Which of the kings had a wife, Sophia? Sofia Paleolog: the woman who founded the Russian Empire
Sofia Paleolog-Byzantine princess.
Sofia Fominichna Palaeologus, aka Zoya Palaeologina (c. 1455 - April 7, 1503), Grand Duchess of Moscow, second wife of Ivan III, mother of Vasily III, grandmother of Ivan IV the Terrible. She came from the imperial Palaiologan dynasty.
Family
Her father, Thomas Palaiologos, was the brother of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI, and despot of the Morea (Peloponnese Peninsula).
Thomas Palaiologos, father of Sophia (fresco by Pinturicchio, Piccolomini Library)
Emperor John VIII, Sophia's uncle (fresco by Benozzo Gozzoli, Chapel of the Magi)
Emperor Constantine XI, Sophia's uncle
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.
Zoe's elder sister Elena Paleologina of Morea (1431 - November 7, 1473) was the wife of the Serbian despot Lazar Branković from 1446, and after the capture of Serbia by Muslims in 1459, she fled to the Greek island of Lefkada, where she became a nun. Thomas also had two surviving sons, Andrei Paleologus (1453–1502) and Manuel Paleologus (1455–1512).
Italy
Zoe's fate was determined by her fall 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. Zoya and her brothers, 7-year-old Andrei and 5-year-old Manuil, 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.
Sixtus IV, Titian
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, professor Latin language, professor of Greek, translator and 1-2 priests).
Vissarion of Nicaea
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 shine of her name and the glory of her ancestors were a poor bulwark against the Ottoman ships cruising in the waters of the 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
Ivan III was widowed in 1467 - his first wife Maria Borisovna, Princess Tverskaya died, leaving him with his only son, heir - Ivan the Young.
The marriage of Sophia to Ivan III was proposed in 1469 by Pope Paul II, presumably in the hope of strengthening the influence of the Catholic Church in Rus' or, perhaps, bringing the Catholic and Orthodox churches closer together - restoring the Florentine union of churches. Ivan III's motives were probably related to status, and the recently widowed monarch agreed to marry the Greek princess. The idea of marriage may have originated in the head of Cardinal Vissarion.
Negotiations lasted three years. The Russian chronicle tells: on February 11, 1469, the Greek Yuri arrived in Moscow from Cardinal Vissarion to the Grand Duke with a sheet in which Sophia, the daughter of the Amorite despot Thomas, an “Orthodox Christian” was offered to the Grand Duke as a bride (her conversion to Catholicism was kept silent). Ivan III consulted with his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, and made a positive decision.
Banner "Sermon of John the Baptist" from Oratorio San Giovanni, Urbino. Italian experts believe that Vissarion and Sofia Paleologus (3rd and 4th characters from the left) are depicted in the crowd of listeners. Gallery of the Province of Marche, Urbino.
In 1469, Ivan Fryazin (Gian Batista della Volpe) was sent to the Roman court to woo Sophia for the Grand Duke. The Sofia Chronicle testifies that a portrait of the bride was sent back to Rus' with Ivan Fryazin, and such secular painting turned out to be an extreme surprise in Moscow - “... and bring the princess written on the icon.”(This portrait has not survived, which is very unfortunate, since it was probably painted by a painter in the papal service of the generation of Perugino, Melozzo da Forli and Pedro Berruguete). The Pope received the ambassador with great honor. He asked the Grand Duke to send boyars for the bride. Fryazin went to Rome for the second time on January 16, 1472, and arrived there on May 23.
Victor Muizhel. “Ambassador Ivan Frezin presents Ivan III with a portrait of his bride Sophia Paleolog”
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 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.
Clarici Medici
On June 24, 1472, a large convoy of Sofia Paleologus, together with Fryazin, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by Cardinal Vissarion of Nicea, who was supposed to realize the emerging opportunities for the Holy See. Legend has it that Sofia's dowry included books that would form the basis of the collection of the famous library of Ivan the Terrible.
Sophia's retinue: Yuri Trakhaniot, Dmitry Trakhaniot, Prince Constantine, Dmitry (ambassador of her brothers), St. Cassian the Greek. And also the papal legate, the Genoese Anthony Bonumbre, Bishop of Accia (his chronicles are mistakenly called a cardinal). The nephew of diplomat Ivan Fryazin, architect Anton Fryazin, also arrived with her.
Fedor Bronnikov. “Meeting of Princess Sofia Palaeologus by Pskov mayors and boyars at the mouth of the Embakh on Lake Peipsi”
The travel route was as follows: north from Italy through Germany, they arrived at the port of Lubeck on September 1. (We had to go around Poland, through which travelers usually followed the land route to Rus' - at that moment she was in a state of conflict with Ivan III). The sea journey through the Baltic took 11 days. The ship landed in Kolyvan (modern Tallinn), from where the motorcade in October 1472 proceeded through Yuryev (modern Tartu), Pskov and Velikiy Novgorod. On November 12, 1472, Sofia entered Moscow.
Sofia Paleologue enters Moscow. Miniature of the Facial Chronicle Code
Even during the bride’s journey through Russian lands, it became obvious that the Vatican’s plans to make her a conductor of Catholicism failed, since Sophia immediately demonstrated a return to the faith of her ancestors. The papal legate Anthony Bonumbre was deprived of the opportunity to enter Moscow, carrying the Latin cross in front of him (see Korsun cross).
The wedding in Russia took place on November 12 (22), 1472 in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. They were married by Metropolitan Philip (according to the Sophia Vremennik - Kolomna archpriest Hosea). According to some indications, Metropolitan Philip was against a marriage union with a Uniate woman. The official grand ducal chronicle states that it was the metropolitan who crowned the grand duke, but the unofficial set (consisting of the Chronicles of Sophia II and Lvov) denies the participation of the metropolitan in this ceremony: “The archpriest of Kolomna Osei, who was the local archpriest, did not command his confessor to marry...”
The wedding of Ivan III with Sophia Paleologus in 1472. Engraving from the 19th century.
Dowry
The Moscow Kremlin Museums contain several items associated with her name. Among them are several precious reliquaries originating from the Annunciation Cathedral, whose frames were probably created in Moscow. Judging by the inscriptions, it can be assumed that she brought the relics contained in them from Rome.
Korsun Cross
"Savior Not Made by Hands." Board - 15th century (?), painting - 19th century (?), frame - last quarter (17th century). Tsata and fraction with the image of Basil the Great - 1853. MMK. According to a legend recorded in mid. 19th century, the image was brought to Moscow from Rome by Sophia Paleologus.
Pectoral reliquary icon. Frame - Moscow, second half of the 15th century; cameo - Byzantium, XII-XIII centuries. (?)
Pectoral icon. Constantinople, X-XI centuries; frame - late XIII - early XIV centuries
Icon "Our Lady Hodegetria", 15th century
Married life
Sofia's family life, apparently, was successful, as evidenced by her numerous offspring.
Special mansions and a courtyard were built for her in Moscow, but they soon burned down in 1493, and during the fire the Grand Duchess’s treasury was also destroyed. Tatishchev reports evidence that, thanks to the intervention of Sofia, the Tatar yoke was thrown off by Ivan III: when at the council of the Grand Duke the demand for tribute by Khan Akhmat was discussed, and many said that it was better to pacify the wicked with gifts than to shed blood, then Sofia allegedly burst into tears and with reproaches persuaded her husband to end the tributary relationship.
Painting by N. S. Shustov “Ivan III overthrows the Tatar yoke, tearing up the image of the khan and ordering the death of the ambassadors”
Before the invasion of Akhmat in 1480, for the sake of safety, with her children, court, noblewomen and princely treasury, Sofia was sent first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero; if Akhmat crossed the Oka and took Moscow, she was told to flee further north to the sea. This gave Vissarion, the ruler of Rostov, a reason to warn the Grand Duke against constant thoughts and excessive attachment to his wife and children in his message. One of the chronicles notes that Ivan panicked: “he was horrified and wanted to run away from the shore, and sent his Grand Duchess Roman and the treasury with her to Beloozero.”
Ovechkin N.V. Ivan III. 1988. Canvas. Oil
The family returned to Moscow only in winter. The Venetian ambassador Contarini says that in 1476 he introduced himself to the Grand Duchess Sofia, who received him politely and kindly and convincingly asked him to bow to the most serene republic on her behalf.
There is a legend associated with the birth of Sophia's son Vasily III, heir to the throne: as if during one of the pilgrimage campaigns to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, in Klementyevo, Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue had a vision St. Sergius Radonezh, who “thrown into the depths of her youth as a young man”
“Vision of St. Sergius of Radonezh to the Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologus of Moscow." Lithography. Workshop of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra. 1866
Over time, the Grand Duke's second marriage became one of the sources of tension at court. Soon enough, two groups of court nobility emerged, one of which supported the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich the Young, and the second, the new Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue. In 1476, the Venetian A. Contarini noted that the heir “is in disgrace with his father, since he behaves badly with his despina” (Sophia), but already from 1477 Ivan Ivanovich was mentioned as his father’s co-ruler.
Tsarevich Ivan Ivanovich on a walk
Avilov Mikhail Ivanovich
In subsequent years, the grand ducal family grew significantly: Sophia gave birth to the grand duke a total of nine children - five sons and four daughters.
Meanwhile, in January 1483, the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich the Young, also married. His wife was the daughter of the ruler of Moldova, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka, who immediately ended up with her mother-in-law "at knifepoint". On October 10, 1483, their son Dmitry was born. After the annexation of Tver in 1485, Ivan the Young was appointed Prince of Tver by his father; in one of the sources of this period, Ivan III and Ivan the Young are called “autocrats of the Russian land.” Thus, throughout the 1480s, Ivan Ivanovich’s position as the legal heir was quite strong.
