the Pope, Thomas Palaiologos converted to Catholicism with his family. With a change of faith, Zoya became Sophia.

3. Paleolog was appointed as Sofia’s immediate guardian Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea, a supporter of union, that is, the unification of Catholics and Orthodox Christians under the authority of the Pope. Sofia's fate was supposed to be decided through a profitable marriage. In 1466 she was offered as a bride to the Cypriot King Jacques II de Lusignan, but he refused. In 1467 she was offered as a wife Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. The prince expressed his consent, after which the solemn betrothal took place.

4. Sofia’s fate changed dramatically after it became known that Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III widowed and looking for a new wife. Vissarion of Nicea decided that if Sophia Paleologus became the wife of Ivan III, the Russian lands could be subordinated to the influence of the Pope.

Sofia Paleolog. Reconstruction based on the skull of S. Nikitin

5. On June 1, 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. The Deputy Grand Duke was Russian Ambassador Ivan Fryazin. The wife was present as guests Ruler of Florence Lorenzo the Magnificent Clarice Orsini and Queen Katarina of Bosnia.

6. Representatives of the Pope were silent about Sophia Paleologue’s conversion to Catholicism during marriage negotiations. But they, too, were in for a surprise - immediately after crossing the Russian border, Sofia announced to Vissarion of Nicaea, who was accompanying her, that she was returning to Orthodoxy and would not perform Catholic rites. In fact, this was the end of the attempt to implement the union project in Russia.

7. The wedding of Ivan III and Sofia Paleologus in Russia took place on November 12, 1472. Their marriage lasted 30 years, Sofia gave birth to 12 children to her husband, but the first four were girls. Born in March 1479, the boy, named Vasily, later became the Grand Duke of Moscow Vasily III.

8. At the end of the 15th century, a fierce struggle for the rights to succession to the throne unfolded in Moscow. The official heir was considered the son of Ivan III from his first marriage Ivan Molodoy, who even had the status of co-ruler. However, with the birth of her son Vasily, Sophia Paleologus became involved in the struggle for his rights to the throne. The Moscow elite split into two warring parties. Both fell into disgrace, but in the end, victory went to the supporters of Sofia Paleologus and her son.

9. Under Sofia Paleolog, the practice of inviting foreign specialists to Russia became widespread: architects, jewelers, coinmakers, gunsmiths, doctors. For the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, he was invited from Italy architect Aristotle Fioravanti. Other buildings on the Kremlin territory were also rebuilt. Actively used at construction sites White stone, which is why the expression “white stone Moscow”, preserved through centuries, appeared.

10. A silk shroud is kept in the Trinity-Sergius Monastery, hand sewn Sofia in 1498; her name is embroidered on the shroud, and she calls herself not the Grand Duchess of Moscow, but “the princess of Tsaregorod.” At her suggestion, Russian rulers began, first unofficially and then at the official level, to call themselves tsars. In 1514, in an agreement with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I son of Sofia Vasily III For the first time in the history of Rus', he was named Emperor of the Rus. This certificate is then used Peter I as proof of his rights to be coronated as emperor.

The wedding of Ivan III with Sophia Paleologus in 1472. Engraving from the 19th century.

Sofia Paleolog

How a Byzantine princess built a new empire in Russia

The niece of the last ruler of Byzantium, having survived the collapse of one empire, decided to revive it in a new place.

Mother of the Third Rome

At the end of the 15th century, in the Russian lands united around Moscow, a concept began to emerge, according to which Russian state is the successor to the Byzantine Empire. Several decades later, the thesis “Moscow is the Third Rome” will become a symbol of the state ideology of the Russian state.

A major role in the formation of a new ideology and in the changes that were taking place within Russia at that time was destined to be played by a woman whose name was heard by almost everyone who has ever come into contact with Russian history. Sofia Paleolog, the wife of Grand Duke Ivan III, contributed to the development of Russian architecture, medicine, culture and many other areas of life.

There is another view of her, according to which she was the “Russian Catherine de Medici,” whose machinations set the development of Russia on a completely different path and brought confusion into the life of the state.

The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle. Sofia Paleologus did not choose Russia - Russia chose her, a girl from the last dynasty of Byzantine emperors, as a wife for the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Thomas Paleologus, Sophia's father

Byzantine orphan at the papal court

Zoe Paleologina, daughter of the despot (this is the title of the position) of Morea Thomas Paleologus, was born in a tragic time. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire, successor Ancient Rome, after a thousand years of existence, collapsed under the blows of the Ottomans. The symbol of the death of the empire was the fall of Constantinople, in which Emperor Constantine XI died. brother Thomas Palaiologos and Uncle Zoe.

Despotate of Morea, a province of Byzantium ruled by Thomas Palaiologos, lasted until 1460. Zoe lived these years with her father and brothers in Mystras, the capital of Morea, a city located next to Ancient Sparta. After Sultan Mehmed II captured the Morea, Thomas Palaiologos went to the island of Corfu, and then to Rome, where he died.

Children from royal family of the lost empire lived at the court of the Pope. Shortly before his death, Thomas Palaiologos converted to Catholicism to gain support. His children also became Catholics. After baptism according to the Roman rite, Zoya was named Sophia.

Vissarion of Nicaea

The 10-year-old girl, taken into the care of the papal court, had no opportunity to decide anything on her own. Cardinal Vissarion of Nicea, one of the authors of the union, which was supposed to unite Catholics and Orthodox Christians under the common authority of the Pope, was appointed her mentor.

They planned to arrange Sophia's fate through marriage. In 1466, she was offered as a bride to the Cypriot king Jacques II de Lusignan, but he refused. In 1467, she was offered as a wife to Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. The prince expressed his consent, after which the solemn betrothal took place.

Bride on the "icon"

But Sophia was not destined to become the wife of an Italian. In Rome it became known that the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III was widowed. The Russian prince was young, only 27 years old at the time of the death of his first wife, and it was expected that he would soon look for a new wife.

Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea saw this as a chance to promote his idea of ​​Uniatism to Russian lands. From his submission in 1469 Pope Paul II sent Ivan III a letter in which he proposed 14-year-old Sophia Paleologue as a bride. The letter referred to her as an “Orthodox Christian,” without mentioning her conversion to Catholicism.

