Sophia's husband is a paleologist. Sophia Paleolog - the mother of the "Third Rome", who turned Russia to the west. Fight for the throne
This woman was credited with many important state deeds. Why is Sophia Paleolog so distinguished? Interesting facts about her, as well as biographical information are collected in this article.
Cardinal's Proposal
In February 1469, the ambassador of Cardinal Vissarion arrived in Moscow. He handed over a letter to the Grand Duke with a proposal to marry Sophia, the daughter of Theodore I, Despot of Morea. By the way, this letter also said that Sophia Paleolog (real name - Zoya, they decided to replace it with an Orthodox one for diplomatic reasons) had already refused two crowned suitors who were wooing her. They were the Duke of Milan and the French king. The fact is that Sophia did not want to marry a Catholic.
Sophia Palaiologos (of course, her photo cannot be found, but the portraits are presented in the article), according to the ideas of that distant time, she was no longer young. However, she was still quite attractive. She had expressive, amazingly beautiful eyes, as well as matte delicate skin, which was considered in Russia a sign of excellent health. In addition, the bride was distinguished by her article and a sharp mind.
Who is Sofia Fominichna Paleolog?
Sofya Fominichna - niece of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last Since 1472, she was the wife of Ivan III Vasilyevich. Her father was Thomas Palaiologos, who fled to Rome with his family after the Turks captured Constantinople. Sophia Paleolog lived after the death of her father in the care of the great pope. For a number of reasons, he wished to marry her to Ivan III, who was widowed in 1467. He answered yes.
Sofia Paleolog gave birth to a son in 1479, who later became Vasily III Ivanovich. In addition, she achieved the announcement of Vasily the Grand Duke, whose place was to be taken by Dmitry, the grandson of Ivan III, who was crowned king. Ivan III used his marriage to Sophia to strengthen Russia in the international arena.
Icon "Blessed Sky" and the image of Michael III
Sophia Paleolog, Grand Duchess of Moscow, brought several Orthodox icons. It is believed that among them was a rare image of the Mother of God. She was in the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral. However, according to another legend, the relic was transported from Constantinople to Smolensk, and when the latter was captured by Lithuania, Sofya Vitovtovna, the princess, was blessed with this icon for marriage when she married Vasily I, the Moscow prince. The image, which is today in the cathedral, is a list from an ancient icon, made at the end of the 17th century by order (pictured below). Muscovites, according to tradition, brought lamp oil and water to this icon. It was believed that they were filled with healing properties, because the image had healing power. This icon today is one of the most revered in our country.
In the Archangel Cathedral, after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of Michael III, the Byzantine emperor, who was the ancestor of the Palaiologos dynasty, also appeared. Thus, it was argued that Moscow is the successor of the Byzantine Empire, and the sovereigns of Russia are the heirs of the Byzantine emperors.
The birth of the long-awaited heir
After Sophia Paleolog, the second wife of Ivan III, married him in the Assumption Cathedral and became his wife, she began to think about how to gain influence and become a real queen. Paleolog understood that for this it was necessary to present the prince with a gift that only she could do: to give birth to a son who would become the heir to the throne. To the chagrin of Sophia, the firstborn was a daughter who died almost immediately after birth. A year later, a girl was born again, who also died suddenly. Sophia Palaiologos cried, prayed to God to give her an heir, handed out handfuls of alms to the poor, donated to churches. After some time, the Mother of God heard her prayers - Sophia Paleolog became pregnant again.
Her biography was finally marked by a long-awaited event. It took place on March 25, 1479 at 8 pm, as stated in one of the Moscow chronicles. A son was born. He was named Vasily Pariysky. The boy was baptized by Vasiyan, Archbishop of Rostov, in the Sergius Monastery.
What did Sophia bring with her?
Sophia managed to inspire what was dear to her, and what was appreciated and understood in Moscow. She brought with her the customs and traditions of the Byzantine court, pride in her own lineage, and annoyance at having to marry a Mongol-Tatar tributary. It is unlikely that Sophia liked the simplicity of the situation in Moscow, as well as the unceremonious relations that prevailed at that time at court. Ivan III himself was forced to listen to reproachful speeches from obstinate boyars. However, in the capital, even without it, many had a desire to change the old order, which did not correspond to the position of the Moscow sovereign. And the wife of Ivan III with the Greeks brought by her, who saw both Roman and Byzantine life, could give the Russians valuable instructions on what models and how to implement the changes desired by everyone.