Wedding of Ivan and Elena
The position of the supporters of Sophia Paleologus was less favorable. Thus, in particular, the Grand Duchess failed to obtain government positions for her relatives; her brother Andrei left Moscow with nothing, and her niece Maria, the wife of Prince Vasily Vereisky (heir to the Vereisko-Belozersky principality), was forced to flee to Lithuania with her husband, which also affected Sophia’s position. According to sources, Sophia, having arranged the marriage of her niece and Prince Vasily Vereisky, in 1483 gave her relative a precious piece of jewelry - a “fat” with pearls and stones, which had previously belonged to the first wife of Ivan III, Maria Borisovna. The Grand Duke, who wished to bestow a fathom on Elena Voloshanka, upon discovering the loss of the jewelry, became angry and ordered a search to begin. Vasily Vereisky did not wait for measures against himself and, capturing his wife, fled to Lithuania. One of the results of this story was the transfer of the Vereisko-Belozersky principality to Ivan III according to the will of the appanage prince Mikhail Vereisky, Vasily’s father. Only in 1493 did Sofia obtain Vasily’s favor from the Grand Duke: the disgrace was lifted.
“The great prince granted his grandson a great reign”
However, by 1490 new circumstances came into play. The son of the Grand Duke, heir to the throne Ivan Ivanovich fell ill "salk in the feet"(gout). Sophia ordered a doctor from Venice - "Mistro Leona", who arrogantly promised Ivan III to cure the heir to the throne; however, 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; a hundred years later, these rumors, now as undeniable facts, were recorded by Andrei Kurbsky. Modern historians regard the hypothesis of the poisoning of Ivan the Young as unverifiable due to a lack of sources.
Death of Grand Duke Ivan Ivanovich.
On February 4, 1498, the coronation of Prince Dmitry took place in the Assumption Cathedral. Sophia and her son Vasily were not invited. However, 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, and from that day on he did not order them to be remembered in litanies and litias, or named Grand Duke, and put them behind bailiffs.” A few days later, Vasily Ivanovich was granted a great reign; Soon Dmitry the grandson and his mother Elena Voloshanka were transferred from house arrest to captivity. Thus, the struggle within the grand ducal family ended in the victory of Prince Vasily; he turned into a co-ruler of his father and the legal heir of a huge power. The fall of Dmitry the grandson and his mother also predetermined the fate of the Moscow-Novgorod reform movement in the Orthodox Church: the Church Council of 1503 finally defeated it; many prominent and progressive figures of this movement were executed. As for the fate of those who lost the dynastic struggle themselves, it was sad: on January 18, 1505, Elena Stefanovna died in captivity, and in 1509, “in need, in prison,” Dmitry himself died. “Some believe that he died from hunger and cold, others that he suffocated from smoke.”- Herberstein reported on his death
"The Veil of Elena Voloshanka." Workshop of Elena Stefanovna Voloshanka (?) depicting the ceremony of 1498. Sophia is probably depicted in the lower left corner in a yellow cloak with a round patch on her shoulder - a tablion, a sign of royal dignity.
Death
She was buried in a massive white stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to the grave of Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III. The word “Sophia” was scratched on the lid of the sarcophagus with a sharp instrument.
This cathedral was destroyed in 1929, and the remains of Sophia, like other women of the reigning house, were transferred to the underground chamber of the southern extension of the Archangel Cathedral.
Death and burial of the Grand Duchess
Personality
Attitude of contemporaries
The Byzantine princess was not popular; she was considered smart, but proud, cunning and treacherous. The hostility towards her was even reflected in the chronicles: for example, regarding her return from Beloozero, the chronicler notes: “Grand Duchess Sophia... ran from the Tatars to Beloozero, but no one chased her away; and through which countries she walked, especially the Tatars - from the boyar slaves, from the Christian bloodsuckers. Reward them, O Lord, according to their deeds and the wickedness of their undertakings.”
The disgraced Duma man of Vasily III, Bersen Beklemishev, in a conversation with Maxim the Greek, spoke about it like this: “Our Russian land lived in silence and in peace. Just as the mother of the Grand Duke Sophia came here with your Greeks, so our land was confused and great unrest came to us, just like you did in Constantinople under your kings.” Maxim objected: “Sir, Grand Duchess Sophia was from a great family on both sides: on her father’s side - the royal family, and on her mother’s - the Grand Duke of the Italian side.” Bersen replied: “Whatever it may be; Yes, it has come to our discord.” This disorder, according to Bersen, was reflected in the fact that from that time “the great prince changed the old customs,” “now our Sovereign, having locked himself in the third place at his bedside, does all sorts of things.”
Prince Andrei Kurbsky is especially strict towards Sofia. He is convinced that “The devil instilled evil morals into the good Russian princes’ family, especially through their evil wives and sorcerers, just as among the Israeli kings, especially those whom they stole from foreigners”; accuses Sophia of poisoning John the Young, the death of Elena, the imprisonment of Dmitry, Prince Andrei Uglitsky and other persons, contemptuously calls her Greek, Greek "sorceress".
The Trinity-Sergius Monastery houses a silk shroud sewn by the hands of Sophia in 1498; her name is embroidered on the shroud, and she calls herself not the Grand Duchess of Moscow, but "Tsarina Tsaregorodskaya" Apparently, she highly valued her former title if she remembers it even after 26 years of age.
Shroud from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra
Appearance
When in 1472 Clarice Orsini and the court poet of her husband Luigi Pulci witnessed a wedding in absentia that took place in the Vatican, the poisonous wit of Pulci, in order to amuse Lorenzo the Magnificent, who remained in Florence, sent him a report about this event and the appearance of the bride:
“We entered a room where a painted doll was sitting in a chair on a high platform. She had two huge Turkish pearls on her chest, a double chin, thick cheeks, her whole face was shiny with fat, her eyes were open like bowls, and around her eyes there were such ridges of fat and meat, like high dams on the Po. The legs are also far from thin, and so are all the other parts of the body - I have never seen such a funny and disgusting person as this fairground cracker. All day long she chatted incessantly through an interpreter - this time it was her brother, the same thick-legged cudgel. Your wife, as if under a spell, saw a beauty in this monster in female form, and the translator’s speeches clearly gave her pleasure. One of our companions even admired the painted lips of this doll and thought that it spits amazingly gracefully. All day long, until the evening, she chatted in Greek, but we were not given food or drink in either Greek, Latin, or Italian. However, she somehow managed to explain to Donna Clarice that she was wearing a tight and bad dress, although the dress was made of rich silk and cut from at least six pieces of material, so that they could cover the dome of Santa Maria Rotunda. Since then, every night I dream of mountains of oil, grease, lard, rags and other similar disgusting things.”
According to the Bolognese chroniclers, who described the passage of her procession through the city, she was short in stature, had very beautiful eyes and amazingly white skin. They looked like she was 24 years old.
In December 1994, research into the remains of the princess began in Moscow. They are well preserved (almost complete skeleton with the exception of some small bones). Criminologist Sergei Nikitin, who restored her appearance using Gerasimov’s method, points out: “After comparing the skull, spine, sacrum, pelvic bones and lower extremities, taking into account the approximate thickness of the missing soft tissues and interosseous cartilage, it was possible to find out that Sophia was of short stature, about 160 cm, plump, with strong-willed facial features. Based on the degree of healing of the sutures of the skull and wear of the teeth, the biological age of the Grand Duchess was determined to be 50-60 years, which corresponds to historical data. First, her sculptural portrait was sculpted from special soft plasticine, and then a plaster cast was made and tinted to resemble Carrara marble.”
Great-great-granddaughter, Princess Maria Staritskaya. According to scientists, her face shows great resemblance with Sofia
https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofia_Palaeolog
In the middle of the 15th century, when Constantinople fell to the Turks, the 17-year-old Byzantine princess Sophia left Rome to transfer the spirit of the old empire to a new, still nascent state.
With her fairytale life and adventurous journey - from the dimly lit passages of the papal church to the snowy Russian steppes, from the secret mission behind her betrothal to the Moscow prince, to the mysterious and still unfound collection of books she brought with her from Constantinople,” we were introduced to by journalist and writer Yorgos Leonardos, author of the book “Sophia Palaiologos - from Byzantium to Rus',” as well as many other historical novels.
In a conversation with a correspondent of the Athens-Macedonian Agency about the filming of a Russian film about the life of Sophia Palaiologos, Mr. Leonardos emphasized that she was a versatile person, a practical and ambitious woman. The niece of the last Palaeologus inspired her husband, Prince Ivan III of Moscow, to create a strong state, earning the respect of Stalin almost five centuries after her death.
Russian researchers highly appreciate the contribution that Sophia left in the political and cultural history of medieval Rus'.
Giorgos Leonardos describes Sophia's personality this way: “Sophia was the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, and the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos. She was baptized in Mystras, giving her the Christian name Zoya. In 1460, when the Peloponnese was captured by the Turks, the princess, along with her parents, brothers and sister, went to the island of Kerkyra. With the participation of Vissarion of Nicaea, who by that time had already become a Catholic cardinal in Rome, Zoya and her father, brothers and sister moved to Rome. After the premature death of her parents, Vissarion took custody of three children who converted to the Catholic faith. However, Sophia's life changed when Paul II took the papal throne, who wanted her to enter into a political marriage. The princess was wooed to Moscow Prince Ivan III, hoping that Orthodox Rus' would convert to Catholicism. Sophia, who came from the Byzantine imperial family, Paul sent to Moscow as the heir of Constantinople. Her first stop after Rome was the city of Pskov, where the young girl was enthusiastically received by the Russian people.”