Ivan III was not devoid of ambition, which his wife would later often play on. Having learned that the niece of the Byzantine emperor had been proposed as a bride, he agreed.

Victor Muizhel. “Ambassador Ivan Fryazin hands Ivan III portrait his bride Sophia Paleolog"

Negotiations, however, had just begun - all the details needed to be discussed. The Russian ambassador, sent to Rome, returned with a gift that shocked both the groom and his entourage. In the chronicle, this fact was reflected with the words “bring the princess on the icon.”

The fact is that at that time secular painting did not exist in Russia at all, and the portrait of Sophia sent to Ivan III was perceived in Moscow as an “icon”.

Sophia Paleolog. Reconstruction based on the skull of S. Nikitin

However, having figured out what was what, the Moscow prince appearance the bride was pleased. In historical literature there are various descriptions Sophia Paleolog - from beauty to ugly. In the 1990s, studies were carried out on the remains of the wife of Ivan III, during which her appearance. Sophia was a short woman (about 160 cm), inclined to be overweight, with strong-willed facial features that could be called, if not beautiful, then quite pretty. Be that as it may, Ivan III liked her.

Failure of Vissarion of Nicaea

The formalities were settled by the spring of 1472, when a new Russian embassy arrived in Rome, this time for the bride herself.

On June 1, 1472, an absentee betrothal took place in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The deputy of the Grand Duke was the Russian ambassador Ivan Fryazin. The wife of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Clarice Orsini, and Queen Katarina of Bosnia were present as guests. The father, in addition to gifts, gave the bride a dowry of 6 thousand ducats.

Sofia Paleologue enters Moscow. Miniature of the Facial Chronicle Code

On June 24, 1472, Sophia Paleologus's large convoy, together with the Russian ambassador, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by a Roman retinue led by Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea.

We had to get to Moscow through Germany by Baltic Sea, and then through the Baltic states, Pskov and Novgorod. Such a difficult route was caused by the fact that Russia once again began having political problems with Poland during this period.

From time immemorial, the Byzantines were famous for their cunning and deceit. Vissarion of Nicaea learned that Sophia Paleologus inherited these qualities in full soon after the bride’s train crossed the Russian border. The 17-year-old girl announced that from now on she would no longer perform Catholic rites, but would return to the faith of her ancestors, that is, to Orthodoxy. All the cardinal's ambitious plans collapsed. Attempts by Catholics to gain a foothold in Moscow and strengthen their influence failed.

On November 12, 1472, Sophia entered Moscow. Here, too, there were many who treated her with caution, seeing her as a “Roman agent.” According to some reports, Metropolitan Philip, dissatisfied with the bride, refused to hold the wedding ceremony, which is why the ceremony was performed by Kolomna Archpriest Hosea.

But, be that as it may, Sophia Paleolog became the wife of Ivan III.

Fedor Bronnikov. “Meeting of Princess Sofia Palaeologus by Pskov mayors and boyars at the mouth of the Embakh on Lake Peipsi”

How Sophia saved Russia from the yoke

Their marriage lasted 30 years, she bore her husband 12 children, of whom five sons and four daughters lived to adulthood. Judging by historical documents, the Grand Duke was attached to his wife and children, for which he even received reproaches from high-ranking church officials who believed that this was detrimental to state interests.

Sophia never forgot about her origin and behaved as, in her opinion, the emperor’s niece should behave. Under her influence, the receptions of the Grand Duke, especially the receptions of ambassadors, were furnished with a complex and colorful ceremony, similar to the Byzantine one. Thanks to her, Byzantine double headed eagle migrated to Russian heraldry. Thanks to her influence, Grand Duke Ivan III began to call himself the “Russian Tsar.” With the son and grandson of Sophia Paleologus, this designation of the Russian ruler will become official.

Judging by the actions and deeds of Sophia, she, having lost her native Byzantium, seriously took up the task of building it in another Orthodox country. She was helped by her husband’s ambition, on which she successfully played.

When the Horde Khan Akhmat was preparing an invasion of Russian lands and in Moscow they were discussing the issue of the amount of tribute with which one could buy off misfortune, Sophia intervened in the matter. Bursting with tears, she began to reproach her husband for the fact that the country was still forced to pay tribute and that it was time to end this shameful situation. Ivan III was not a warlike man, but his wife’s reproaches touched him to the quick. He decided to gather an army and march towards Akhmat.

At the same time, the Grand Duke sent his wife and children first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero, fearing military failure.

But there was no failure - there was no battle on the Ugra River, where the troops of Akhmat and Ivan III met. After what is known as the “standing on the Ugra,” Akhmat retreated without a fight, and his dependence on the Horde ended completely.

Perestroika of the 15th century

Sophia inspired her husband that the sovereign of such a great power as he could not live in a capital with wooden churches and chambers. Under the influence of his wife, Ivan III began rebuilding the Kremlin. The architect Aristotle Fioravanti was invited from Italy to build the Assumption Cathedral. White stone was actively used at the construction site, which is why the expression “white stone Moscow”, which has survived for centuries, appeared.

Inviting foreign specialists to different areas became a widespread phenomenon under Sophia Paleolog. The Italians and Greeks, who took up the positions of ambassadors under Ivan III, will begin to actively invite their fellow countrymen to Russia: architects, jewelers, coinmakers and gunsmiths. Among the visitors there were a large number of professional doctors.

Sophia arrived in Moscow with a large dowry, part of which was occupied by a library, which included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, including poems by Homer, works by Aristotle and Plato, and even books from the Library of Alexandria.

These books formed the basis of the legendary missing library of Ivan the Terrible, which enthusiasts are trying to search for to this day. Skeptics, however, believe that such a library did not actually exist.

Speaking about the hostile and wary attitude of the Russians towards Sophia, it must be said that they were embarrassed by her independent behavior and active interference in state affairs. Such behavior was uncharacteristic for Sophia’s predecessors as grand duchesses, and simply for Russian women.

