Marriage with Sophia Palaeologus. Sophia Paleologue

Sophia Palaeologus, also called Zoe Palaeologinea, was born in 1455 in the city of Mystra, Greece.

Princess childhood

The future grandmother of Ivan the Terrible was born into the family of a Moreysky despot named Thomas Palaeologus at a not very prosperous time - in decadent times for Byzantium. When Constantinople fell to Turkey and was taken by Sultan Mehmed II, the girl's father Thomas Palaeologus fled to Kofra with his family.

Later in Rome, the family changed their faith to Catholicism, and when Sophia was 10 years old, her father died. Unfortunately for the girl, her mother, Ekaterina Akhaiskaya, died a year earlier, which knocked her father down.

The children of Paleologos - Zoya, Manuel and Andrew, 10, 5 and 7 years old - settled in Rome under the tutelage of the Greek scientist Vissarion of Nicaea, who at that time served as a cardinal under the Pope. The Byzantine princess Sophia and her prince brothers were raised in Catholic traditions. With the permission of the Pope, Bessarion of Nicea paid for the servants of the Palaeologus, doctors, professors of language, as well as a whole staff of foreign translators and clergymen. The orphans received an excellent education.

Marriage

As soon as Sophia grew up, the Venetian subjects began to look for her noble spouse.

• Her wife was prophesied to the Cypriot king Jacques II de Lusignan. The marriage did not take place in order to avoid quarrels with the Ottoman empire.
• A few months later, Cardinal Vissarion invited Prince Caracciolo of Italy to marry a Byzantine princess. The young got engaged. However, Sophia threw all efforts to avoid becoming engaged to a non-believer (she continued to adhere to Orthodoxy).
• By coincidence, in 1467, the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III died in Moscow. Only one son remained from the marriage. And Pope Paul II, with the aim of implanting the Catholic faith in Russia, offered the widower to the throne of the princess of All Russia to put a Greek Catholic princess.

Negotiations with the Russian prince lasted three years. Ivan III, having received the approval of his mother, churchmen and his boyars, decided to marry. By the way, during the negotiations about the transition of the princess to Catholicism in Rome, the envoys from the Pope did not spread much. On the contrary, they slyly reported that the sovereign's bride is a true Orthodox Christian. Surprisingly, they could not even imagine that this is the true truth.

In June 1472, the newlyweds in Rome got engaged in absentia. Then, accompanied by Cardinal Vissarion, the princess of Moscow departed from Rome for Moscow.

Princess portrait

Bolognese chroniclers with eloquent words characterized Sophia Palaeologus as an outwardly attractive girl. When she got married, she looked about 24 years old.

• Her skin is white as snow.
• The eyes are huge and very expressive, which corresponded to the canons of beauty of that time.
• The princess is 160 cm tall.
• The physique is knocked down, dense.

The dowry of Palaeologus was not only jewelry, but also a large number of valuable books, including the treatises of Plato, Aristotle, the unknown works of Homer. These books became the main attraction of the famous library of Ivan the Terrible, which after a while disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

Besides, Zoya was very determined. She threw every effort to not convert to another faith, betrothed to a Christian person. At the end of her route from Rome to Moscow, when there was no turning back, she announced to her escorts that in marriage she would renounce Catholicism and accept Orthodoxy. So the desire of the Pope to spread Catholicism to Russia through the marriage of Ivan III and Paleologus collapsed.

Life in Moscow

The influence of Sophia Palaeologus on the married spouse was very great, it also became a great blessing for Russia, because the wife was very educated and incredibly devoted to her new homeland.

So, it was she who prompted her husband to stop paying tribute to the Golden Horde that weighed down on them. Thanks to his wife, the Grand Duke decided to throw off the Tatar-Mongol burden that had been weighing on Russia for many centuries. At the same time, his advisers and princes insisted on paying the rent, as usual, so as not to start a new bloodshed. In 1480, Ivan the Third announced his decision to the Tatar Khan Akhmat. Then there was a historic bloodless stand on the Ugra, and the Horde left Russia forever, never again demanding tribute from her.