© Sputnik/Valentin Cheredintsev
The author of the book considers a visit to one of the Pskov churches to be a key moment in Sophia’s life: “She was impressed, and although the papal legate was next to her at the time, watching her every step, she returned to Orthodoxy, neglecting the will of the pope. On November 12, 1472, Zoya became the second wife of Moscow Prince Ivan III under the Byzantine name Sophia.”
From this moment, according to Leonardos, her brilliant path begins: “Under the influence of a deep religious feeling, Sophia convinced Ivan to throw off the burden of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, because at that time Rus' was paying tribute to the Horde. And indeed, Ivan liberated his state and united various independent principalities under his rule.”
© Sputnik/Balabanov
Sophia’s contribution to the development of the state is great, since, as the author explains, “she introduced Byzantine order at the Russian court and helped create the Russian state.”
“Since Sophia was the only heir of Byzantium, Ivan believed that he had inherited the right to the imperial throne. He adopted the yellow color of the Palaiologos and the Byzantine coat of arms - the double-headed eagle, which existed until the revolution of 1917 and was returned after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and also called Moscow the Third Rome. Since the sons of the Byzantine emperors took the name of Caesar, Ivan took this title for himself, which in Russian began to sound like “tsar”. Ivan also elevated the Archbishopric of Moscow to a patriarchy, making it clear that the first patriarchy was not Constantinople captured by the Turks, but Moscow.”
© Sputnik/Alexey Filippov
According to Yorgos Leonardos, “Sofia was the first to create in Rus', following the model of Constantinople, a secret service, the prototype of the Tsarist secret police and the Soviet KGB. This contribution of hers is still recognized by the Russian authorities today. Yes, former head Federal service security of Russia, Alexey Patrushev, on Military Counterintelligence Day on December 19, 2007, stated that the country honors Sophia Paleologus, as she defended Rus' from internal and external enemies.”
Moscow also “owes it a change in its appearance, since Sofia brought here Italian and Byzantine architects who built mainly stone buildings, for example, the Kremlin’s Archangel Cathedral, as well as the Kremlin walls that still exist today. Also, following the Byzantine model, secret passages were dug under the territory of the entire Kremlin.”
© Sputnik/Sergey Pyatakov
“The history of the modern - tsarist - state begins in Rus' in 1472. At that time, due to the climate, they did not farm here, but only hunted. Sofia convinced the subjects of Ivan III to cultivate the fields and thus marked the beginning of the formation Agriculture in the country".
Sofia’s personality was treated with respect even under Soviet rule: according to Leonardos, “when the Ascension Monastery, in which the remains of the queen were kept, was destroyed in the Kremlin, they were not only not disposed of, but by decree of Stalin they were placed in a tomb, which was then transferred to Arkhangelsk Cathedral".
Yorgos Leonardos said that Sofia brought from Constantinople 60 carts with books and rare treasures that were kept in the underground treasuries of the Kremlin and have not been found to this day.
“There are written sources,” says Mr. Leonardos, “indicating the existence of these books, which the West tried to buy from her grandson, Ivan the Terrible, which, of course, he did not agree to. Books continue to be searched to this day.”
Sophia Palaiologos died on April 7, 1503 at the age of 48. Her husband, Ivan III, became the first ruler in Russian history to be called the Great for his actions carried out with the support of Sophia. Their grandson, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, continued to strengthen the state and went down in history as one of the most influential rulers of Russia.
© Sputnik/Vladimir Fedorenko
“Sofia transferred the spirit of Byzantium to the Russian Empire that was just beginning to emerge. It was she who built the state in Rus', giving it Byzantine features, and generally enriched the structure of the country and its society. Even today in Russia there are surnames that go back to Byzantine names, as a rule, they end in -ov,” noted Yorgos Leonardos.
Regarding the images of Sophia, Leonardos emphasized that “no portraits of her have survived, but even under communism, with the help special technologies scientists recreated the queen's appearance from her remains. This is how the bust appeared, which is located near the entrance to the Historical Museum next to the Kremlin.”
“The legacy of Sofia Paleologus is Russia itself...” summed up Yorgos Leonardos.
The material was prepared by the site editors
The year of birth is approximately 1455.
Year of death - 1503
In 1472, an event occurred in the life of Moscow Prince John III that forced all European states to look with curiosity at little-known and distant “barbarian” Russia.
Having learned about John's widowhood, Pope Paul II offered him the hand of the Byzantine princess Zoe through the ambassador. After the ruin of their fatherland, the family of the Byzantine kings Palaiologos settled in Rome, where they enjoyed universal respect and patronage of the Pope.
To interest the Grand Duke, the papal legate described how decisively the princess refused two suitors - the French king and the Duke of Milan - because of her reluctance to change the Orthodox faith to the Catholic one. In fact, as contemporaries believed, the suitors for Zoya’s hand abandoned her themselves after learning about her excessive plumpness and lack of a dowry. Precious time passed, there were still no suitors, and Zoya most likely faced an unenviable fate: a monastery.
Reconstruction based on the skull of S. A. Nikitin, 1994
John was delighted with the honor offered to him, and together with his mother, the clergy and the boyars, he decided that such a bride had been sent to him from God himself. After all, in Rus' the nobility and extensive family ties of the future wife were highly valued. After some time John III They brought a portrait of the bride from Italy - she caught his eye.
Presentation of the portrait of Sophia Paleologus to Ivan III
Unfortunately, Zoya's portrait has not survived. It is only known that with a height of about 156 cm, she was considered the most voluptuous reigning person in Europe - however, already at the end of her life. But, according to Italian historians, Zoya had amazingly beautiful big eyes and skin of incomparable whiteness. Many noted her affectionate behavior with guests and her ability to do needlework.
“Sources that describe in some detail the circumstances of the marriage of Sophia Paleologus and Ivan III, say almost nothing about the intentions of the bride herself: did she want to become the wife of a widower who already had an heir to the throne, and go to a distant and little-known northern country where she had no no friends or acquaintances? - notes historian Lyudmila Morozova. - All negotiations about marriage took place behind the bride’s back. No one even bothered to describe to her the appearance of the Moscow prince, the features of his character, etc. They got by with only a few phrases about how he is “a great prince, and his land is in Orthodox faith Christian."
Those around the princess apparently believed that she, as a dowry-free and orphan, did not have to choose...
Presentation of the dowry to Sofia Paleolog
It is likely that life in Rome was joyless for Zoe... No one wanted to take into account the interests of this girl, who had become a dumb toy in the hands of Catholic politicians. Apparently, the princess was so tired of their intrigues that she was ready to go anywhere, as long as she was away from Rome.”
SOFIA PALEOLOGIST ARRIVAL IN MOSCOW
Ivan Anatolyevich Kovalenko
On January 17, 1472, ambassadors were sent for the bride. They were received with great honors in Rome, and on June 1 the princess in the church of St. Petra was betrothed to the Russian sovereign - he was represented at the ceremony by chief ambassador. So Zoya went to Moscow, which she knew almost nothing about, to her thirty-year-old husband. “Faithful” people had already managed to whisper to her that John had a sweetheart in Moscow. Or not even one...
F. Bronnikov. Meeting of the Greek princess Sophia Paleologus. Photo from a pictorial sketch from the Bronnikov archive. Shadrinsky Museum of Local Lore named after. V.P. Biryukova
The journey lasted six months. Zoya was greeted everywhere as an empress, giving her due honors. Early in the morning of November 12, Zoya, named Sophia in Orthodoxy, entered Moscow. The Metropolitan was waiting for her in the church and, having received his blessing, she went to John’s mother and there she saw her groom for the first time. The Grand Duke - tall and thin, with a beautiful noble face - liked the Greek princess. The wedding was also celebrated on the same day.
Wedding of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus.
From time immemorial, the Byzantine emperor was considered the main defender of all Eastern Christianity. Now, when Byzantium was enslaved by the Turks, the Grand Duke of Moscow became such a defender: with the hand of Sophia, he, as it were, inherited the rights of the Palaiologos. And he even adopted the coat of arms of the Eastern Roman Empire - the double-headed eagle. From that time on, all seals, which were attached to cords on cords, began to depict a double-headed eagle on one side, and on the other, the ancient Moscow coat of arms - St. George the Victorious on a horse, slaying a dragon.
Double headed eagle on the regalia of Sophia Paleologus 1472
The day after the wedding, Cardinal Anthony, who arrived in the bride’s retinue, began negotiations on the union of churches - the purpose for which, as historians note, Sophia’s marriage was mainly conceived. But the cardinal's embassy ended in nothing, and he soon left without a meal. And Zoya, as N.I. Kostomarov noted, “during her life she deserved the reproach and censure of the Pope and his supporters, who were very mistaken in her, hoping through her to introduce the Florentine Union into Moscow Rus'.”
F. Bronnikov. Meeting of the Greek princess Sophia Paleologus. Drawing option. Paper, pencil, ink, pen. Shadrinsky Museum of Local Lore named after. V.P. Biryukova
Sophia brought with her to Russia the splendor and charm of the imperial name. Until recently, the Grand Duke traveled to the Horde, bowed to the khan and his nobles, as his ancestors had bowed for two centuries. But when Sophia entered the grand-ducal court, Ivan Vasilyevich spoke to the khan in a completely different way.
John III overthrows the Tatar yoke, tearing up the Khan's charter and ordering the death of the ambassadors
Shustov Nikolay Semenovich
The chronicles report: it was Sophia who insisted that the Grand Duke not go out on foot, as was customary before her, to meet the Horde ambassadors, so that he would not bow to the ground to them, would not bring a cup of kumis and would not listen to the Khan’s letter on his knees. She sought to attract cultural figures and doctors from Italy to the Moscow Principality. It was under her that the construction of remarkable architectural monuments began. She personally gave audiences to strangers and had her own circle of diplomats.