Battle of the Heirs

By the time of Ivan III’s second marriage, he already had a son from his first wife, Ivan the Young, who was declared heir to the throne. But with the birth of Sophia’s children, tension began to increase. The Russian nobility split into two groups, one of which supported Ivan the Young, and the second - Sophia.

The relationship between the stepmother and stepson did not work out, so much so that Ivan III himself had to exhort his son to behave decently.

Ivan Molodoy was only three years younger than Sophia and had no respect for her, apparently considering his father’s new marriage a betrayal of his deceased mother.

In 1479, Sophia, who had previously given birth only to girls, gave birth to a son named Vasily. As a true representative of the Byzantine imperial family, she was ready to ensure the throne for her son at any cost.

By this time, Ivan the Young was already mentioned in Russian documents as his father’s co-ruler. And in 1483 the heir married daughter of the ruler of Moldavia, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka.

The relationship between Sophia and Elena immediately became hostile. When in 1483 Elena gave birth to a son Dmitry, Vasily’s prospects for inheriting his father’s throne became completely illusory.

Female rivalry at the court of Ivan III was fierce. Both Elena and Sophia were eager to get rid of not only their competitor, but also her offspring.

In 1484, Ivan III decided to give his daughter-in-law a pearl dowry left over from his first wife. But then it turned out that Sophia had already given it to her relative. The Grand Duke, angry at his wife’s arbitrariness, forced her to return the gift, and the relative herself, along with her husband, had to flee from the Russian lands for fear of punishment.

Death and burial of Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue

The loser loses everything

In 1490, the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, fell ill with “ache in his legs.” He was called from Venice especially for his treatment. doctor Lebi Zhidovin, but he could not help, and on March 7, 1490, the heir died. The doctor was executed by order of Ivan III, and rumors circulated in Moscow that Ivan the Young died as a result of poisoning, which was the work of Sophia Paleologue.

There is, however, no evidence of this. After the death of Ivan the Young, his son became the new heir, known in Russian historiography as Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk.

Dmitry Vnuk was not officially declared the heir, and therefore Sophia Paleologus continued to try to achieve the throne for Vasily.

In 1497, a conspiracy by supporters of Vasily and Sophia was discovered. The angry Ivan III sent its participants to the chopping block, but did not touch his wife and son. However, they found themselves in disgrace, virtually under house arrest. On February 4, 1498, Dmitry Vnuk was officially proclaimed heir to the throne.

The fight, however, was not over. Soon, Sophia’s party managed to achieve revenge - this time the supporters of Dmitry and Elena Voloshanka were handed over to the executioners. The denouement came on April 11, 1502. Ivan III considered the new charges of conspiracy against Dmitry Vnuk and his mother convincing, sending them under house arrest. A few days later, Vasily was proclaimed co-ruler of his father and heir to the throne, and Dmitry Vnuk and his mother were placed in prison.

Birth of an Empire

Sophia Paleologue, who actually elevated her son to the Russian throne, did not live to see this moment. She died on April 7, 1503 and was buried in a massive white-stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to her grave Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III.

The Grand Duke, widowed for the second time, outlived his beloved Sophia by two years, passing away in October 1505. Elena Voloshanka died in prison.

Vasily III, having ascended the throne, first of all tightened the conditions of detention for his competitor - Dmitry Vnuk was shackled in iron shackles and placed in a small cell. In 1509, a 25-year-old high-born prisoner died.

In 1514, in an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I, Vasily III was named Emperor of the Rus for the first time in the history of Rus'. This letter is then used by Peter I as proof of his rights to coronation as emperor.

The efforts of Sophia Palaeologus, a proud Byzantine who set about building a new empire to replace the lost one, were not in vain.

Andrey Sidorchik

*Extremist and terrorist organizations prohibited in Russian Federation: “Jehovah’s Witnesses”, National Bolshevik Party, “Right Sector”, “Ukrainian Insurgent Army” (UPA), “ Islamic State"(IS, ISIS, Daesh), "Jabhat Fatah al-Sham", "Jabhat al-Nusra", "Al-Qaeda", "UNA-UNSO", "Taliban", "Majlis of the Crimean Tatar people", "Misanthropic Division", "Brotherhood" by Korchinsky, "Trident named after. Stepan Bandera", "Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists" (OUN)

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Sofia Paleolog went from the last Byzantine princess to the Grand Duchess of Moscow. Thanks to her intelligence and cunning, she could influence the policies of Ivan III and won palace intrigues. Sophia also managed to place her son Vasily III on the throne.

Zoe Paleologue was born around 1440-1449. She was the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos, who was the brother of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine. The fate of the entire family after the death of the ruler turned out to be unenviable. Thomas Palaiologos fled to Corfu and then to Rome. After some time, the children followed him. The paleologians were patronized by Pope Paul II himself. The girl had to convert to Catholicism and change her name from Zoe to Sophia. She received an education appropriate to her status, without basking in luxury, but without poverty either.

Sophia became a pawn in the political game of the Pope. At first he wanted to give her as a wife to King James II of Cyprus, but he refused. The next contender for the girl's hand was Prince Caracciolo, but he did not live to see the wedding. When the wife of Prince Ivan III died in 1467, Sophia Paleologue was offered to him as his wife. The Pope kept silent about the fact that she was a Catholic, thereby wanting to expand the influence of the Vatican in Rus'. Negotiations for marriage continued for three years. Ivan III was seduced by the opportunity to have such an eminent person as his wife.

The betrothal in absentia took place on June 1, 1472, after which Sophia Paleologus went to Muscovy. Everywhere she was given all kinds of honors and celebrations were held. At the head of her cortege was a man who carried a Catholic cross. Having learned about this, Metropolitan Philip threatened to leave Moscow if the cross was brought into the city. Ivan III ordered that the Catholic symbol be taken away 15 versts from Moscow. Dad's plans failed, and Sophia returned to her faith again. The wedding took place on November 12, 1472 in the Assumption Cathedral.

At court, the newly-made Byzantine wife of the Grand Duke was not liked. Despite this, Sophia had a huge influence on her husband. The chronicles describe in detail how Paleologue persuaded Ivan III to free himself from the Mongol yoke.