In general, Sophia Palaeologus played a very important role in the subsequent historical events of Russia. Her broad outlook and bold innovative solutions allowed the country to make a noticeable breakthrough in the development of culture and architecture in the future. Sophia Paleologue opened Moscow to Europeans. Now Greeks, Italians, learned minds and talented craftsmen rushed to Muscovy. For example, Ivan the Third gladly took under the tutelage of Italian architects (such as Aristotle Fioravanti), who erected many historical masterpieces of architecture in Moscow. At the behest of Sophia, a separate courtyard and luxurious mansions were built for her. They were lost in a fire in 1493 (together with the Palaeologus treasury).

Zoe's personal relationship with her husband Ivan the Third was also successful. They had 12 children. But some died in infancy or from disease. So, in their family, five sons and four daughters survived to adulthood.

But the life of a Byzantine princess in Moscow can hardly be called rosy. The local elite saw the great influence that the spouse had on her husband, and was very unhappy with this.

Sophia's relationship with her adopted son from her deceased first wife, Ivan Molodoy, did not work out. The princess really wanted her first-born Vasily to become the heir. And there is a historical version that she was involved in the death of the heir, having prescribed him an Italian doctor with poisonous potions, allegedly for the treatment of a sudden onset of gout (he was later executed for this).

Sophia had a hand in the removal from the throne of his wife Elena Voloshanka and their son Dmitry. First, Ivan the Third sent Sophia herself into disgrace because she invited witches to her to create poison for Elena and Dmitry. He forbade his wife to appear in the palace. However, later Ivan the Third ordered to send already the grandson of Dmitry, already proclaimed heir to the throne, and his mother to prison for court intrigues, successfully and in a favorable light revealed by his wife Sophia. The grandson was officially stripped of his grand-ducal dignity, and his son Vasily was declared heir to the throne.

Thus, Princess of Moscow became the mother of the heir to the Russian throne, Vasily III, and the grandmother of the famous Tsar Ivan the Terrible. There is evidence that the famous grandson had many similarities both in appearance and character with his imperious grandmother from Byzantium.

Death

As they said then, “from old age” - at the age of 48, Sophia Palaeologus died on April 7, 1503. The woman was laid to rest in the sarcophagus in the Ascension Cathedral. She was buried next to Ivan's first wife.

By coincidence, in 1929 the Bolsheviks demolished the cathedral, but the Paleologini sarcophagus survived and was moved to the Archangel Cathedral.

Ivan III grievously endured the death of the princess. At the age of 60, this greatly crippled his health, moreover, recently he and his wife were in constant suspicion and quarrels. However, he continued to appreciate Sophia's intelligence and her love for Russia. Feeling the approach of his end, he made a will, appointing their common son Vasily the heir to power.

Sophia (Zoya) Palaeologus- a woman from the clan of the Byzantine emperors, the Paleologues, played an outstanding role in the formation of the ideology of the Muscovy. Sophia's education level was simply incredibly high by Moscow standards at the time. Sophia had a very great influence on her husband, Ivan III, which caused discontent among boyars and churchmen. The double-headed eagle, the family coat of arms of the Palaeologus dynasty, was adopted by the Grand Duke Ivan III as an integral part of the dowry. Since then, the double-headed eagle has become the personal coat of arms of Russian tsars and emperors (not the state coat of arms!). Many historians believe that Sophia was the author of the future state concept of Muscovy: "Moscow is the third Rome".

Sofia, reconstruction based on the skull.

The decisive factor in the fate of Zoe was the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Constantine died in 1453 during the capture of Constantinople, 7 years later, in 1460 Morea (the medieval name of the Peloponnese peninsula, the possession of Sophia's father) was captured by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, Thomas went to the island of Corfu, then to Rome, where he soon died. Zoya with her brothers, 7-year-old Andrey and 5-year-old Manuel, moved to Rome 5 years after their father. There she received the name "Sophia". Paleologians settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV (customer of the Sistine Chapel). Thomas converted to Catholicism in the last year of his life to gain support.
After the death of Thomas on May 12, 1465 (his wife Catherine died in the same year a little earlier), the famous Greek scientist, Cardinal Bessarion of Nicea, a supporter of union, took over the care of his children. His letter has survived, in which he gave instructions to the teacher of orphans. From this letter it follows that the Pope will continue to pay for their maintenance 3,600 crowns a year (200 crowns a month - for children, their clothes, horses and servants; plus should have been postponed for a rainy day, and spend 100 crowns for the maintenance of a modest yard ). The court included a doctor, a professor of Latin, a professor of Greek, a translator, and 1-2 priests.