Sophia's influence
The prince's wife cannot be denied influence on the behind-the-scenes life of the court and its decorative setting. She skillfully built personal relationships, she was excellent at court intrigues. However, Paleolog could only respond to political ones with suggestions that echoed the vague and secret thoughts of Ivan III. Especially clear was the idea that by her marriage the princess was making the Muscovite rulers the successors of the emperors of Byzantium, with the interests of the Orthodox East holding on to the latter. Therefore, Sophia Paleolog in the capital of the Russian state was valued mainly as a Byzantine princess, and not as a Grand Duchess of Moscow. She herself understood this. How she used the right to receive foreign embassies in Moscow. Therefore, her marriage to Ivan was a kind of political demonstration. It was announced to the whole world that the heiress of the Byzantine house, which had fallen shortly before, transferred its sovereign rights to Moscow, which became the new Constantinople. Here she shares these rights with her husband.
Reconstruction of the Kremlin, the overthrow of the Tatar yoke
Ivan, sensing his new position in the international arena, found the old Kremlin environment ugly and cramped. From Italy, following the princess, the masters were discharged. They built the Assumption Cathedral (St. Basil's Cathedral) on the site of the wooden choirs, as well as a new stone palace. In the Kremlin at that time, a strict and complex ceremonial began to start up at the court, imparting arrogance and stiffness to Moscow life. Just as in his own palace, Ivan III began to act in external relations with a more solemn step. Especially when the Tatar yoke without a fight, as if by itself, fell off the shoulders. And it weighed almost two centuries over the entire north-eastern Russia (from 1238 to 1480). A new language, more solemn, appears at this time in government papers, especially diplomatic ones. There is a lot of terminology.
The role of Sophia in overthrowing the Tatar yoke
Paleolog in Moscow was not loved for the influence it exerted on the Grand Duke, as well as for the changes in the life of Moscow - "great disorders" (in the words of the boyar Bersen-Beklemishev). Sophia interfered not only in internal, but also in foreign affairs. She demanded that Ivan III refuse to pay tribute to the Horde Khan and finally free himself from his power. Skillful advice Paleolog, as evidenced by V.O. Klyuchevsky, always met the intentions of her husband. Therefore, he refused to pay tribute. Ivan III trampled on the khan's charter in Zamoskovreche, in the Horde courtyard. Later, the Transfiguration Church was built on this site. However, even then the people "spoke" of Paleologus. Before Ivan III went to the great in 1480, he sent his wife and children to Beloozero. For this, the subjects attributed to the sovereign the intention to quit power in the event that he takes Moscow and flees with his wife.
"Duma" and a change in the treatment of subordinates
Ivan III, freed from the yoke, finally felt like a sovereign sovereign. Palace etiquette through the efforts of Sophia began to resemble Byzantine. The prince gave his wife a "gift": Ivan III allowed Paleolog to gather his own "thought" from the members of the retinue and arrange "diplomatic receptions" in his half. The princess received foreign ambassadors and conversed politely with them. This was an unprecedented innovation for Russia. The treatment at the court of the sovereign also changed.
Sophia Palaiologos brought sovereign rights to her husband, as well as the right to the Byzantine throne, as noted by F. I. Uspensky, a historian who studied this period. The boyars had to reckon with this. Ivan III used to love disputes and objections, but under Sophia, he radically changed the treatment of his courtiers. Ivan began to hold himself impregnable, easily fell into anger, often imposed disgrace, demanded special respect for himself. Rumor also attributed all these misfortunes to the influence of Sophia Paleolog.
Fight for the throne
She was also accused of violating the throne. Enemies in 1497 told the prince that Sophia Paleologus planned to poison his grandson in order to put her own son on the throne, that fortune-tellers preparing a poisonous potion were secretly visiting her, that Vasily himself was participating in this conspiracy. Ivan III took the side of his grandson in this matter. He ordered the soothsayers to be drowned in the Moscow River, arrested Vasily, and removed his wife from him, defiantly executing several members of the Paleolog "thought". In 1498, Ivan III married Dmitry in the Assumption Cathedral as heir to the throne.
However, Sophia had in her blood the ability to court intrigues. She accused Elena Voloshanka of heresy and was able to bring about her downfall. The Grand Duke placed his grandson and daughter-in-law in disgrace and named Vasily in 1500 as the legitimate heir to the throne.