Following the Byzantine model, Ivan III developed a complex judicial system. It was then for the first time that the Grand Duke began to call himself “the Tsar and Autocrat of All Rus'.” It is believed that the image of the double-headed eagle, which subsequently appeared on the coat of arms of Muscovy, was brought by Sophia Paleologus with her.

Sophia Paleolog and Ivan III had eleven children (five sons and six daughters). From his first marriage, the tsar had a son, Ivan the Young, the first contender for the throne. But he fell ill with gout and died. Another “obstacle” for Sophia’s children on the path to the throne was Ivan the Young’s son Dmitry. But he and his mother fell out of favor with the king and died in captivity. Some historians suggest that Paleologus was involved in the deaths of the direct heirs, but there is no direct evidence. Ivan III's successor was Sophia's son Vasily III.

The Byzantine princess and princess of Muscovy died on April 7, 1503. She was buried in a stone sarcophagus in the Ascension Monastery.

The marriage of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue turned out to be successful politically and culturally. were able to leave a mark not only in the history of their country, but also to become beloved queens in a foreign land.

The niece of the last ruler of Byzantium, having survived the collapse of one empire, decided to revive it in a new place.

Mother of the Third Rome

At the end of the 15th century, in the Russian lands united around Moscow, the concept began to emerge, according to which the Russian state was the legal successor of the Byzantine Empire. Several decades later, the thesis “Moscow is the Third Rome” will become a symbol of the state ideology of the Russian state.

A major role in the formation of a new ideology and in the changes that were taking place within Russia at that time was destined to be played by a woman whose name was heard by almost everyone who has ever come into contact with Russian history. Sofia Paleologue, wife of Grand Duke Ivan III, contributed to the development of Russian architecture, medicine, culture and many other areas of life.

There is another view of her, according to which she was the “Russian Catherine de Medici,” whose machinations set the development of Russia on a completely different path and brought confusion into the life of the state.

The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle. Sofia Paleologus did not choose Russia - Russia chose her, a girl from the last dynasty of Byzantine emperors, as a wife for the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Byzantine orphan at the papal court

Zoya Paleologina, daughter despot (this is the title of the position) of the Morea Thomas Palaiologos, was born in a tragic time. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire, the heir of Ancient Rome, collapsed under the blows of the Ottomans after a thousand years of existence. The symbol of the death of the empire was the fall of Constantinople, in which he died Emperor Constantine XI, brother of Thomas Paleologus and uncle of Zoe.

Despotate of Morea, a province of Byzantium ruled by Thomas Palaiologos, lasted until 1460. Zoe lived these years with her father and brothers in Mystras, the capital of Morea, a city located next to Ancient Sparta. After Sultan Mehmed II captured the Morea, Thomas Palaiologos went to the island of Corfu, and then to Rome, where he died.

Children from the royal family of the lost empire lived at the court of the Pope. Shortly before his death, Thomas Palaiologos converted to Catholicism to gain support. His children also became Catholics. After baptism according to the Roman rite, Zoya was named Sophia.

The 10-year-old girl, taken into the care of the papal court, had no opportunity to decide anything on her own. Her mentor was appointed Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea, one of the authors of the union, which was supposed to unite Catholics and Orthodox Christians under the common authority of the Pope.

They planned to arrange Sophia's fate through marriage. In 1466 she was offered as a bride to the Cypriot King Jacques II de Lusignan, but he refused. In 1467 she was offered as a wife Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. The prince expressed his consent, after which the solemn betrothal took place.

Bride on the “icon”

But Sophia was not destined to become the wife of an Italian. In Rome it became known that the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III was widowed. The Russian prince was young, only 27 years old at the time of the death of his first wife, and it was expected that he would soon look for a new wife.

Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea saw this as a chance to promote his idea of ​​Uniatism to Russian lands. From his submission in 1469 Pope Paul II sent a letter to Ivan III in which he proposed 14-year-old Sophia Paleologus as a bride. The letter referred to her as an “Orthodox Christian,” without mentioning her conversion to Catholicism.

Ivan III was not devoid of ambition, which his wife would later often play on. Having learned that the niece of the Byzantine emperor had been proposed as a bride, he agreed.

Negotiations, however, had just begun - all the details needed to be discussed. The Russian ambassador, sent to Rome, returned with a gift that shocked both the groom and his entourage. In the chronicle, this fact was reflected with the words “bring the princess on the icon.”

The fact is that at that time secular painting did not exist in Russia at all, and the portrait of Sophia sent to Ivan III was perceived in Moscow as an “icon”.

However, having figured out what was what, the Moscow prince was pleased with the appearance of the bride. In historical literature there are various descriptions of Sophia Paleolog - from beauty to ugly. In the 1990s, studies were carried out on the remains of the wife of Ivan III, during which her appearance was restored. Sophia was a short woman (about 160 cm), inclined to be overweight, with strong-willed facial features that could be called, if not beautiful, then quite pretty. Be that as it may, Ivan III liked her.

Failure of Vissarion of Nicaea

The formalities were settled by the spring of 1472, when a new Russian embassy arrived in Rome, this time for the bride herself.

On June 1, 1472, an absentee betrothal took place in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The Deputy Grand Duke was Russian Ambassador Ivan Fryazin. Present as guests were wife of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Clarice Orsini And Queen Katarina of Bosnia. The father, in addition to gifts, gave the bride a dowry of 6 thousand ducats.

On June 24, 1472, Sophia Paleologus's large convoy, together with the Russian ambassador, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by a Roman retinue led by Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea.

We had to get to Moscow through Germany along the Baltic Sea, and then through the Baltic states, Pskov and Novgorod. Such a difficult route was caused by the fact that Russia once again began having political problems with Poland during this period.

From time immemorial, the Byzantines were famous for their cunning and deceit. Vissarion of Nicaea learned that Sophia Paleologus inherited these qualities in full soon after the bride’s train crossed the Russian border. The 17-year-old girl announced that from now on she would no longer perform Catholic rites, but would return to the faith of her ancestors, that is, to Orthodoxy. All the cardinal's ambitious plans collapsed. Attempts by Catholics to gain a foothold in Moscow and strengthen their influence failed.