Bessarion of Nicea.

A few words should be said about the deplorable fate of the Sofia brothers. After the death of Thomas, the crown of the Palaeologus was de jure inherited by his son Andrew, who sold it to various European monarchs and died in poverty. During the reign of Bayezid II, the second son, Manuel, returned to Istanbul 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 lord proposed her candidacy to the Cypriot king Jacques II de Lusignan as a bride, but he refused. According to Fr. Pearlinga, the splendor of her name and the glory of her ancestors were a poor bulwark against the Ottoman ships cruising in the waters of the Mediterranean. Around 1467, Pope Paul II, through Cardinal Vissarion, offered her hand to Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. She was solemnly betrothed, but the marriage did not take place.
Ivan III was widowed in 1467 - his first wife Maria Borisovna, Princess Tverskaya died, leaving him 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 on Moscow or, perhaps, bringing the Catholic and Orthodox churches closer together - to restore the Florentine union of churches. Ivan III's motives were probably related to status, and the newly widowed monarch agreed to marry a Greek princess. The idea of ​​marriage may have originated in the head of Cardinal Vissarion.
The negotiations lasted for 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 leaf in which the Grand Duke was offered the bride Sophia, the daughter of the Amorite despot Thomas, an "Orthodox Christian" (she was silent about her conversion to Catholicism). Ivan III consulted with his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, and made a positive decision.
In 1469, Ivan Fryazin (Gian Batista della Volpe) was sent to the Roman court to woo the Grand Duke Sophia. The Sophia Chronicle testifies that a portrait of the bride was sent back to Russia with Ivan Fryazin, and such a secular painting turned out to be an extreme surprise in Moscow - "... and bring the princess on the icon." (This portrait has not survived, which is very regrettable, since it must have been 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 Paleologue."

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 the Queen of Bosnia Katarina were also guests. The Pope, in addition to gifts, gave the bride a dowry of 6 thousand ducats.
When in 1472 Clarice Orsini and the court poet of her husband Luigi Pulci witnessed an absentee marriage held in the Vatican, Pulci's poisonous wit, in order to amuse Lorenzo the Magnificent, who remained in Florence, sent him an account of this event and the appearance of the bride:
“We entered a room where a painted doll was sitting in an armchair on a high platform. She had two huge Turkish pearls on her chest, a double chin, thick cheeks, her whole face glistening with fat, her eyes were wide open like bowls, and around her eyes there were such ridges of fat and meat as high dams on Po. Legs are also far from thin, so are all other parts of the body - I have never seen such a funny and disgusting person like this fairground joker. All day she chatted incessantly through an interpreter - this time it was her brother, the same thick-legged club. Your wife, as if bewitched, saw a beauty in this monster in female guise, and the translator's speeches clearly gave her pleasure. One of our companions even admired the painted lips of this doll and found that she spits amazingly gracefully. All day, until the evening, she chatted in Greek, but we were not given anything to eat or drink in Greek, Latin or Italian. However, she somehow managed to explain to Donna Clarice that she was wearing a narrow and bad dress, although it was a dress of rich silk and cut from at least six pieces of fabric, so that they could cover the dome of Santa Maria Rotonda. Since then, every night I have dreamed of mountains of oil, fat, lard, rags and other similar nasty things. "
According to the opinion of the Bolognese chroniclers, who described the passage of her procession through the city, she was not tall, had very beautiful eyes and an amazing whiteness of skin. They looked like they gave her 24 years.
On June 24, 1472, the large convoy of Sofia Paleologue, together with Fryazin, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by Cardinal Bessarion of Nicea, who was to realize the opening opportunities for the Holy See. Legend has it that Sofia's dowry included books that will 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 Genoese papal legate Anthony Bonumbre, Bishop of Acchia (his chronicles are mistakenly called a cardinal). The nephew of the diplomat Ivan Fryazin, the architect Anton Fryazin, arrived with her.