Meeting Sophia Paleolog
Ivan Anatolyevich Kovalenko
Grand Duchess Sophia had three daughters. She and her husband were really looking forward to their son, and God finally listened to their fervent prayers: in 1478 (according to other sources - in 1479) their son Vasily was born.
Meeting the princess
Fedor Bronnikov
The son of the Grand Duke from his first wife, John the Young, immediately took hostility to his stepmother, often was rude to her and did not show due respect. The Grand Duke hastened to marry his son and alienated him from the court, then brought him closer again and declared him heir to the throne. John the Young was already taking an active part in the affairs of the government, when suddenly he suddenly fell ill from some unknown disease like leprosy and died in 1490.
Wedding train.
In the carriage - Sophia Paleolog
with friends"
The question was raised of who should inherit the throne: the son of John the Young, Demetrius, or Vasily, the son of Sophia. The boyars, who were hostile to the arrogant Sophia, took the side of the former. They accused Vasily and his mother of having evil plans against the Grand Duke and incited the Grand Duke in such a way that he alienated his son, lost interest in Sophia, and most importantly, solemnly crowned his grandson Dimitri to the great reign. It is known that during this period the Grand Duchess lost two children one after another, who were born premature... As historians say, on the very day of the coronation the sovereign seemed sad - it was noticeable that he was sad about his wife, with whom he had lived happily for twenty-five years, about his son , whose birth always seemed to him to be a special favor of fate...
Embroidered shroud 1498. In the lower left corner is Sophia Paleologus. Her clothes are decorated with a round tablion, a brown circle on a yellow background - a sign of royal dignity. Click to see larger image.
A year passed, the machinations of the boyars, thanks to the efforts of Sophia, were revealed, and they paid severely for their machinations. Vasily was declared heir to the throne, and Sophia again regained the favor of John.
Death of Sophia Paleologue. Copy of a miniature from the front chronicle of the second half of the 16th century.
Sophia died in 1503 (according to other sources, in 1504), mourned by her husband and children. The chronicles do not contain any information about the reasons for her death. She did not have a chance to see her grandson - the future Ivan the Terrible. Her husband, John III, survived her only by a year...
Plaster copy of the skull of Ivan the Terrible
with the main contours of the skull superimposed on it
(lighter) Sophia Paleolog.
Text by E. N. Oboymina and O. V. Tatkova
"Your fate is sealed,
-That's what they say when in heaven
Known choice and soul
Inevitability accepts
Like the lot she created."
Marina Gussar
Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue
“The main effect of this marriage... was that Russia became more famous in Europe, which honored the tribe of the ancient Byzantine emperors in Sofia and, so to speak, followed it with its eyes to the borders of our fatherland... Moreover, many Greeks who came to us with princess, they became useful in Russia with their knowledge of arts and languages, especially Latin, which was then necessary for external affairs of state; enriched Moscow church libraries with books saved from Turkish barbarism and contributed to the splendor of our court by imparting to it the magnificent rites of Byzantium, so that from now on the capital of Ioann could truly be called the new Constantinople, like ancient Kyiv.”
N. Karamzin
“Great Constantinople (Constantinopolis), this acropolis of the universe, the royal capital of the Romans, which by God’s permission was under the rule of the Latins,” fell on May 29, 1453.
Capture of Constantinople by Turkish troops
The great Christian city was dying, slowly, terribly and irrevocably turning into the great Muslim Istanbul.
The struggle was merciless and bloody, the resistance of the besieged was incredibly stubborn, the assault began in the morning, the Turks failed to take the city gates, and only in the evening, breaking through the wall with a gunpowder explosion, the besiegers burst into the city, where they immediately encountered unprecedented resistance - the defenders of the most ancient Christian stronghold stood to the death - of course! - how could one chicken out or retreat when among them, like a simple warrior, he fought until his last breath, all wounded and bloody great emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos, and then he did not yet know that just a few seconds later, in the dazzling last moment of his life, rapidly collapsing into darkness, he would forever go down in history as the last Byzantine emperor. Padaya whispered: “Tell Thomas - let him save his head! Where the head is - there is Byzantium, there is our Rome!” Then he wheezed, blood gushed from his throat, and he lost consciousness.
Constantine XI, Sophia's uncle. 19th century drawing
The body of Emperor Constantine was recognized by small golden double-headed eagles on purple morocco boots.
The faithful servant understood perfectly what the words of the late emperor meant: his younger brother - Thomas Paleologus, the ruler, or, as they said here, the despot of Morea, must make every effort to preserve and protect from the Turks the greatest Christian shrine that he kept - the most revered by all Orthodox world relics of the intercessor and patron of the Byzantine, Greek church - the head Apostle Andrew.
Saint Andrew the First-Called. St. Andrew's flag is firmly established in the Russian navy, and its meaning is also well-established: it was accepted “for the sake of the fact that Russia received holy baptism from this apostle”
Yes, yes, the same Andrew the First-Called, sibling Saint Peter, equally great martyr and faithful disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ himself...
Thomas took the dying request of his brother, who heroically fell in battle, very close to his heart and thought for a long time about what he should do to fulfill it properly...
The great shrine, which was kept in Patros It was necessary not only to save it from being captured by the Turks, it had to be preserved in time, moved somewhere, hidden somewhere... Otherwise, how should we understand the words of Constantine “Where the head is, there is Byzantium, there is our Rome!”? The head of the apostle is now here, with Thomas, Rome is in Italy, the Byzantine Empire - alas! - fell along with the fall of Constantinople... What did the brother mean... What does “our Rome” mean? Soon, with all the inexorability of the cruel truth, it became clear that Morea would not withstand the onslaught of the Turks. The last fragments of Byzantium, the second great Roman Empire, crumbled to dust. Peninsula, southern part of Greece, in ancient times the Peloponnese; received the name Moray in the 13th century, from the Slavic “sea”. In the 15th century in the Peloponnese there were several despotates who were formally dependent on Byzantium, but in fact obeyed only their rulers - despots, two of whom, Thomas and Michael, were the younger brothers of Emperor Constantine.
Thomas Paleologus. 11 - Despot of Morea
And suddenly Thomas had an epiphany - he suddenly understood what his brother meant - Constantine undoubtedly believed in a new revival of the empire, he believed that it would certainly arise where our main Greek shrine would be located! But where? How? In the meantime, the safety of his wife and children had to be taken care of - the Turks were approaching. In 1460, Morea was captured by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, Thomas and his family left Morea. Despot Thomas Palaiologos had four children. The eldest daughter Elena had just left her father's house, having married the Serbian king, and the boys Andreas and Manuel remained with her parents, as well as youngest child- daughter Zoya, who was 3 years old at the time of the fall of Constantinople.
In 1460, despot Thomas Palaiologos with his family and the greatest shrines of the Christian world, including the head of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, sailed to the once Greek island Kerkyra, which since 1386 belonged to Venetian Republic and therefore was called in Italian - Corfu. The city-state of Venice, a maritime republic that was experiencing a period of greatest growth, remained the most prosperous and wealthy city in the entire Apennine Peninsula until the 16th century.
Thomas Palaiologos began to establish relations with Venice, a longtime rival of the Byzantines, almost simultaneously with the capture of Constantinople by the Turks. Thanks to the Venetians, Corfu remained the only part of Greece that did not fall under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. From there the exile is transported to Ancona, a port under the control of the Republic of St. Mark. There is no doubt that in 1463 Thomas Palaiologos, together with the Papal-Venetian flotilla, was going to go on a campaign against the Ottomans. His family at that time was under the guardianship of the Venetians in Corfu, they also transported Zoya and her brothers to Rome, having heard about their father’s illness, but, obviously, even after that the Venetian Senate did not interrupt ties with the high-born refugees.
Long before the siege of the Byzantine capital, the wise Konstantin secretly, under the guise of ordinary merchant cargo, he sent Thomas a collection of the most valuable books from the Constantinople library, accumulated over centuries. In the far corner of the large harbor of the island of Corfu there was already one ship of Thomas Palaiologos, sent here a few months earlier. In the holds of this ship were treasures of human wisdom that almost no one knew anything about.
It was here a large number of volumes of the rarest publications in Greek, Latin and Jewish languages, ranging from unique and very ancient copies of the gospels, the main works of most ancient historians, philosophers and writers, works on mathematics, astronomy, arts and ending with secretly kept manuscripts of predictions of prophets and astrologers, as well as books , revealing the secrets of long-forgotten magics. Constantine once told him that the remains of the library burned by Herostratus, papyri of Egyptian priests, and sacred texts taken by Alexander the Great from Persia are kept there.
One day, Thomas brought ten-year-old Zoya to this ship, showed her the holds and said:
- “This is your dowry, Zoya. The knowledge of great people of the past is hidden here, and their books contain the key to the future. Some of them I will later give you to read. The rest will wait for you to come of age and marry.”
So they settled on the island Corfu, where they lived for almost five years.
However, Zoya hardly saw her father during these years.
Having hired the best mentors for the children, he left them in the care of their mother, his beloved wife Catherine, and, taking with him the sacred relic, he went to Rome in 1460 in order to solemnly present it to Pope Paul II, hoping in return to receive confirmation of his rights to the Constantinople throne and military support in the fight for his return - by this time Thomas Palaiologos remained the only legal heir fallen Emperor Constantine.
Dying Byzantium, hoping to receive military assistance from Europe in the fight against the Turks, signed a 1439 year Union of Florence for the unification of Churches, and now its rulers could seek refuge with the papal throne.