On November 12, 1472, Sophia entered Moscow. Here, too, there were many who treated her with caution, seeing her as a “Roman agent.” According to some reports, Metropolitan Philip, dissatisfied with the bride, refused to hold the wedding ceremony, which is why the ceremony was held Kolomna archpriest Hosiya.

But, be that as it may, Sophia Paleolog became the wife of Ivan III.

How Sophia saved Russia from the yoke

Their marriage lasted 30 years, she bore her husband 12 children, of whom five sons and four daughters lived to adulthood. Judging by historical documents, the Grand Duke was attached to his wife and children, for which he even received reproaches from high-ranking church officials who believed that this was detrimental to state interests.

Sophia never forgot about her origin and behaved as, in her opinion, the emperor’s niece should behave. Under her influence, the receptions of the Grand Duke, especially the receptions of ambassadors, were furnished with a complex and colorful ceremony, similar to the Byzantine one. Thanks to her, the Byzantine double-headed eagle migrated to Russian heraldry. Thanks to her influence, Grand Duke Ivan III began to call himself the “Russian Tsar.” With the son and grandson of Sophia Paleologus, this designation of the Russian ruler will become official.

Judging by the actions and deeds of Sophia, she, having lost her native Byzantium, seriously took up the task of building it in another Orthodox country. She was helped by her husband’s ambition, on which she successfully played.

When the Horde Khan Akhmat was preparing an invasion of Russian lands and in Moscow they were discussing the issue of the amount of tribute with which one could buy off misfortune, Sophia intervened in the matter. Bursting with tears, she began to reproach her husband for the fact that the country was still forced to pay tribute and that it was time to end this shameful situation. Ivan III was not a warlike man, but his wife’s reproaches touched him to the quick. He decided to gather an army and march towards Akhmat.

At the same time, the Grand Duke sent his wife and children first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero, fearing military failure.

But there was no failure - there was no battle on the Ugra River, where the troops of Akhmat and Ivan III met. After what is known as the “standing on the Ugra,” Akhmat retreated without a fight, and his dependence on the Horde ended completely.

Perestroika of the 15th century

Sophia inspired her husband that the sovereign of such a great power as he could not live in a capital with wooden churches and chambers. Under the influence of his wife, Ivan III began rebuilding the Kremlin. For the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, he was invited from Italy architect Aristotle Fioravanti. White stone was actively used at the construction site, which is why the expression “white stone Moscow”, which has survived for centuries, appeared.

Inviting foreign specialists in various fields has become a widespread phenomenon under Sophia Paleolog. The Italians and Greeks, who took up the positions of ambassadors under Ivan III, will begin to actively invite their fellow countrymen to Russia: architects, jewelers, coinmakers and gunsmiths. Among the visitors there were a large number of professional doctors.

Sophia arrived in Moscow with a large dowry, part of which was occupied by a library, which included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, including poems Homer, essays Aristotle And Plato and even books from the Library of Alexandria.

These books formed the basis of the legendary missing library of Ivan the Terrible, which enthusiasts are trying to search for to this day. Skeptics, however, believe that such a library did not actually exist.

Speaking about the hostile and wary attitude of the Russians towards Sophia, it must be said that they were embarrassed by her independent behavior and active interference in state affairs. Such behavior was uncharacteristic for Sophia’s predecessors as grand duchesses, and simply for Russian women.

Battle of the Heirs

By the time of Ivan III’s second marriage, he already had a son from his first wife - Ivan Molodoy, who was declared heir to the throne. But with the birth of Sophia’s children, tension began to increase. The Russian nobility split into two factions, one of which supported Ivan the Young, and the second - Sophia.

The relationship between the stepmother and stepson did not work out, so much so that Ivan III himself had to exhort his son to behave decently.

Ivan Molodoy was only three years younger than Sophia and had no respect for her, apparently considering his father’s new marriage a betrayal of his deceased mother.

In 1479, Sophia, who had previously given birth only to girls, gave birth to a son, named Vasily. As a true representative of the Byzantine imperial family, she was ready to ensure the throne for her son at any cost.

By this time, Ivan the Young was already mentioned in Russian documents as his father’s co-ruler. And in 1483 the heir married daughter of the ruler of Moldavia, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka.

The relationship between Sophia and Elena immediately became hostile. When in 1483 Elena gave birth to a son Dmitry, Vasily’s prospects for inheriting his father’s throne became completely illusory.

Female rivalry at the court of Ivan III was fierce. Both Elena and Sophia were eager to get rid of not only their competitor, but also her offspring.

In 1484, Ivan III decided to give his daughter-in-law a pearl dowry left over from his first wife. But then it turned out that Sophia had already given it to her relative. The Grand Duke, angry at his wife’s arbitrariness, forced her to return the gift, and the relative herself, along with her husband, had to flee from the Russian lands for fear of punishment.

The loser loses everything

In 1490, the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, fell ill with “ache in his legs.” He was called from Venice especially for his treatment. doctor Lebi Zhidovin, but he could not help, and on March 7, 1490, the heir died. The doctor was executed by order of Ivan III, and rumors circulated in Moscow that Ivan the Young died as a result of poisoning, which was the work of Sophia Paleologue.

There is, however, no evidence of this. After the death of Ivan the Young, his son became the new heir, known in Russian historiography as Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk.

Dmitry Vnuk was not officially declared the heir, and therefore Sophia Paleologus continued to try to achieve the throne for Vasily.

In 1497, a conspiracy by supporters of Vasily and Sophia was discovered. The angry Ivan III sent its participants to the chopping block, but did not touch his wife and son. However, they found themselves in disgrace, virtually under house arrest. On February 4, 1498, Dmitry Vnuk was officially proclaimed heir to the throne.

The fight, however, was not over. Soon, Sophia's party managed to achieve revenge - this time the supporters of Dmitry and Elena Voloshanka were handed over to the executioners. The denouement came on April 11, 1502. Ivan III considered the new charges of conspiracy against Dmitry Vnuk and his mother convincing, sending them under house arrest. A few days later, Vasily was proclaimed co-ruler of his father and heir to the throne, and Dmitry Vnuk and his mother were placed in prison.