Banner "Sermon John the Baptist" from Oratorio San Giovanni, Urbino. Italian experts believe that Vissarion and Sophia Palaeologus are depicted in the crowd of listeners (3rd and 4th characters from the left). Gallery of the Province of the Marche, Urbino.
The route of travel was as follows: to the north from Italy through Germany, to the port of Lubeck, they arrived on September 1. (They had to go around Poland, through which travelers usually followed to Muscovy by land - at that moment she was with Ivan III in a state of conflict). The sea voyage across the Baltic took 11 days. The ship docked in Kolyvan (present-day Tallinn), from where the motorcade in October 1472 proceeded through Yuriev (present-day Tartu), Pskov and Novgorod. On November 12, 1472, Sofia entered Moscow.
Even during the journey of the bride, it became obvious that the Vatican's plans to make her a conductor of Catholicism failed, since Sofia immediately demonstrated a return to the faith of her ancestors. The papal legate Anthony was deprived of the opportunity to enter Moscow, carrying a Latin cross in front of him.
The wedding in Russia took place on November 12 (21), 1472 at the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. They were married by Metropolitan Philip (according to the Sofia Times - the Kolomna Archpriest Hosea).
Sophia's family life, apparently, was successful, as evidenced by the numerous offspring.
For her in Moscow, special mansions and a courtyard were built, but they soon, in 1493, burned down, and the treasury of the Grand Duchess also perished during the fire.
Tatishchev gives evidence that, allegedly, thanks to the intervention of Sophia, Ivan III decided to resist Khan Akhmat (Ivan III was already at that time an ally and tributary of the Crimean Khan). When Khan Akhmat's demand for tribute was discussed at the council of the Grand Duke, and many said that it is better to pacify the wicked with gifts than shed blood, it was as if Sophia burst into tears and reproached her husband not to pay tribute to the Great Horde.
Before the invasion of Akhmat in 1480, for the sake of safety, with the children, the court, the boyars and the princely treasury, Sofia was sent first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero; if Akhmat crossed the Oka and took Moscow, she was told to run further north to the sea. This gave rise to Vissarion, Vladyka of Rostov, in his message to warn the Grand Duke against constant thoughts and excessive attachment to his wife and children. In one of the chronicles it is noted that Ivan panicked: "the terror is on the way, and flee from the coast, and his Grand Duchess Roman and the treasury with her, the ambassador to Beloozero."
The family returned to Moscow only in winter.
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 Molodoy (son from his first marriage), and the second - the new Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue. In 1476, the Venetian A. Contarini noted that the heir "was out of favor with his father, because he behaves badly with the despina" (Sophia), but since 1477 Ivan Ivanovich has been mentioned as a co-ruler of his father.
In subsequent years, the grand ducal family increased 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 Molodoy, also married. His wife was the daughter of the ruler of Moldova, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka, who immediately found herself with her mother-in-law "at knives." On October 10, 1483, their son Dmitry was born. After the capture of Tver in 1485, Ivan the Young was appointed by the father of the Tver prince; in one of the sources of this period, Ivan III and Ivan Young are called "autocrats". Thus, throughout the 1480s, Ivan Ivanovich's position as the legal heir was quite strong.
The position of the supporters of Sophia Palaeologus was much less favorable. However, by 1490, new circumstances had come into play. The son of the Grand Duke, the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich fell ill with "kamchyuga in the legs" (gout). Sophia wrote out a doctor from Venice - "Mistro Leon", who arrogantly promised Ivan III to cure the heir to the throne; nevertheless, all the efforts of the doctor 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, already as indisputable facts, were recorded by Andrei Kurbsky. Modern historians regard the hypothesis of the poisoning of Ivan Molodoy as unverifiable due to a lack of sources.
On February 4, 1498, the coronation of Prince Dmitry took place in the Assumption Cathedral in an atmosphere of great splendor. 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 the grandson of his Grand Duke Dmitry and on his mother on the Grand Duchess Elena, and from that day he did not order them to be commemorated in litanies and litias, nor to be named as the Grand Duke, and put them behind the bailiffs." A few days later Vasily Ivanovich was granted the great reign; Soon Dmitry the grandson and his mother Elena Voloshanka were transferred from house arrest to confinement. Thus, the struggle within the grand-ducal family ended with the victory of the prince Vasily; he became the co-ruler of his father and the rightful heir to the Grand Duchy. The fall of Dmitry the grandson and his mother also predetermined the fate of the Moscow-Novgorod reformation movement in the Orthodox Church: the Church Council of 1503 finally defeated it; many prominent and progressive leaders of this movement were executed. As for the fate of the losers of the dynastic struggle, it was sad: on January 18, 1505, Elena Stefanovna died in captivity, and in 1509 Dmitry himself died “in need, in prison”. "Some believe that he died of hunger and cold, others that he suffocated from the smoke," Herberstein reported about his death. But the most terrible country lay ahead - the reign of the grandson of Sofia Paleologue - Ivan the Terrible.
The Byzantine princess was not popular, she was considered smart, but proud, cunning and insidious. Dislike for her was expressed even in the annals: for example, regarding her return from Beloozero, the chronicler notes: “The Grand Duchess Sophia ... ran from the Tatars to Beloozero, and no one drove her; and in which countries I went, even more so the Tatars - from boyar serfs, from Christian bloodsuckers. Repay them, O Lord, according to their deed and according to the craftiness of their undertakings. "