On March 7, 1461, in Rome, the Morean despot was greeted with worthy honors, the head Apostle Andrew during a magnificent and majestic service with a huge crowd of people placed in the cathedral St. Peter's, and Foma was assigned a very high salary for those times - 6,500 ducats per year. The Pope awarded him the Order of the Golden Rose. Thomas remained to live in Italy.
However, over time, he began to gradually understand that his hopes were unlikely to ever be realized and that, most likely, he would remain a respected but useless exile.
His only consolation was his friendship with the cardinal Vissarion, which began and strengthened in the process of his efforts to receive support from Rome.
Vissarion of Nicaea
This unusually talented man was known as the leader of the Byzantine Latinophiles. Literary gift, erudition, ambition and ability to flatter the powers that be, and, of course, commitment to the union contributed to his successful career. He studied in Constantinople, then took monastic vows in one of the monasteries of the Peloponnese, and in the capital of the Morea, Mystras, he asceticised at the philosophical school of Gemistos Pletho. In 1437, at the age of 35, he was elected Metropolitan of Nicaea. However, Nicaea had long been conquered by the Turks, and this magnificent title was needed to give additional weight to the supporters of the union at the meetings of the upcoming council. For the same reasons, another Latinophile, Isidore, was ordained metropolitan of Moscow by the Patriarch of Constantinople without the consent of the Russians.
Catholic Cardinal Bessarion of Nicea, a Greek and a favorite of the pope, advocated the unification of Christian churches in the face of the Turkish threat. Coming every few months to Corfu, Thomas would talk for a long time with the children, sitting in his black throne-chair, inlaid with gold and ivory, with a large double-headed Byzantine eagle above the head.
He prepared the young men Andreas and Manuel for the humiliating future of princes without a kingdom, poor petitioners, seekers of rich brides - he tried to teach them how to maintain dignity in this situation and arrange their lives tolerably, not forgetting belonging to their ancient, proud and once powerful family . But he also knew that without wealth and lands they had no chance of reviving the former glory of the Great Empire. And therefore he pinned his hopes on Zoya.
His beloved daughter Zoya grew up as a very smart girl, but from the age of four she knew how to read and write in Greek and Latin, was very capable of languages, and now, at the age of thirteen, she already knew the ancient and modern history, knew the basics of mathematics and astronomy, retold entire chapters from Homer from memory, and most importantly, she loved to study, a spark of thirst for knowledge of the secrets of the world that was opening up before her sparkled in her eyes, Furthermore, she already seemed to have guessed that her life in this world would not be at all simple, but this did not frighten her, did not stop her, on the contrary, she sought to learn as much as possible, as if she were preparing with passion and ecstasy for a long, dangerous, but unusually exciting game .
The twinkle in Zoya’s eyes instilled great hope in her father’s heart, and he began to gradually and gradually prepare his daughter for the great mission that he was going to entrust to her.
When Zoya was fifteen years old, a hurricane of misfortunes hit the girl. At the beginning of 1465, Catherine Zaccaria's mother suddenly died. Her death shocked everyone - children, relatives, servants, but she simply struck down Foma. He lost interest in everything, was sad, lost weight, seemed to be decreasing in size, and it soon became clear that he was fading away.
However, suddenly the day came when it seemed to everyone that Thomas seemed to come to life: he came to the children, asked Zoya to accompany him to the port, and there they climbed onto the deck of the very ship where Zoya’s dowry was kept, and sailed with their daughter and sons to Rome .
Rome. The eternal City
However, they did not live together in Rome for long; soon, on May 12, 1465, Thomas died at the age of 56. The sense of self-worth and beauty that Thomas managed to preserve into old age made a great impression on the Italians. He also pleased them by officially converting to Catholicism.
Took over the education of the royal orphans Vatican, entrusting them to the cardinal Vissarion of Nicea. A Greek from Trebizond, he was equally at home in both Greek and Latin cultural circles. He managed to combine the views of Plato and Aristotle, the Greek and Roman forms of Christianity.
However, when Zoya Palelog found herself in Vissarion’s care, his star had already set. Paul II, who donned the papal tiara in 1464, and his successor Sixtus IV did not like Vissarion, who supported the idea of limiting papal power. The cardinal went into the shadows, and once he even had to retire to the monastery of Grota Feratta.
Nevertheless, he raised Zoe Paleologus 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. “You will have everything if you imitate the Latins; otherwise you will get nothing.”
Zoya (Sofia) Paleolog
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: “Truly she... is 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.” The Italian princess Clarissa Orsini, who came from a noble Roman family closely associated with the papal throne, the wife of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who visited Zoe in Rome in 1472, found her beautiful, and this news has been preserved for centuries.
Pope Paul II allocated 3,600 ecus per year for the maintenance of orphans (200 ecus per month for children, their clothes, horses and servants; plus it was necessary to save for a rainy day, and spend 100 ecus on the maintenance of a modest courtyard). The court included a doctor, a professor of Latin, a professor of Greek, a translator and 1-2 priests.
It was then that Cardinal Vissarion very carefully and delicately hinted to the Byzantine princess about the possibility of marriage with one of the richest young men in Italy, Federico Gonzago, the eldest son of Louis Gonzago, ruler of the richest Italian city of Mantua.
Banner "Sermon of John the Baptist" from Oratorio San Giovanni, Urbino. Italian experts believe that Vissarion and Sofia Paleologus (3rd and 4th characters from the left) are depicted in the crowd of listeners. Gallery of the Province of Marche, Urbino
However, as soon as the cardinal began to take these actions, it suddenly turned out that the father of the possible groom had heard from nowhere about the extreme poverty of the bride and lost all interest in her as his son’s prospective bride.
A year later, the cardinal hinted at Prince Carracciolo, who also belonged to one of the richest families in Italy, but as soon as the matter began to move forward, some pitfalls were revealed again.
Cardinal Vissarion was a wise and experienced man - he knew very well that nothing happens on its own.
Having conducted a secret investigation, the cardinal definitely found out that with the help of complex and subtle intrigues, deftly woven by Zoya herself using her maids and chambermaids, in both cases she tried to upset the matter, but in such a way that the refusal in no case came from her, poor orphan, who should not neglect such suitors.
After thinking a little, the cardinal decided that it was a matter of religion and that Zoya must want a husband who belonged to the Orthodox Church.
To check this, he soon offered his pupil an Orthodox Greek - James Lusignian, the illegitimate son of the Cypriot king John II, who, having forcibly taken the crown from his sister, usurped his father's throne. And then the cardinal became convinced that he was right.
Zoya really liked this proposal, she carefully examined it from all sides, hesitated for some time, it even came to an engagement, but in last minute Zoya changed her mind and refused the groom, but then the cardinal knew exactly why and began to understand something. Zoya correctly calculated that the throne under Jacob was shaking, that he did not have a confident future, and then in general - well, what kind of kingdom is this, after all - some kind of pitiful Cyprus island! Zoya made it clear to her teacher that she was a Byzantine princess, and not a simple prince’s daughter, and the cardinal temporarily stopped his attempts. And it was then that good old Pope Paul II unexpectedly fulfilled his promise to the orphan princess so dear to his heart. Not only did he find her a worthy groom, he also solved a number of political problems.
Destiny's sought-after gift awaits cutting
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 marriage of Princess Zoe, 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.
Firstly, through a Catholic wife it would be possible to positively 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, had grown up on the steps of his throne.
Secondly, it would be a huge political victory to gain Moscow's support against the Turks.
And finally, Thirdly, in itself, strengthening ties with distant Russian principalities is of great importance for all European politics.
So, by the irony of history, this fateful marriage for Russia was inspired by the Vatican. All that remained was to obtain Moscow's consent.
In February 1469 In the same year, the ambassador of Cardinal Vissarion arrived in Moscow with a letter to the Grand Duke, in which he was invited to legally marry the daughter of the Despot of Morea.
According to the ideas of that time, Sophia was considered an elderly woman, but she was very attractive, with amazingly beautiful, expressive eyes and soft matte skin, which in Rus' was considered a sign of excellent health. And most importantly, she was distinguished by a sharp mind and an article worthy of a Byzantine princess.
The Moscow sovereign accepted the offer. He sent his ambassador, the Italian Gian Battista della Volpe (he was nicknamed Ivan Fryazin in Moscow), to Rome to make a match. This nobleman from Vicenza, a city ruled by Venice since 1404, originally lived in the Golden Horde, in 1459 he entered the service of Moscow as a coin master and became known as Ivan Fryazin. He ended up in both the Horde and Moscow, probably at the behest of his Venetian patrons.
The ambassador returned a few months later, in November, bringing with him a portrait of the bride. This portrait, which seemed to mark the beginning of the era of Sophia Paleologus in Moscow, is considered the first secular image in Rus'. At least, they were so amazed by it that the chronicler called the portrait an “icon,” without finding another word: “And bring the princess on the icon.” By the way, the word “icon” originally meant “drawing”, “image”, “image” in Greek.
V. Muizhel. “Ambassador Ivan Frezin presents Ivan III with a portrait of his bride Sophia Paleolog”
However, the matchmaking dragged on because Moscow Metropolitan Philip for a long time objected to the sovereign’s marriage to a Uniate woman, who was also a pupil of the papal throne, fearing the spread of Catholic influence in Rus'. Only in January 1472, having received the consent of the hierarch, Ivan III sent an embassy to Rome for the bride, since a compromise was found: in Moscow, secular and church authorities agreed that before the wedding Zoya would be baptized according to the Orthodox rite.
Pope Sixtus IV
On May 21, a ceremonial reception of Russian ambassadors took place at Pope Sixtus IV, which was attended by representatives of Venice, Milan, Florence, and the Duke of Ferrara.