Birth of an Empire

Sophia Paleologue, who actually elevated her son to the Russian throne, did not live to see this moment. She died on April 7, 1503 and was buried in a massive white-stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to her grave Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III.

The Grand Duke, widowed for the second time, outlived his beloved Sophia by two years, passing away in October 1505. Elena Voloshanka died in prison.

Vasily III, having ascended the throne, first of all tightened the conditions of detention for his competitor - Dmitry Vnuk was shackled in iron shackles and placed in a small cell. In 1509, a 25-year-old high-born prisoner died.

In 1514, in an agreement with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I Vasily III was named Emperor of the Rus for the first time in the history of Rus'. This certificate is then used Peter I as proof of his rights to be coronated as emperor.

The efforts of Sophia Palaeologus, a proud Byzantine who set about building a new empire to replace the lost one, were not in vain.

The exact date of her birth is unknown. At the age of about five or seven years old, she experienced the horror of the defeat of Constantinople by the troops of the Turkish Sultan and the death of her uncle, the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. Fleeing from the Turks, her father, Derator's brother Fomo Palaiologos, fled with his children to Rome, under the protection of the Pope.
Nineteen years later, at the end of June 1472, a solemn procession set off from Rome to Moscow: the Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologus, a woman who was destined to play an important role in the historical destinies of Russia, was going to the wedding with the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III.

Pope's mistake

In 1465, Thomas Palaiologos died. The education and upbringing of the royal orphans - brothers Andrei and Manuel and their younger sister Sophia - was entrusted to Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea. Special attention he paid attention to European Catholic traditions and, calling Sophia “the beloved daughter of the Roman Church,” insistently inspired that she should humbly follow the principles of Catholicism in everything.
In 1468, surrounded by the Pope, the idea matured to marry Sophia to the recently widowed Moscow sovereign Ivan III. The Vatican intended to kill two birds with one stone with this marriage: firstly, it hoped that the Grand Duke of Muscovy could now agree to a union of churches and submit to Rome, and secondly, he would become a powerful ally in the fight against the Turks. And the influence of the future wife on the Grand Duke was assigned a decisive role.

It must be admitted that the diplomatic “game” of organizing a marriage with the Moscow sovereign was carefully conceived and brilliantly executed. But this operation brought the exact opposite result to what was intended!

Ivan III did not intend to fight for the “inheritance” with the Turks, much less agree to a union. And most importantly: having become the Grand Duchess, Sophia Fominishna (as they began to call her in Rus') did not justify the hopes of the papal throne for Russia’s subordination to the Vatican. She not only did not contribute to the Catholicization of Rus', but also kicked out the cardinal who accompanied her, and all the years of her life allotted to her faithfully served Orthodoxy and the Russian State.

Sophia was deeply Orthodox at heart. She skillfully hid her faith from the powerful Roman “patrons”, who did not help her homeland, betraying it to the Gentiles for ruin and death.

Journey. Meeting. Wedding

Inter-dynastic marriages are not an easy matter; matchmaking dragged on for three whole years. Finally, in January 1472, Ivan III sent an embassy to Rome for his bride. And in June of the same year, Sophia set off on the journey with an honorary retinue and the papal legate Anthony. According to Catholic tradition, the legate at the front of the procession carried a Latin cross, which greatly worried the population of Muscovy. In order not to create unnecessary diplomatic and political problems, the legate’s cross was carefully... stolen and thrown into his chambers already in Moscow, a few days after the wedding...
And here is Moscow! The Grand Duke and Princess saw each other in person for the first time and - no one was disappointed!

According to the ideas of that time, Sophia was considered an elderly woman (she was 25-27 years old), but she was very attractive, with amazingly beautiful, expressive dark eyes and soft matte skin, which in Rus' was considered a sign of excellent health. The princess was of average height and somewhat plump (in Rus' this was called corpulence and was considered a plus weaker sex), but was distinguished by an article worthy of a representative of the proud family of Byzantine basileus. And also (and this is perhaps the most important thing) - the princess had a sharp mind and, as we would say now, statesmanlike thinking. But this will appear a little later, but for now the princess, standing on the threshold of the temple where the wedding will take place, looks at her betrothed. The Grand Duke was still young, only 32 years old, and handsome - tall and handsome. His eyes were especially remarkable, “formidable eyes”: the chronicler says that when the prince was angry, women fainted from his gaze!
Metropolitan Philip performed the wedding ceremony, the Russian sovereign power became related to the Byzantine imperial power...

Princess's dowry

The dowry of the representative of the Byzantine basileus family turned out to be very significant. And we are not talking about gold and silver, although there was enough of it - the emperor’s niece was by no means poor. The main thing in the princess's dowry was something that could not be measured in money - neither then, nor five centuries later!
After the wedding, Ivan III adopted the Byzantine double-headed eagle as a coat of arms - a symbol of royal power; He also placed it on his seal.

In the basement of the stone Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God on Senya (the home church of the Moscow Grand Duchesses), a priceless treasure that arrived on Sophia’s wedding train - “Liberia”, a huge collection of ancient books and manuscripts (better known as the legendary “library of Ivan the Terrible”, the search for which has been going on for more than three centuries). "Liberia" included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts; Its pricelessness is evidenced by the fact that there were poems by Homer unknown to us, works by Aristotle and Plato, Ovid and Virgil, and even surviving books from the famous Library of Alexandria!

As a gift to her husband, Sophia was “presented” with a luxurious throne, the wooden frame of which was covered with plates of ivory and walrus ivory with scenes on biblical themes carved on them (it is known to us as the throne, again, of Ivan the Terrible, and now it is the oldest in the Kremlin meeting).

Sophia also brought with her several Orthodox icons. A very rare icon of the Mother of God “Blessed Heaven” was included in the iconostasis of the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral, and from the image she brought Savior Not Made by Hands in the 19th century, the artist Sorokin painted an image of the Lord for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This image has miraculously survived to this day. In the Kremlin Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, and today on the lectern you can see another icon from Princess Sophia’s dowry - the image of the All-Merciful Savior.

“Princess of Tsargrodskaya, Grand Duchess...”