The disgraced Duma man of Vasily III Bersen Beklemishev, in a conversation with Maxim the Greek, spoke of her like this: “Our land lived in silence and peace. As the mother of the Grand Duke Sophia came here with your Greeks, so our land got mixed up and great disorders came to us, just like in your Tsar-grad under your kings. " Maxim objected: "Lord, the Grand Duchess Sophia was of a great family on both sides: on her father, a royal family, and on her mother, the Grand Duke of the Italic side." Bersen answered: “Whatever it is; but it came to our disorder. " This disorder, according to Bersen, was reflected in the fact that since that time "the great prince has changed the old customs", "now our Sovereign himself is the third at the bedside to do all sorts of things."
Prince Andrei Kurbsky is especially strict with Sophia. He is convinced that "In the good-natured Russian princes, the devil allied evil morals, especially by their wicked wives and sorcerers, as well as in Israelite tsars, more than whom they took from foreigners"; accuses Sophia in the poisoning of John the Young, in the death of Elena, in the imprisonment of Dmitry, Prince Andrei Uglitsky and other persons, contemptuously calls her a Greek woman, a Greek "sorceress."
In the Trinity-Sergievsky Monastery there is a silk shroud sewn by Sofia's hands in 1498; her name is embroidered on the shroud, and she calls herself not the Grand Duchess of Moscow, but “the princess of the Tsarevgorodskaya”. Apparently, she highly valued her former title, if she remembers it even after a 26-year marriage.

Shroud from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra embroidered by Sophia Palaeologus.

There are various versions regarding the role of Sophia Palaeologus in the history of the Russian state:
Artists and architects were summoned from Western Europe to decorate the palace and the capital. New temples and new palaces were erected. The Italian Alberti (Aristotle) ​​Fioraventi built the Cathedrals of the Assumption and the Annunciation. Moscow was adorned with the Faceted Chamber, the Kremlin towers, the Teremny Palace, and finally the Archangel Cathedral was built.
For the sake of the marriage of her son Vasily III, she introduced the Byzantine custom - a review of brides.
Considered the founder of the Moscow-Third Rome concept
Sophia died on April 7, 1503, two years before her husband's death (he died on October 27, 1505).
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. On the lid of the sarcophagus, "Sophia" is scratched 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 annex of the Archangel Cathedral.

Transfer of the remains of the Grand Duchesses and Queens before the destruction of the Ascension Monastery, 1929.

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A Greek princess who has had a significant impact on our country. From that time, in fact, the organization of an independent monarchical Russian state began.

Sophia Paleologue was born in the 40s of the 15th century, at birth she had the name Zoya and was the heir to the ancient Greek family that ruled Byzantium from the 13th to the 15th centuries. Then the Palaeologus family moved to Rome.

Contemporaries noted the oriental beauty of the princess, sharp mind, curiosity, high level of her education and culture. They tried to marry Sophia for King James II of Cyprus, and then for the Italian prince Caracciolo. Both marriages did not take place, there were rumors that Sophia allegedly refused the suitors, because she did not want to give up her faith.