Reception at Sixtus IV. Melozzo da Forli
Already on June 1, at the insistence of Cardinal Vissarion, a symbolic betrothal took place in Rome - the engagement of Princess Sophia and the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan, who was represented by the Russian ambassador Ivan Fryazin.
Pope Sixtus IV treated the orphan with paternal concern: he gave Zoe as a dowry, in addition to gifts, about 6,000 ducats and sent letters in advance to the cities in which, in the name of respect due to the apostolic throne, he asked to accept Zoe with goodwill and kindness. Vissarion was also concerned about the same thing; he wrote to the Sienese in case the bride passed through their city: “We earnestly ask you to mark her arrival with some kind of celebration and take care of a dignified reception.” Not surprisingly, Zoe's journey was something of a triumph.
On June 24, having said goodbye to the pope in the Vatican gardens, Zoya headed to the far north. On the way to Moscow, the bride of the “white emperor,” as the Duke of Milan Francesco Sforza called Ivan III in his message, was accompanied by a retinue of Greeks, Italians and Russians, including Yuri Trachaniot, Prince Constantine, Dmitry - the ambassador of the Zoe brothers, and the Genoese Anton Bonumbre , Bishop of Accia (our chronicles mistakenly call him a cardinal), papal legate, whose mission should act in favor of the subordination of the Russian Church.
Many cities in Italy and Germany (according to surviving news: Sienna, Bologna, Vicenza ( hometown Wolpe), Nuremberg, Lübeck) met and saw off her with royal honor, and festivities were held in honor of the princess.
Almost the Kremlin wall in Vicenza. Italy
So, in Bologna, Zoya was received in his palace by one of the main local lords. The princess repeatedly showed herself to the crowd and aroused general surprise with her beauty and richness of attire. The relics of St. were visited with extraordinary pomp. Dominica, she was accompanied by the most distinguished young people. Bolognese chroniclers talk about Zoya with delight.
Saint Domenic. Founder of the Dominican Order
On the 4th month of the journey, Zoya finally set foot on Russian soil. On October 1st she left Kolyvani(Tallinn), was soon in Dorpat, where the messengers of the Grand Duke came to meet their future empress, and then went to Pskov.
N.K. Roerich. Old Pskov. 1904
On October 1, a messenger galloped to Pskov and announced at the assembly: “The princess crossed the sea, the daughter of Thomas, the Tsar of Constantinople, is going to Moscow, her name is Sophia, she will be your empress, and the wife of Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich. And you would meet her and accept her honestly.” The messenger galloped further, to Novgorod, to Moscow, and the Pskovites, as the chronicle reports “... the mayors and boyars went to meet the princess in Izborsk, lived here for a whole week, when a messenger arrived from Dorpat (Tartu) with an order to go meet her on the German coast.”
The Pskovites began to feed the honey and collect food, and sent six large decorated ships, posadniks and boyars in advance to “honorably” meet the princess. On October 11, near the mouth of the Embakh, the mayors and boyars met the princess and beat her with cups and golden horns filled with honey and wine. On the 13th, the princess arrived in Pskov and stayed for exactly 5 days. The Pskov authorities and nobility presented her and her retinue with gifts and gave her 50 rubles. The affectionate reception touched the princess, and she promised the Pskovites her intercession before her future husband. The legate Accia, who accompanied her, had to obey: follow her to the church, and there venerate the holy icons and venerate the image of the Mother of God on the orders of the despina.
F. A. Bronnikov. Meeting the princess. 1883
Probably, the Pope would never have believed it if he had known that the future Grand Duchess of Moscow, as soon as she found herself on Russian soil, while still on her way to the wedding in Moscow, insidiously betrayed all his quiet hopes, immediately forgetting all her Catholic upbringing . Sophia, apparently dating as a child Athonite elders, opponents of the Union of Florence, 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.
She immediately openly, brightly and demonstratively showed her devotion to Orthodoxy, to the delight of the Russians, venerating all the icons in all churches, impeccably behaving Orthodox service, being baptized like an Orthodox Christian.
But even before that, while on board the ship carrying Princess Sophia for eleven days from Lübeck to Revel, from where the cortege would head further to Moscow by land, she remembered her father.
Sophia sat thoughtfully on the deck, looking somewhere into the distance beyond the horizon, not paying attention to the persons accompanying her - Italians and Russians - standing respectfully at a distance, and it seemed to her as if she saw a light radiance that came from somewhere above, permeating everything the body is carried away into the heavenly heights, there, far, far away, where all souls are carried away and where the soul of her father is now...
Sophia peered into the distant invisible land and thought only about one thing - whether she did the right thing; Did you make a mistake in your choice? Will she be able to serve the birth of the Third Rome where her tight sails are now carrying her? And then it seemed to her that an invisible light warmed her, gave her strength and confidence that everything would succeed - and how could it be otherwise - after all, from now on, where she, Sophia, is, there is now Byzantium, there is the Third Rome, in her new homeland - Muscovy.
Kremlin despina
In the early morning of November 12, 1472, Sophia Paleologus arrived in Moscow, where her first meeting with Ivan and the throne city took place. Everything was ready for the wedding celebration, timed to coincide with the name day of the Grand Duke - the day of remembrance of St. John Chrysostom. The betrothal took place in the house of the Grand Duke's mother. 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.”
Ivan III Vasilievich
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.
The wedding of Ivan III with Sophia Paleologus in 1472. Engraving from the 19th century.
The wedding in a wooden church made a strong impression on Sophia Paleolog. One can imagine how shocked she was by the old Kremlin cathedrals dating back to the Kalitin era (the first half of the 14th century) and the dilapidated white stone walls and towers of the fortress built under Dmitry Donskoy. After Rome, with its St. Peter's Cathedral and the cities of continental Europe with their magnificent stone structures of different eras and styles, it was probably difficult for the Greek princess Sophia to reconcile with the fact that her wedding ceremony took place in a temporary wooden church that stood on the site of the dismantled Assumption Cathedral XIV century.
She brought a generous dowry to Rus'. After the wedding, Ivan III adopted the Byzantine double-headed eagle as a coat of arms - 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. Actually, 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. Seeing wooden Moscow, burnt after the fire of 1470, Sophia was afraid for the fate of the treasure and for the first time hid the books in the basement stone church The Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Senya - the house church of the Moscow Grand Duchesses, built by order of St. Eudokia, widow of Dmitry Donskoy. And, according to Moscow custom, she put her own treasury for preservation in the underground of the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist - the very first church in Moscow, which stood until 1847.
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 bone with scenes on biblical themes carved on them, and an image of a unicorn was placed on the back of the throne. This throne is known to us as the throne of Ivan the Terrible: the king is depicted on it by the sculptor M. Antokolsky. (In 1896 the throne was installed in Assumption Cathedral for the coronation of Nicholas II. But the sovereign ordered it to be staged for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (according to other sources, for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna), and he himself wished to be crowned on the throne of the first Romanov). And now the throne of Ivan the Terrible is the oldest in the Kremlin collection.
Throne of Ivan the Terrible
Sophia also brought with her several Orthodox icons.
Our Lady "Hodegetria". The gold earrings with eagles attached to the Virgin Mary's necklace were undoubtedly "attached" by the Grand Duchess
Our Lady on the throne. Cameo on lapis lazuli
And even after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III, the founder of the Palaeologus dynasty, with which the Moscow rulers became related, appeared in the Archangel Cathedral. Thus, the continuity of Moscow to the Byzantine Empire was established, and the Moscow sovereigns appeared as the heirs of the Byzantine emperors.
With the arrival in the capital of Russia in 1472 of the Greek princess, heiress former greatness Palaiologos, 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 for Ivan III. The Grand Duke sent embassies to Italy five times. But their task was not to establish connections in the field of politics or trade. All of them returned to Moscow with large groups of specialists, among whom were architects, doctors, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths. Twice Sophia's brother Andreas came to the Russian capital with Russian embassies (Russian sources called him Andrey). It so happened that the Grand Duchess for some time maintained contact with one of the members of her family, which had broken up due to difficult historical events.
It should be recalled that the traditions of the Russian Middle Ages, which strictly limited the role of women to household chores, extended to the family of the Grand Duke and representatives of noble families. That is why so little information has been preserved about the lives of the great Russian princesses. Against this background, the life story of Sophia Paleolog is reflected in written sources in much more detail. However, it is worth noting that Grand Duke Ivan III treated his wife, who received a European upbringing, with great love and understanding and even allowed her to give audiences to foreign ambassadors. In the memoirs of foreigners about Rus' in the second half of the 15th century, records of such meetings with the Grand Duchess were preserved. In 1476, the Venetian envoy Contarini was introduced to the Moscow empress. This is how he recalled it, describing his trip to Persia: “The Emperor also wished me to visit Despina. I did this with due bows and appropriate words; then a long conversation followed. Despina addressed me with such kind and courteous speeches as could be said; she urgently asked that her greetings be conveyed to the Serene Signoria; and I said goodbye to her.” Sophia, according to some researchers, even had her own thought, the composition of which was determined by the Greek and Italian aristocrats who came with her and settled in Rus', in particular, the prominent diplomats of the late 15th century Trachaniotes. In 1490, Sophia Paleologus met in her part of the Kremlin palace with the Tsar's ambassador Delator. Special mansions were built for the Grand Duchess in Moscow. Under Sophia, the grand ducal court was distinguished by its splendor. The kingship ceremony owes its appearance to the dynastic marriage of Ivan III with Sophia. Near 1490 year, the image of a crowned double-headed eagle first appeared on the front portal of the Chamber of Facets.