And then it began for Sophia new life- the life of the Grand Duchess of Moscow, and participation in large and small government affairs. And what she created in this field deserves very high praise - because even the struggle for power was aimed at strengthening the power of the sovereign of a single and indivisible Rus'.
Sophia brought with her her ideas about the court and the power of government, and many of the Moscow orders did not suit her heart. She did not like that the boyars behaved too freely with their sovereign. That the Russian capital is built entirely of wood, even the sovereign's mansions in the Kremlin, and the fortress walls are dilapidated. And Sofya Fominishna, rolling up her sleeves, got down to business.
One can only envy her energy and determination - especially considering that she has become, speaking modern language, also a mother of many children, having given birth to the Grand Duke nine children!..

Through the efforts of Sophia, palace etiquette began to resemble Byzantine etiquette. With the permission of the Grand Duke, she started her own “Duma” of members of the retinue and arranged real diplomatic receptions for foreign ambassadors and guests in the female half of the Grand Duke’s chambers, conducting conversations with them “stately and affectionately.” For Rus' this was an unheard of innovation. Ivan III, under the influence of Sophia, also changed his treatment of the courtiers: he began to behave inaccessibly and demand special respect.
According to legend, the name of Sophia Paleologus is associated with the construction of some new Kremlin churches; her contribution to the reconstruction of the Kremlin is also great.
Ivan III himself felt the need to create a real citadel from the grand-ducal residence - impregnable militarily and magnificent architecturally. The final impetus for this was the collapse of the Assumption Cathedral, erected by Pskov craftsmen.

Sophia advised her husband to invite Italian architects, who were then considered the best in Europe. Their creations could make Moscow equal in beauty and majesty to European capitals and support the prestige of the Moscow sovereign, as well as emphasize the continuity of Moscow not only with the Second Rome (Constantinople), but also with the First. Perhaps it was Sophia who prompted her husband to invite Aristotle Fioravanti, who was famous in his homeland as the “new Archimedes”. The architect happily agreed to the Grand Duke's proposal.

The consequences of this invitation were the new Assumption Cathedral, the famous Chamber of Facets and a new stone palace on the site of the former wooden mansion.
Not everyone knows that the famous architect had a special, secret order waiting for him in Moscow - while executing it, Fioravanti drew up general plan the new Kremlin with numerous underground passages, galleries and hiding places. And very few people know that the talented Italian also completed one more task - as it turned out, extremely important for Rus': it was he who actually created the Russian field artillery!

“I don’t want to be a Tatar tributary...”

Now, from the heights of the past centuries, we see that almost all of Sophia’s activities were aimed at the benefit of Rus', at strengthening its foreign policy position and internal stability. Many of Sophia's contemporaries (mostly well-born boyars) did not like the Grand Duchess - for her influence on Ivan III, for the changes in Moscow life, for interference in state affairs. It must be admitted that her husband turned out to be wiser than these “many”, and very often followed Sophia’s advice. Perhaps the point was that, as noted by the famous historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, Sophia’s skillful advice always answered the secret intentions of her husband!

A striking example of Sophia’s useful intervention is the final liberation of Rus' from the Mongol-Tatar yoke: given the tough nature of the Byzantine princess, it can be assumed that her decisive position influenced the decision of Ivan III.

...The ambassador of the Khan of the Golden Horde, Akhmat, arrived in Moscow with an ultimatum for the immediate payment of tribute, and for Ivan III the moment of truth came - either submission - or war. According to legend, at the most critical moment Sophia, who insisted on refusing to pay tribute to the Horde khan, declared to the hesitant sovereign: “I refused my hand to rich, strong princes and kings, for the sake of faith I married you, and now you want to make me and my children tributaries; Don’t you have enough troops?”

At the next meeting with the ambassador, the Grand Duke demonstratively tore up the Khan's letter and ordered the ambassador to be driven out. From the school history textbook we remember that after the great “stand on the Ugra” the Tatars turned their army around and went home.
The hated yoke is over...

A significant role in the fact that the Tatars did not decide on a general battle was played by... Russian artillery under the command of Aristotle Fioravanti, which twice scattered the Tatar cavalry, which was trying to cross the river and enter the battle.

Who will ascend the throne?

It was not easy for Sophia when her ill-wishers from the grand ducal circle went on the offensive. When Ivan III's son from his first wife, Ivan Molodoy, fell ill with gout, Sophia ordered a doctor for him from abroad. It seems that the disease was not fatal, and the doctor was a noble one - however, Ivan died suddenly. The doctor was executed, and bad rumors spread around Moscow about Sophia: they say that she poisoned the heir in order to clear the path for her first-born, Vasily, to the throne.
Storm clouds began to gather above Sophia's head. From his eldest son, Ivan III had a grandson, Dmitry, “guarded” by his mother Elena Voloshanka and the boyars, and from Sophia he had an eldest son, Vasily. Which of them was supposed to get the throne?.. In 1497, the princess’s enemies whispered to the Grand Duke that Sophia wanted to poison his grandson, that she was secretly visited by sorcerers preparing poisonous potions, and that even Vasily himself was participating in the conspiracy. Ivan III took the side of his grandson, arrested Vasily, ordered the sorcerers to be drowned in the Moscow River, and removed his wife from himself. A year later, he married his grandson in the Assumption Cathedral as heir to the throne.

However, it was not for nothing that all of Sophia’s contemporaries considered her a woman of “outstanding intelligence and strong will”... And she knew how to weave intrigues no worse than her secret and open enemies: for less than two years, Sophia and Vasily were in disgrace. The former princess managed to bring about the downfall of Elena Voloshanka, accusing her of... adherence to heresy (proving your innocence with such accusations is very problematic). There was no Holy Inquisition in Rus', heretics were not burned at the stake, so Ivan III simply put Elena and his grandson in prison, where they spent the rest of their lives. In 1500, the Grand Duke and Sovereign of All Rus' named Vasily the legal heir to the throne.

“The Queen of Tsargorod, Grand Duchess of Moscow Sofya Fominishna” won. Who knows what path Russian history would have taken if not for Sophia!
On April 7, 1503, Sophia Paleologus died. With all the honors due to her title, she was buried in the Grand Duke's tomb of Voznesensky convent in the Kremlin.