In 1469, Pope Paul 2 advised Sophia to marry the widowed Grand Duke of Moscow, the Catholic Church hoped this union would exert its influence on Russia.

But it took a long time to get married. The prince was in no hurry, he decided to consult with the boyars and mother Maria Tverskaya. Only later did he send his Italian envoy to Rome, Gian Batista de Volpe, who in Russia was simply called Ivan Fryazin.

He was instructed on behalf of the king to negotiate and see the bride. The Italian came back, not alone, but with a portrait of the bride. Three years later, Volpe left for the future princess. In the summer, Zoya, with her numerous retinue, set out on a journey to a northern, unknown country. In many cities through which the niece of the Greek emperor passed, the future princess of Russia aroused great curiosity.

The townspeople noted her appearance, wonderful white skin and huge black, very beautiful eyes. The princess is dressed in a purple dress, on top of a brocade mantle lined with sables. On Zoya's head, priceless stones and pearls sparkled in her hair, on her shoulder, a large clasp, decorated with a large precious stone, was striking with beauty, which was striking against the background of a luxurious outfit.

After the matchmaking, Ivan 3 was given as a gift a portrait of the bride of skillful work. There was a version that the Greek woman was engaged in magic and thus bewitched the portrait. One way or another, the wedding of Ivan 3 and Sophia took place in November 1472 when Sophia arrived in Moscow.

The hopes of the Catholic Church for Sophia Paleologue did not come true. When entering Moscow, the Pope's representative was denied the solemn carrying of the Catholic cross, and subsequently his position at the Russian court did not play any role. The Byzantine princess returned to the Orthodox faith and became an ardent opponent of Catholicism.

In the marriage of Sophia and Ivan 3, there were 12 children. The first two daughters died in infancy. There is a legend that the birth of a son was predicted by Sophia to the saints. During the pilgrimage of the Moscow princess to the Trinity-Sergius Lavra, the monk appeared to her and lifted up a male infant. Indeed, soon Sophia gave birth to a boy, who later became the heir to the throne and the first recognized Russian tsar - Vasily 3.

With the birth of a new contender for the throne, intrigues began at the court, a struggle for power ensued between Sophia and the son of Ivan 3 from his first marriage, Ivan the Young. The young prince already had his heir - little Dmitry, but he was in poor health. But soon Ivan the Young fell ill with gout and died, the doctor who treated him was executed and rumors spread that the prince had been poisoned.

His son, Dimitri, the grandson of Ivan 3, was crowned as the Grand Duke, and was considered the heir to the throne. However, during the intrigues of Sophia, his grandfather, Ivan 3, soon fell into disgrace, was imprisoned and soon died, and the right of inheritance passed to Sophia's son, Vasily.

As a Moscow princess, Sophia showed great initiative in her husband's state affairs. At her insistence, Ivan 3 in 1480 refused to pay tribute to the Tatar khan Akhmat, tore up the letter and ordered to expel the Horde ambassadors out.

The consequences were not long in coming - Khan Akhmat gathered all his soldiers and moved to Moscow. His troops settled on the Ugra River and began to prepare for an attack. The gentle banks of the river did not give the necessary advantage in battle, time passed and the troops remained in place, waiting for the onset of cold weather to cross the river on the ice. At the same time, riots and uprisings began in the Golden Horde, perhaps this was the reason why the khan deployed his tumens and left Russia.

Sophia Palaeologus transferred her legacy of the Byzantine Empire to Russia. Together with the dowry, the princess brought rare icons, a large library with the works of Aristotle and Plato, the writings of Homer, and as a gift to her husband, she received a royal throne made of ivory with carved biblical subjects. All this later passed on to their grandson -

Thanks to her ambitions and great influence on her husband, she introduced Moscow to the European order. Under her, etiquette was established in the prince's court, the princess was allowed to have her own half of the palace and to receive ambassadors on her own. The best architects and painters of that time were summoned from Europe to Moscow.

The wooden capital of Sophia clearly lacked the former grandeur of Byzantium. Buildings were erected that became the best decorations in Moscow: Assumption, Annunciation, Archangel Cathedrals. Also built: The Faceted Chamber for receiving ambassadors and guests, the Kazenny Dvor, the Stone Chamber Embankment, the towers of the Moscow Kremlin.