Sophia Paleolog: role in history
The marriage of Sophia Paleolog and Ivan III, of course, strengthened the Muscovite state. He contributed to its transformation into the Third Rome. Sofia Paleolog lived for over 30 years in Russia, having given birth to 12 children to her husband. However, she never managed to fully understand a foreign country, its laws and traditions. Even in official chronicles there are records condemning her behavior in some situations that are difficult for the country.
Sofia attracted architects and other cultural figures, as well as doctors, to the Russian capital. The creations of Italian architects have made Moscow not inferior in majesty and beauty to the capitals of Europe. This helped to strengthen the prestige of the Moscow sovereign, emphasized the continuity of the Russian capital to the Second Rome.
Sophia's death
Sophia died in Moscow on August 7, 1503. She was buried in the Ascension Convent of the Moscow Kremlin. In December 1994, in connection with the transfer of the remains of the royal and princely wives to the Archangel Cathedral, S. A. Nikitin restored her sculptural portrait based on the preserved skull of Sophia (pictured above). Now we can at least roughly imagine what Sophia Paleolog looked like. Interesting facts and biographical information about her are numerous. We tried to select the most important when compiling this article.
At the end of the 15th century, in the Russian lands united around Moscow, the concept began to emerge, according to which the Russian state was the successor of the Byzantine Empire. A few decades later, the thesis “Moscow is the Third Rome” will become a symbol of the state ideology of the Russian state.
A major role in the formation of a new ideology and in the changes that were taking place at that time inside Russia was destined to be played by a woman whose name was heard by almost everyone who had ever come into contact with Russian history. Sophia Paleolog, wife of Grand Duke Ivan III, has contributed to the development of Russian architecture, medicine, culture and many other areas of life.
There is another view of her, according to which she was the "Russian Catherine de Medici", whose intrigues set off the development of Russia along a completely different path and brought confusion to the life of the state.
The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between. Sophia Paleolog did not choose Russia - Russia chose her, a girl from the last dynasty of Byzantine emperors, as a wife for the Grand Duke of Moscow.
Byzantine orphan at the papal court
Thomas Palaiologos, Sophia's father. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Zoya Paleologina, daughter Despot (this is the title of the position) Morea Thomas Palaiologos, was born at a tragic time. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire, the successor of Ancient Rome, after a thousand years of existence, collapsed under the blows of the Ottomans. The fall of Constantinople was a symbol of the empire's death, in which Emperor Constantine XI, brother of Thomas Palaiologos and uncle of Zoe.
The Despotate of Morea, a province of Byzantium ruled by Thomas Palaiologos, held out until 1460. These years, Zoya lived with her father and brothers in Mystra, the capital of Morea, a city located next to Ancient Sparta. After Sultan Mehmed II captured the Morea, Thomas Palaiologos went to the island of Corfu, and then to Rome, where he died.
Children from the royal family of the lost empire lived at the court of the Pope. Shortly before the death of Thomas Palaiologos, in order to gain support, he converted to Catholicism. His children also became Catholics. Zoya after baptism in the Roman rite was named Sophia.
Vissarion of Nicaea. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
A 10-year-old girl, taken into the care of the papal court, did not have the opportunity to decide anything on her own. She was appointed mentor Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea, one of the authors of the union, which was supposed to unite Catholics and Orthodox under the common authority of the Pope.
Sophia's fate was going to be arranged through marriage. In 1466 she was offered as a bride to a Cypriot King Jacques II de Lusignan but he refused. In 1467 she was offered as a wife Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. The prince agreed, after which a solemn betrothal took place.
Bride on the "icon"
But Sophia was not destined to become the wife of an Italian. In Rome, it became known that the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III had been widowed. The Russian prince was young, at the time of the death of his first wife he was only 27 years old, and it was expected that he would soon be looking for a new wife.
Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea saw this as a chance to promote his idea of Uniatism to Russian lands. From his filing in 1469 Pope Paul II sent a letter to Ivan III, in which he proposed 14-year-old Sophia Paleolog as a bride. The letter referred to her as an "Orthodox Christian" without mentioning her conversion to Catholicism.
Ivan III was not devoid of ambition, which his wife would often play later on. Upon learning that the niece of the Byzantine emperor was proposed as a bride, he agreed.
Viktor Muyzhel. "Ambassador Ivan Fryazin presents Ivan III with a portrait of his bride Sophia Paleolog." Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
Negotiations, however, had just begun - it was necessary to discuss all the details. The Russian ambassador sent to Rome returned with a gift that shocked both the groom and his entourage. In the annals, this fact was reflected in the words “bring the princess on the icon.”