They say that every city, founded in ancient times or in the Middle Ages, has its own secret name. According to legend, only a few people could know him. The city's secret name contained its DNA. Having learned the “password” of the city, the enemy could easily take possession of it.

"Secret Name"

According to the ancient town-planning tradition, at the beginning the secret name of the city was born, then the corresponding place was found, the “heart of the city,” which symbolized the Tree of the World. Moreover, it is not necessary that the navel of the city should be located in the “geometric” center of the future city. The city is almost like Koshchei’s: “...his death is at the end of a needle, that needle is in an egg, that egg is in a duck, that duck is in a hare, that hare is in a chest, and the chest stands on a tall oak tree, and that tree Koschey protects like his own eye "

Interestingly, ancient and medieval city planners always left clues. A love of puzzles distinguished many professional guilds. The Masons alone are worth something. Before the profanation of heraldry during the Enlightenment, the role of these rebuses was played by the coats of arms of cities. But this is in Europe. In Russia, until the 17th century, there was no tradition at all of encrypting the essence of the city, its secret name, in a coat of arms or some other symbol. For example, St. George the Victorious migrated to the coat of arms of Moscow from the seals of the great Moscow princes, and even earlier - from the seals of the Tver Principality. It had nothing to do with the city.

"Heart of the City"

In Rus', the starting point for the construction of a city was a temple. He was the axis of anyone settlement. In Moscow, this function was performed by the Assumption Cathedral for centuries. In turn, according to Byzantine tradition, the temple was to be built on the relics of the saint. In this case, the relics were usually placed under the altar (sometimes also on one of the sides of the altar or at the entrance to the temple). It was the relics that represented the “heart of the city.” The name of the saint, apparently, was that very “secret name.” In other words, if the “founding stone” of Moscow was St. Basil’s Cathedral, then the “secret name” of the city would be “Vasiliev” or “Vasiliev-grad”.

However, we do not know whose relics lie at the base of the Assumption Cathedral. There is not a single mention of this in the chronicles. Probably the name of the saint was kept secret.

At the end of the 12th century, a wooden church stood on the site of the current Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. A hundred years later, Moscow Prince Daniil Alexandrovich built the first Assumption Cathedral on this site. However, for unknown reasons, 25 years later Ivan Kalita builds a new cathedral on this site. Interestingly, the temple was built on the model of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky. It's not entirely clear why? St. George's Cathedral can hardly be called a masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture. So there was something else?

Perestroika

The model temple in Yuryev-Polsky was built in 1234 by Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich on the site on the foundation of the white stone Church of St. George, which was built in 1152 when the city was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky. Apparently, some special attention was paid to this place. And the construction of the same temple in Moscow, perhaps, should have emphasized some kind of continuity.

The Assumption Cathedral in Moscow stood for less than 150 years, and then Ivan III suddenly decided to rebuild it. The formal reason is the dilapidation of the structure. Although one and a half hundred years for stone temple God knows how long. The temple was dismantled, and in its place in 1472 the construction of a new cathedral began. However, on May 20, 1474, an earthquake occurred in Moscow. The unfinished cathedral received serious damage, and Ivan decides to dismantle the remains and start building a new temple. Architects from Pskov are invited for construction, but those for mysterious reasons, categorically refuse construction.

Aristotle Fioravanti

Then Ivan III, at the insistence of his second wife Sophia Palaeologus, sends emissaries to Italy, who were supposed to bring the Italian architect and engineer Aristotle Fioravanti to the capital. By the way, in his homeland he was called the “new Archimedes.” This looks absolutely fantastic, since for the first time in the history of Rus', construction Orthodox church, the main temple of the Moscow state, a Catholic architect is invited!

From the point of view of the then tradition, he was a heretic. Why an Italian was invited, who had never seen a single Orthodox church, remains a mystery. Maybe because not a single Russian architect wanted to deal with this project.

Construction of the temple under the leadership of Aristotle Fioravanti began in 1475 and ended in 1479. Interestingly, the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was chosen as a model. Historians explain that Ivan III wanted to show the continuity of the Moscow state from the former “capital city” of Vladimir. But this again does not look very convincing, since in the second half of the 15th century, Vladimir’s former authority could hardly have any image significance.

Perhaps this was connected with the Vladimir Icon Mother of God, which in 1395 was transported from the Vladimir Assumption Cathedral to the Moscow Assumption Cathedral, built by Ivan Kalita. However, history has not preserved direct indications of this.

One of the hypotheses why Russian architects did not get down to business, and an Italian architect was invited, is connected with the personality of the second wife of John III, the Byzantine Sophia Palaeologus. Let's talk about this in a little more detail.

Sophia and the "Latin Faith"

As you know, Pope Paul II actively promoted the Greek princess as a wife to Ivan III. In 1465, her father, Thomas Palaiologos, moved her with his other children to Rome. The family settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV.

A few days after their arrival, Thomas died, having converted to Catholicism before his death. History has not left us information that Sophia converted to the “Latin faith,” but it is unlikely that the Palaiologans could remain Orthodox while living at the court of the Pope. In other words, Ivan III most likely wooed a Catholic woman. Moreover, not a single chronicle reports that Sofia converted to Orthodoxy before the wedding. The wedding took place in November 1472. In theory, it should have taken place in the Assumption Cathedral. However, shortly before this, the temple was dismantled to its foundation in order to begin new construction. This looks very strange, since about a year before this it was known about the upcoming wedding. It is also surprising that the wedding took place in a wooden church specially built near the Assumption Cathedral, which was demolished immediately after the ceremony. Why another Kremlin cathedral was not chosen remains a mystery. Perhaps the “mortgage” relic could have been the relics of a non-Orthodox saint. As you know, Sofia brought many relics as a dowry, including orthodox icons and a library. But we probably don’t know about all the relics. It is no coincidence that Pope Paul II lobbied for this marriage so much.

If during the reconstruction of the temple there was a change in the relics, then, according to the Russian tradition of urban planning, the “secret name” changed, and most importantly the fate of the city. People who understand history well and subtly know that it was with Ivan III that the change in the rhythm of Russia began. Then still the Grand Duchy of Moscow.