Throughout her own life, Sophia considered herself a Tsarevna princess, it was her who had the idea to make the third Rome out of Moscow. After marriage, Ivan 3 introduced into his coat of arms and printers the symbol of the Palaeologus clan - a two-headed eagle. In addition, Russia began to be called Russia, thanks to the Byzantine tradition.

Despite the apparent dignity, the people and the boyars treated Sophia with hostility, calling her "Greek" and "sorceress." Many feared her influence on Ivan 3, since the prince began to be distinguished by a tough disposition and demand complete obedience from the subjects.

Nevertheless, it was thanks to Sophia Paleologue that the rapprochement between Russia and the West took place, the architecture of the capital changed, private ties with Europe were established, and foreign policy was strengthened.

Ivan 3's campaign against independent Novgorod ended with its complete elimination. The fate of the Novgorod Republic also predetermined its fate. The Moscow army entered the territory of the Tver land. Now Tver "kissed the cross" swearing allegiance to Ivan 3, and the Tver prince was forced to flee to Lithuania.

The successful unification of the Russian lands created the conditions for liberation from the Horde dependence, which happened in 1480.

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Sofia Fominichna Paleologue, she is Zoya Paleologina (Greek Ζωή Σοφία Παλαιολογίνα). Born approx. 1455 - died on April 7, 1503. The Grand Duchess of Moscow, second wife of Ivan III, mother of Vasily III, grandmother of Ivan the Terrible. Descended from the Byzantine imperial dynasty of the Palaeologus.

Sofia (Zoya) Palaeologus was born around 1455.

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

Her maternal grandfather was Centurione II Zakkaria, 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 in the principality until 1430, when the despot of Morea, Thomas Palaeologus, launched a large-scale attack on his domain. This forced the prince to retreat to his hereditary castle in Messinia, where he died in 1432, two years after the peace treaty by which Thomas married his daughter Catherine. After his death, the territory of the principality became part of the despotate.

The elder sister of Sofia (Zoya) - Elena Paleologina Moreyskaya (1431 - November 7, 1473), from 1446 was the wife of the Serbian despot Lazar Brankovic, and after the seizure of Serbia by Muslims in 1459 fled to the Greek island of Lefkada, where she was tonsured as a nun.

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

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

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

After the death of Thomas on May 12, 1465 (his wife Catherine died in the same year a little earlier), the famous Greek scientist, Cardinal Bessarion of Nicea, a supporter of union, took over the care of his children. His letter has survived, in which he gave instructions to the teacher of orphans. It follows from this letter that the Pope will continue to pay for their maintenance 3,600 crowns a year (200 crowns a month: for children, their clothes, horses and servants; plus should have been postponed for a rainy day, and spend 100 crowns on the maintenance of a modest yard , which included a doctor, professor of Latin, professor of Greek, translator and 1-2 priests).

After the death of Thomas, the crown of the Palaeologus was de jure inherited by his son Andrew, who sold it to various European monarchs and died in poverty. The second son of Thomas Palaeologus, Manuel, during the reign of Bayezid II returned to Istanbul 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 seigneuria proposed to the Cypriot king Jacques II de Lusignan the candidacy of Sophia as a bride, but he refused. According to Fr. Pearlinga, the splendor of her name and the glory of her ancestors were a poor bulwark against the Ottoman ships cruising in the waters of the Mediterranean. Around 1467, Pope Paul II, through Cardinal Vissarion, offered her hand to Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. They were solemnly betrothed, but the marriage did not take place.

Wedding of Sophia Paleologue and Ivan III

The role of Sophia Paleologue was performed by the actress.

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

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

"Byzantine"- a novel by Nikolai Spassky. The action takes place in Italy in the 15th century against the backdrop of the consequences of the fall of Constantinople. The main character intrigues to pass off Zoya Palaeologus for the Russian tsar.

"Sofia Palaeologus - from Byzantium to Russia"- a novel by Georgios Leonardos.

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

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

Most historians agree that her grandmother, the Grand Duchess of Moscow Sophia (Zoya) Palaeologus, played a huge role in the formation of the Muscovy. Many consider her to be the author of the concept "Moscow - the third Rome". And together with Zoya Paleologinea, a two-headed eagle appeared. At first, he was the family coat of arms of her dynasty, and then migrated to the coat of arms of all the tsars and Russian emperors.