Detail of the throne of Ivan the Terrible
The Byzantine concept of the sacredness of imperial power influenced Ivan III’s introduction of “theology” (“by God’s grace”) in the title and in the preamble of state charters.
Construction of the Kremlin
The “Great Greek” 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 didn’t like that her sovereign husband remained a tributary of the Tatar Khan, that the boyars’ entourage behaved too freely with their sovereign, so the boyars were hostile to Sophia. That the Russian capital, built entirely of wood, stands with patched fortress walls and dilapidated stone churches. That even the sovereign's mansions in the Kremlin are made of wood and that Russian women look at the world from a small window. Sophia Paleolog not only made changes at court.
Some Moscow monuments owe their appearance to her. There is no doubt that the stories of Sophia and the representatives of the Greek and Italian nobility who came with her about the beautiful examples of church and civil architecture of Italian cities, about their impregnable fortifications, about the use of everything advanced in military affairs and other branches of science and technology to strengthen the position of the country, influenced the decision of Ivan III to “open a window to Europe”, to attract foreign craftsmen to rebuild the Kremlin, especially after the disaster of 1474, when the Assumption Cathedral, built by Pskov craftsmen, collapsed. Rumors immediately spread among the people that the trouble was caused by a “Greek woman” who had previously been in “Latinism.” However, the great husband of the Greeks wanted to see Moscow equal in beauty and majesty to the European capitals and to maintain his own prestige, as well as to emphasize the continuity of Moscow not only to the Second, but also to the First Rome. The following people took part in the reconstruction of the residence of the Moscow sovereign: Italian masters like Aristotle Fiorovanti, Pietro Antonio Solari, Marco Fryazin, Anton Fryazin, Aleviz Fryazin, Aleviz Novy. Italian masters in Moscow were called common name“Fryazin” (from the word “fryag”, that is, “franc”). And the current towns of Fryazino and Fryazevo near Moscow are a kind of “Little Italy”: it was there at the end of the 15th century that Ivan III gave out estates to numerous Italian “fryags” who came to his service.
Much of what is now preserved in the Kremlin was built precisely under Grand Duchess Sophia. Several centuries passed, but she saw the Assumption Cathedral and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Faceted Chamber (so named on the occasion of its decoration in Italian style- edges). And the Kremlin itself - the fortress that guarded the ancient center of the capital of Rus' - grew and was created before her eyes.
Faceted Chamber. 1487-1491
Interior view in the Chamber of Facets
Scientists have noticed that the Italians traveled to the unknown Muscovy without fear, because despina could give them protection and help. Whether this is true or not, only the Russian ambassador Semyon Tolbuzin, sent by Ivan III to Italy, invited Fioravanti to Moscow, because he was famous in his homeland as “new Archimedes,” and he happily agreed.
A special, secret order awaited him in Moscow, after which at the beginning of July 1475 Fioravanti set off on a journey.
Having examined the buildings of Vladimir, Bogolyubov and Suzdal, he went further north: on behalf of the Duke of Milan, he needed to get him white gyrfalcons, which were very highly valued in Europe. Fioravanti reached the shore of the White Sea, visiting along the way Rostov, Yaroslavl, Vologda and Veliky Ustyug. In total, he walked and drove about three thousand kilometers (!) and reached the mysterious city of “Xalauoco” (as Fioravanti called it in one of his letters to Milan), which is nothing more than a distorted name Solovkov. Thus, Aristotle Fioravanti turned out to be the first European who, more than a hundred years before the Englishman Jenkinson, walked the path from Moscow to Solovki.
Arriving in Moscow, Fioravanti composed general plan a new Kremlin, being built by his compatriots. Construction of the walls of the new cathedral began already in 1475. On August 15, 1479, the solemn consecration of the cathedral took place. The following year, Rus' was freed from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. This era was partly reflected in the architecture of the Assumption Cathedral, which became the symbol of the Third Rome.
Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin
Its five powerful chapters, symbolizing Christ surrounded by the four evangelist apostles, are notable for their helmet-like shape. The poppy, that is, the top of the temple dome, symbolizes the flame - a burning candle and fiery heavenly forces. During Tatar yoke the poppy seed becomes like a military helmet. This is only a slightly different image of fire, since Russian warriors considered the heavenly army as their patrons - angelic forces led by Archangel Michael. The warrior’s helmet, on which the image of the Archangel Michael was often placed, and the poppy helmet of the Russian temple merged into a single image. Externally, the Assumption Cathedral is very close to the cathedral of the same name in Vladimir, which was taken as a model. The luxurious painting was mostly completed during the architect’s lifetime. In 1482, the great architect, as the chief of artillery, took part in Ivan III’s campaign against Novgorod, and during this campaign he built a very strong pontoon bridge across the Volkhov. After this campaign, the master wanted to return to Italy, but Ivan III did not let him go, but, on the contrary, arrested him and put him in prison after trying to leave secretly. But he could not afford to keep Fioravanti in prison for a long time, since in 1485 a campaign against Tver was planned, where “Aristotle with guns” was necessary. After this campaign, the name of Aristotle Fioravanti no longer appears in the chronicles; there is no evidence of his return to his homeland. He probably died soon after.
There is a version that in the Assumption Cathedral the architect made a deep underground crypt, where they placed a priceless library. This cache was accidentally discovered by Grand Duke Vasily III many years after the death of his parents. At his invitation, Maxim the Greek came to Moscow in 1518 to translate these books, and allegedly managed to tell Ivan the Terrible, son of Vasily III, about them before his death. Where this library ended up during the time of Ivan the Terrible is still unknown. They looked for her in the Kremlin, and in Kolomenskoye, and in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, and at the site of the Oprichnina Palace on Mokhovaya. And now there is an assumption that Liberia rests under the bottom of the Moscow River, in dungeons dug from the chambers of Malyuta Skuratov.
The construction of some Kremlin churches is also associated with the name of Sophia Paleologus. The first of them was the cathedral in the name of St. Nikolai Gostunsky, built near the bell tower of Ivan the Great. Previously, there was a Horde courtyard where the khan's governors lived, and such a neighborhood depressed the Kremlin despina. According to legend, the saint himself appeared to Sophia in a dream Nicholas the Wonderworker and ordered to build in that place Orthodox church. Sophia showed herself to be a subtle diplomat: she sent an embassy with rich gifts to the khan’s wife and, telling about the wonderful vision that had appeared to her, asked to give her land in exchange for another - outside the Kremlin. Consent was received, and in 1477 a wooden St. Nicholas Cathedral, later replaced by a stone one and stood until 1817. (Remember that the deacon of this church was the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov). However, historian Ivan Zabelin believed that, on the orders of Sophia Paleologus, another church was built in the Kremlin, consecrated in the name of Saints Cosmas and Damian, which did not survive to this day.
A. Vasnetsov. In the Moscow Kremlin. Watercolor
Legends call Sophia Paleologus the founder Spassky Cathedral, which, however, was rebuilt during the construction of the Terem Palace in the 17th century and began to be called Verkhospassky at the same time - because of its location. Another legend says that Sophia Paleologus brought the temple image of the Savior Not Made by Hands of this cathedral to Moscow. In the 19th century, the artist Sorokin painted an image of the Lord from it for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This image miraculously survived to this day and is now located in the lower (stylobate) Transfiguration Church as its main shrine. It is known that this is the image Savior Not Made by Hands, which her father blessed her with. In the Kremlin Cathedral Spasa na Bor the frame of this image was kept, and on the analogue lay the icon of the All-Merciful Savior, also brought by Sophia. Then all the royal and imperial brides were blessed with this icon. The miraculous icon “Praise of the Mother of God” remained in the temple. Let us recall that the Savior Not Made by Hands is considered the very first icon revealed during the earthly life of the Lord, and the most accurate image of the Savior. It was placed on princely banners, under which Russian soldiers went to battle: the image of the Savior signified the vision of Christ in the sky and foreshadowed victory.
Another story is connected with the Church of the Savior on Bor, which was then the cathedral church of the Kremlin Spassky monastery, with the despina, thanks to which the Novospassky Monastery.
Novospassky monastery in Moscow
After the wedding, the Grand Duke still lived in wooden mansions, which constantly burned in the frequent Moscow fires. One day, Sophia herself had to escape the fire, and she finally asked her husband to build a stone palace. The Emperor decided to please his wife and fulfilled her request. So the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, together with the monastery, was cramped by new palace buildings. And in 1490, Ivan III moved the monastery to the bank of the Moscow River, five miles from the Kremlin. Since then the monastery began to be called Novospassky, and the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor remained an ordinary parish church. Due to the construction of the palace, the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Senya, which was also damaged by the fire, was not restored for a long time. Only when the palace was finally ready (and this happened only under Vasily III) did it have a second floor, and in 1514 the architect Aleviz Fryazin raised the Church of the Nativity to a new level, which is why it is still visible from Mokhovaya Street. Under Sophia, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe and the State Courtyard were built, the Annunciation Cathedral was rebuilt, and the Arkhangelsk Cathedral was completed. The dilapidated walls of the Kremlin were strengthened and eight Kremlin towers were erected, the fortress was surrounded by a system of dams and a huge moat on Red Square. The defensive structures built by Italian architects withstood the siege of time and enemies. The Kremlin ensemble was completed under the descendants of Ivan and Sofia.
N.K. Roerich. The city is being built
In the 19th century, during excavations in the Kremlin, a bowl with ancient coins minted under the Roman Emperor Tiberius was discovered. According to scientists, these coins were brought by someone from the numerous retinue of Sophia Paleologus, which included natives of both Rome and Constantinople. Many of them took government positions, becoming treasurers, ambassadors, and translators.