The fact is that in Russia at that time secular painting did not exist at all, and the portrait of Sophia sent to Ivan III was perceived in Moscow as an “icon”.
Sofia Paleolog. Reconstruction from the skull of S. Nikitin. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
However, having figured out what was happening, the Moscow prince was pleased with the appearance of the bride. In historical literature, there are various descriptions of Sophia Paleolog - from beauty to ugliness. In the 1990s, studies of the remains of the wife of Ivan III were carried out, during which her appearance was also restored. Sophia was a short woman (about 160 cm), prone to corpulence, with strong-willed features that can be called, if not beautiful, then rather pretty. Be that as it may, Ivan III liked her.
The failure of Vissarion of Nicaea
The formalities were settled by the spring of 1472, when a new Russian embassy arrived in Rome, this time for the bride herself.
On June 1, 1472, an absentee betrothal took place in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Russian Deputy Grand Duke Ambassador Ivan Fryazin. The guests were wife of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Clarice Orsini And Queen Katarina of Bosnia. The Pope, in addition to gifts, gave the bride a dowry of 6,000 ducats.
Sophia Paleolog enters Moscow. Miniature of the Front Chronicle. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
On June 24, 1472, a large convoy of Sophia Paleolog, together with the Russian ambassador, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by a Roman retinue led by Cardinal Bessarion of Nicaea.
It was necessary to get to Moscow through Germany along the Baltic Sea, and then through the Baltic States, Pskov and Novgorod. Such a difficult route was due to the fact that Russia once again began to have political problems with Poland during this period.
From time immemorial, the Byzantines were famous for their cunning and deceit. The fact that Sophia Palaiologos inherited these qualities in full, Bessarion of Nicaea found out soon after the bride's convoy crossed the border of Russia. The 17-year-old girl announced that from now on she would no longer perform Catholic rites, but would return to the faith of her ancestors, that is, to Orthodoxy. All the ambitious plans of the cardinal collapsed. Attempts by Catholics to gain a foothold in Moscow and increase their influence failed.
November 12, 1472 Sophia entered Moscow. Here, too, there were many who were wary of her, seeing her as a "Roman agent." According to some information, Metropolitan Philip, dissatisfied with the bride, refused to hold the wedding ceremony, because of which the ceremony was held Kolomna Archpriest Hosea.
But be that as it may, Sophia Paleolog became the wife of Ivan III.
Fedor Bronnikov. "Meeting of Princess Sophia Paleolog by Pskov posadniks and boyars at the mouth of the Embakh on Lake Peipsi". Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
How Sophia delivered Russia from the yoke
Their marriage lasted 30 years, she gave birth to her husband 12 children, of which five sons and four daughters survived to adulthood. Judging by historical documents, the Grand Duke was attached to his wife and children, for which he even received reproaches from high-ranking ministers of the church, who believed that this was detrimental to state interests.
Sophia never forgot about her origin and behaved as, in her opinion, the emperor's niece was supposed to behave. Under her influence, the receptions of the Grand Duke, especially the receptions of ambassadors, were furnished with a complex and colorful ceremonial, similar to the Byzantine one. Thanks to her, the Byzantine double-headed eagle migrated to Russian heraldry. Thanks to her influence, Grand Duke Ivan III began to call himself the "Russian Tsar". Under the son and grandson of Sophia Paleolog, this naming of the Russian ruler will become official.
Judging by the actions and deeds of Sophia, she, having lost her native Byzantium, seriously set about building it in another Orthodox country. To help her was the ambition of her husband, on whom she successfully played.
When the Horde Khan Akhmat prepared an invasion of Russian lands and in Moscow they discussed the issue of the amount of tribute with which you can pay off misfortune, Sophia intervened in the matter. Bursting into tears, she began to reproach her husband for the fact that the country was still forced to pay tribute and that it was time to end this shameful situation. Ivan III was not a warlike person, but his wife's reproaches touched him to the core. He decided to gather an army and march towards Akhmat.
At the same time, the Grand Duke sent his wife and children first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero, fearing a military failure.
But failure did not happen - on the Ugra River, where the troops of Akhmat and Ivan III met, the battle did not happen. After what is known as “standing on the Ugra”, Akhmat retreated without a fight, and dependence on the Horde ended completely.