Childhood and youth

Zoe Palaeologus was born (presumably) in 1455 in Mystra. The daughter of the Moray despot Thomas Palaeologus was born in a tragic and crucial time - the time of the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

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

The Greek scientist, the Uniate Vissarion of Nicea, who served as a cardinal under Pope Sixtus IV (it was he who ordered the famous Sistine Chapel), took up the upbringing of orphans. In Rome, the Greek princess Zoe Palaeologus and her brothers were raised in the Catholic faith. The cardinal took care of the maintenance of the children and their education.

It is known that Bessarion of Nicea, with the permission of the pope, paid for the modest court of the young Paleologues, which included a servant, a doctor, two professors of Latin and Greek, translators and priests. Sophia Palaeologus received a fairly solid education at that time.

Grand Duchess of Moscow

When Sophia came of age, the Venetian signoria took care of her marriage. To marry a noble girl was first proposed to the King of Cyprus, Jacques II de Lusignan. But he refused this marriage, fearing a conflict with the Ottoman Empire. A year later, in 1467, Cardinal Vissarion, at the request of Pope Paul II, offered the hand of a noble Byzantine beauty to the prince and Italian nobleman Caracciolo. A solemn betrothal took place, but for unknown reasons the marriage was canceled.

There is a version that Sophia secretly communicated with the Athonite elders and adhered to the Orthodox faith. She herself made an effort not to marry a non-believer, upsetting all marriages offered to her.

In 1467, a crucial year for the life of Sophia Palaeologus, the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow, Maria Borisovna, died. In this marriage, the only son was born. Pope Paul II, counting on the spread of Catholicism to Moscow, invited the widowed sovereign of All Russia to marry his ward.

After 3 years of negotiations, Ivan III, having asked for advice from his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, decided to marry. It is noteworthy that the negotiators from the Pope prudently kept silent about the transition of Sophia Palaeologus to Catholicism. Moreover, they reported that the proposed wife Paleologina was an Orthodox Christian. They didn’t even know that it was so.

In June 1472, the absentee betrothal of Ivan III and Sophia Palaeologus took place in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome. After that, the bride's train departed from Rome for Moscow. The same Cardinal Vissarion accompanied the bride.

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

There is a version that the dowry of Sophia Palaeologus, in addition to clothes and jewelry, contained many valuable books, which later formed the basis of the mysteriously disappeared library of Ivan the Terrible. Among them were treatises and unknown poems.

At the end of a long route that ran through Germany and Poland, the Roman guides Sophia Palaeologus realized that their desire to spread (or at least bring closer) Catholicism to Orthodoxy through the marriage of Ivan III to Palaeologus was defeated. Zoe, barely left Rome, showed a firm intention to return to the faith of her ancestors - Christianity. The wedding took place in Moscow on November 12, 1472. The ceremony took place at the Assumption Cathedral.

The main achievement of Sophia Palaeologus, which turned into a great blessing for Russia, is considered her influence on her husband's decision to refuse to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Thanks to his wife, Ivan the Third finally dared to throw off the centuries-old Tatar-Mongol yoke, although the local princes and the elite offered to continue paying the rent in order to avoid bloodshed.

Personal life

Apparently, the personal life of Sophia Palaeologus with the Grand Duke Ivan III was successful. In this marriage, a considerable offspring were born - 5 sons and 4 daughters. But it is difficult to call the cloudless existence of the new Grand Duchess Sophia in Moscow. The boyars saw the enormous influence that the wife had on her husband. Many people didn't like it.

Rumor has it that the princess had a bad relationship with the heir, born in the previous marriage of Ivan III, Ivan the Young. Moreover, there is a version that Sophia was involved in the poisoning of Ivan Molodoy and the further removal from power of his wife Elena Voloshanka and son Dmitry.

Be that as it may, Sophia Palaeologus had a tremendous influence on the entire further history of Russia, on its culture and architecture. She was the mother of the heir to the throne and the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible. According to some reports, the grandson bore no small resemblance to his wise Byzantine grandmother.

Death

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

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