Under Sophia, diplomatic ties began to be established with European countries, where the Greeks and Italians who had initially arrived with her were appointed envoys. The candidates were most likely selected not without the participation of the princess. And the first Russian diplomats were strictly punished in their service letters not to drink alcohol while abroad, not to fight among themselves and thereby disgrace their country. The first ambassador to Venice was followed by appointments to a number of European courts. In addition to diplomatic missions, they also carried out other missions. Clerk Fyodor Kuritsyn, ambassador to the Hungarian court, is credited with the authorship of “The Tale of Dracula,” which was very popular in Rus'.
A. Chicheri, the ancestor of Pushkin’s grandmother, Olga Vasilyevna Chicherina, and the famous Soviet diplomat, arrived in Rus' in Despina’s retinue.
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. In the seventies and nineties of the fifteenth century, master money makers, jewelers, doctors, architects, minters, gunsmiths, and various other skilled people, whose knowledge and experience helped the country become a powerful and advanced power, came to Moscow from Italy and then from other countries.
Thus, through the efforts of Ivan III and Sophia, the Paleologus Renaissance flourished on Russian soil.
(To be continued)
Sophia Paleologus was one of the most significant figures on the Russian throne both in terms of her origin and personal qualities, and also because of the people she attracted to the service of the Moscow rulers. This woman had talent statesman, she knew how to set goals and achieve results.
Family and background
The Byzantine imperial dynasty of the Palaiologos ruled for two centuries: from the expulsion of the Crusaders in 1261 to the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453.
Sophia's uncle Constantine XI is known as the last emperor of Byzantium. He died during the capture of the city by the Turks. Of the hundreds of thousands of residents, only 5,000 came to the defense; foreign sailors and mercenaries, led by the emperor himself, fought with the invaders. Seeing that the enemies were winning, Constantine exclaimed in despair: “The city has fallen, but I am still alive,” after which, tearing off the signs of imperial dignity, he rushed into battle and was killed.
Sophia's father, Thomas Palaiologos, was the ruler of the Morean Despotate on the Peloponnese Peninsula. According to her mother, Catherine of Achai, the girl came from the noble Genoese family of Centurion.
Sophia's exact date of birth is unknown, but her older sister Elena was born in 1431, and her brothers in 1453 and 1455. Therefore, most likely, those researchers are right who claim that at the time of her marriage to Ivan III in 1472, she was, according to the concepts of that time, already quite a few years old.
Life in Rome
In 1453, the Turks captured Constantinople, and in 1460 they invaded the Peloponnese. Thomas managed to escape with his family to the island of Corfu, and then to Rome. To ensure the favor of the Vatican, Thomas converted to Catholicism.
Thomas and his wife died almost simultaneously in 1465. Sophia and her brothers found themselves under the patronage of Pope Paul II. The training of young Palaiologos was entrusted to the Greek philosopher Vissarion of Nicea, the author of the project for the union of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. By the way, Byzantium agreed to the above alliance in 1439, counting on support in the war against the Turks, but did not receive any help from European rulers.
Thomas's eldest son Andrei was the legal heir of the Palaiologos. Subsequently, he managed to beg from Sixtus IV two million ducats for a military expedition, but spent them on other purposes. After that, he wandered around European courts in the hope of finding allies.
Andrew's brother Manuel returned to Constantinople and ceded his rights to the throne to Sultan Bayezid II in exchange for maintenance.
Marriage to Grand Duke Ivan III
Pope Paul II hoped to marry Sophia Paleologue for his own benefit, so that with her assistance he could expand his influence. But although the pope determined her dowry of 6 thousand ducats, she had neither lands nor military force. She had famous name, which only scared away the Greek rulers who did not want to quarrel with Ottoman Empire, and Sophia refused to marry Catholics.
The Greek ambassador proposed to Ivan III a project of marriage with Byzantine princess two years after the Grand Duke of Moscow was widowed in 1467. He was presented with a miniature portrait of Sophia. Ivan III agreed to the marriage.
However, Sophia was brought up in Rome and received an education in the spirit of Uniatism. And Rome of the Renaissance was a place of concentration of all the vices of mankind, and the pontiffs of the Catholic Church headed this moral decay. Petrarch wrote about this city: “It is enough to see Rome to lose faith.” All this was well known in Moscow. And despite the fact that the bride, while still on the way, unequivocally demonstrated her commitment to Orthodoxy, Metropolitan Philip disapproved of this marriage and avoided the wedding of the royal couple. The ceremony was performed by Archpriest Hosiya of Kolomna. The wedding took place immediately on the day the bride arrived - November 12, 1472. Such a rush was explained by the fact that it was a holiday: the day of remembrance of John Chrysostom, the patron saint of the Grand Duke.
Despite the fears of the zealots of Orthodoxy, Sophia never tried to create the ground for religious conflicts. According to legend, she brought with her several Orthodox shrines, including a Byzantine one miraculous icon Our Lady of the Blessed Sky.
The role of Sophia in the development of Russian art
In Rus', Sophia was faced with the problem of the lack of sufficiently experienced architects for large buildings. There were good Pskov craftsmen, but they had experience in building mainly on a limestone foundation, while Moscow stands on fragile clay, sand and peat bogs. Thus, in 1474, the almost completed Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin collapsed.
Sofia Paleolog knew which Italian specialists were capable of solving this problem. One of the first people she invited was Aristotle Fioravanti, a talented engineer and architect from Bologna. In addition to many buildings in Italy, he also designed bridges across the Danube at the court of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus.
Perhaps Fioravanti would not have agreed to come, but shortly before this he was falsely accused of selling counterfeit money, moreover, under Sixtus IV, the Inquisition began to gain momentum, and the architect considered it best to leave for Rus', taking his son with him.
For the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, Fioravanti set up a brick factory and identified as suitable deposits of white stone in Myachkovo, where they took construction material a hundred years earlier for the first stone Kremlin. The temple is externally similar to the ancient Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir, but inside it is not divided into small rooms, but is one large hall.
In 1478, Fioravanti, as chief of artillery, went with Ivan III on a campaign against Novgorod and built a pontoon bridge across the Volkhov River. Later, Fioravanti took part in campaigns against Kazan and Tver.
Italian architects rebuilt the Kremlin, giving it modern look, built dozens of temples and monasteries. They took into account Russian traditions, harmoniously combining them with their new products. In 1505-1508, under the leadership of the Italian architect Aleviz Novy, the Kremlin Cathedral of the Archangel Michael was erected, during the construction of which the architect made the zakomaras not smooth, as before, but in the form of shells. Everyone liked this idea so much that it was subsequently used everywhere.
Sophia's participation in the conflict with the Horde
Historian V.N. Tatishchev in his writings provides evidence that, under the influence of his wife, Ivan III went into conflict with the Golden Horde Khan Akhmat, refusing to pay him tribute, since Sophia was very oppressed by the dependent position of the Russian state. If this is true, then Sophia acted under the influence of European politicians. Events unfolded as follows: in 1472, the Tatar raid was repulsed, but in 1480, Akhmat went to Moscow, concluding an alliance with the king of Lithuania and Poland, Casimir. Ivan III was not at all sure of the outcome of the battle and sent his wife with the treasury to Beloozero. One of the chronicles even notes that the Grand Duke 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 Venetian Republic was actively looking for an ally to help stop the advance of the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II. The mediator in the negotiations was the adventurer and merchant Jean-Battista della Volpe, who had estates in Moscow and was known to us as Ivan Fryazin, it was he who was the ambassador and head of Sophia Paleologue's wedding cortege. According to Russian sources, Sophia kindly received members of the Venetian embassy. From all of the above, it follows that the Venetians played a double game and made an attempt, through the Grand Duchess, to plunge Rus' into a serious conflict with a bad prospect.
However, Moscow diplomacy also did not waste time: Crimean Khanate Gireev agreed to interact with the Russians. Akhmat's campaign ended with the "Standing on the Ugra", as a result of which the khan retreated without a general battle. Akhmat did not receive the promised help from Casimir due to an attack on his lands by Mengli Giray, an ally of Ivan III.
Difficulties in family relationships
The first two children (girls) of Sophia and Ivan died in infancy. There is a legend that the young princess had a vision of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the patron saint of the Moscow state, and after this sign from above she gave birth to a son, the future Vasily III. In total, 12 children were born in the marriage, four of whom died in infancy.
From his first marriage with a Tver princess, Ivan III had a son, Ivan Mladoy, heir to the throne, but in 1490 he fell ill with gout. The doctor Mister Leon was discharged from Venice, who vouched for his recovery. The treatment was carried out using methods that completely ruined the prince’s health, and at the age of 32, Ivan the Young died in terrible agony. The doctor was publicly executed, and two warring parties formed at court: one supported the young Grand Duchess and her son, the other supported Dmitry, the young son of Ivan the Young.
For several years, Ivan III hesitated over whom to give preference. In 1498, the Grand Duke crowned his grandson Dmitry, but a year later he changed his mind and gave preference to Vasily, the son of Sophia. In 1502, he ordered the imprisonment of Dmitry and his mother. A year later, Sophia Paleolog died. For Ivan it was a heavy blow. In mourning, the Grand Duke performed a series of pilgrimage trips to monasteries, where he diligently devoted himself to prayer. He died two years later at the age of 65.
What was Sophia Paleolog's appearance like?
In 1994, the remains of the princess were recovered and studied. Criminologist Sergei Nikitin restored her appearance. She was short - 160 cm, with a full build. This was confirmed by the Italian chronicle, which sarcastically called Sophia fat. In Rus', there were other canons of beauty, which the princess fully complied with: plumpness, beautiful, expressive eyes and beautiful skin. Scientists have determined that the princess died at the age of 50-60 years.