15th century rebuilding
Sophia inspired her husband that the sovereign of such a great power as he could not live in the capital with wooden churches and chambers. Under the influence of his wife, Ivan III began the restructuring of the Kremlin. For the construction of the Assumption Cathedral from Italy was invited architect Aristotle Fioravanti. At the construction site, white stone was actively used, which is why the expression “white-stone Moscow”, which has been preserved for centuries, appeared.
The invitation of foreign experts in various fields became a widespread phenomenon under Sophia Paleolog. The Italians and Greeks, who took up the post of ambassadors under Ivan III, will begin to actively invite their fellow countrymen to Russia: architects, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths. Among the visitors there were a large number of professional doctors.
Sophia arrived in Moscow with a large dowry, part of which was occupied by a library that included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, among which were poems Homer, essays Aristotle And Plato and even books from the Library of Alexandria.
These books formed the basis of the legendary missing library of Ivan the Terrible, which enthusiasts are trying to find to this day. Skeptics, however, believe that such a library did not really exist.
Speaking about the hostile and wary attitude towards Sophia of the Russians, it must be said that they were embarrassed by her independent behavior, active interference in state affairs. Such behavior for Sophia's predecessors as Grand Duchesses, and simply for Russian women, was uncharacteristic.
Battle of the heirs
By the time of the second marriage of Ivan III, he already had a son from his first wife - Ivan Young who was declared heir to the throne. But with the birth of children, Sophia began to grow tension. The Russian nobility split into two groups, one of which supported Ivan the Young, and the second - Sophia.
Relations between the stepmother and stepson did not work out, so much so that Ivan III himself had to exhort his son to behave decently.
Ivan Molodoy was only three years younger than Sophia and did not feel respect for her, apparently considering his father's new marriage a betrayal of his dead mother.
In 1479, Sophia, who had previously given birth only to girls, gave birth to a son named Vasily. As a true representative of the Byzantine imperial family, she was ready to provide her son with the throne at any cost.
By this time, Ivan the Young was already mentioned in Russian documents as a co-ruler of his father. And in 1483 the heir married daughter of the ruler of Moldavia, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka.
The relationship between Sophia and Elena immediately became hostile. When in 1483 Elena gave birth to a son Dmitry, Vasily's prospects for inheriting his father's throne became completely illusory.
Women's rivalry at the court of Ivan III was fierce. Both Elena and Sophia were eager to get rid of not only their rival, but also her offspring.
In 1484, Ivan III decided to give his daughter-in-law a pearl dowry left over from his first wife. But then it turned out that Sophia had already given it to her relative. The Grand Duke, enraged by the arbitrariness of his wife, forced her to return the gift, and the relative herself, together with her husband, had to flee the Russian lands for fear of punishment.
Death and burial of Grand Duchess Sophia Paleolog. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
The loser loses everything
In 1490, the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, fell ill with "aching legs." Especially for his treatment from Venice was called doctor Lebi Zhidovin, but he could not help, and on March 7, 1490, the heir died. The doctor was executed by order of Ivan III, and rumors circulated in Moscow that Ivan Young died as a result of poisoning, which was the work of Sophia Paleolog.
There is no evidence for this, however. After the death of Ivan the Young, his son became the new heir, known in Russian historiography as Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk.
Dmitry Vnuk was not officially proclaimed heir, and therefore Sophia Paleolog continued her attempts to achieve the throne for Vasily.
In 1497, a conspiracy of supporters of Vasily and Sophia was uncovered. Enraged, Ivan III sent its participants to the chopping block, but did not touch his wife and son. However, they were in disgrace, actually under house arrest. On February 4, 1498, Dmitry Vnuk was officially proclaimed heir to the throne.
The fight, however, was not over. Soon, Sophia's party managed to achieve revenge - this time, the supporters of Dmitry and Elena Voloshanka were given into the hands of the executioners. The denouement came on April 11, 1502. New accusations of a conspiracy against Dmitry Vnuk and his mother Ivan III considered convincing, sending them under house arrest. A few days later, Vasily was proclaimed co-ruler of his father and heir to the throne, and Dmitry Vnuk and his mother were placed in prison.
Birth of an empire
Sophia Paleolog, who actually elevated her son to the Russian throne, herself did not live up to this moment. She died on April 7, 1503 and was buried in a massive white stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to the grave. Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III.
The Grand Duke, who was widowed a second time, outlived his beloved Sophia by two years, passing away in October 1505. Elena Voloshanka died in prison.
Vasily III, having ascended the throne, first of all tightened the conditions of detention for a competitor - Dmitry Vnuk was shackled in iron shackles and placed in a small cell. In 1509, the 25-year-old noble prisoner died.
In 1514, in an agreement with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I Vasily III for the first time in the history of Russia is called the emperor of the Rus. This charter is then used Peter I as proof of their rights to be crowned as emperor.
The efforts of Sophia Palaiologos, a proud Byzantine who set about building a new empire to replace the lost one, were not in vain.
In the middle of the 15th century, when Constantinople fell under the onslaught of the Turks, the 17-year-old Byzantine princess Sophia left Rome to transfer the spirit of the old empire to a new, still emerging state.
With her fabulous life and journey full of adventure - from the poorly lit passages of the papal church to the snowy Russian steppes, from the secret mission behind the betrothal to the Moscow prince, to the mysterious and still not found collection of books that she brought with her from Constantinople, - we were introduced by the journalist and writer Yorgos Leonardos, the author of the book "Sophia Palaiologos - from Byzantium to Russia", as well as many other historical novels.
In a conversation with a reporter from 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 Palaiologos 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 Russia.
Yorgos Leonardos describes the personality of Sophia in this way: “Sophia was the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI, and the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos. She was baptized in Mistra, giving 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 Corfu. With the participation of Vissarion of Nicaea, who had already become a Catholic cardinal in Rome by that time, Zoya moved to Rome with her father, brothers and sister. After the premature death of her parents, Vissarion took over custody of three children who converted to the Catholic faith. However, Sophia's life changed when Paul II took the papacy, who wanted her to enter into a political marriage. The princess was betrothed to Prince Ivan III of Moscow, hoping that Orthodox Russia would convert to Catholicism. Sophia, who came from the Byzantine imperial family, was sent by Paul to Moscow as the heiress of Constantinople. Her first stop after Rome was the city of Pskov, where the Russian people enthusiastically received the young girl.
© 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, following her every step, she returned to Orthodoxy, defying the will of the pope. On November 12, 1472, Zoya became the second wife of the 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 Russia paid tribute to the Horde. 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, because, as the author explains, "she started the Byzantine order at the Russian court and helped create the Russian state."
“Since Sophia was the only heiress 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 lasted until the 1917 revolution 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 is not Constantinople captured by the Turks, but Moscow.”
© Sputnik. Alexey Filippov
According to Yorgos Leonardos, “Sofia was the first to create in Russia, on the model of Constantinople, a secret service, a prototype of the tsarist secret police and the Soviet KGB. This contribution of hers is recognized by the Russian authorities today. So, the former head of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Alexei Patrushev, on the Day of Military Counterintelligence on December 19, 2007, said that the country honors Sophia Palaiologos, as she defended Russia from internal and external enemies.
Also, Moscow “owes her a change in its appearance, since Sofia brought here Italian and Byzantine architects who built mainly stone buildings, for example, the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin, as well as the Kremlin walls that still exist. Also, according to the Byzantine model, secret passages were dug under the territory of the entire Kremlin.
© Sputnik. Sergei Pyatakov
“Since 1472, the history of the modern - tsarist - state begins in Russia. At that time, due to the climate, they did not engage in agriculture here, but only hunted. Sophia convinced the subjects of Ivan III to cultivate the fields and thus laid the foundation for the formation of agriculture in the country.
Sophia’s personality was also respected under the Soviet regime: according to Leonardos, “when the Ascension Monastery was destroyed in the Kremlin, in which the remains of the tsarina were stored, they were not only not disposed of, but by Stalin’s decree they were placed in a tomb, which was then transferred to the Arkhangelsk the cathedral".
Yorgos Leonardos said that Sophia brought 60 carts from Constantinople with books and rare treasures that were kept in the underground treasuries of the Kremlin and have not been found so far.
“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, to which he, of course, did not agree. 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 the history of Russia, who was called the Great for his deeds, committed 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, which had just begun to emerge. It was she who built the state in Russia, giving it Byzantine features, and on the whole 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,” said Yorgos Leonardos.
As for the images of Sophia, Leonardos emphasized that “her portraits have not been preserved, but even under communism, with the help of special technologies, scientists recreated the appearance of the queen from her remains. This is how the bust appeared, which is placed near the entrance to the Historical Museum next to the Kremlin.”
“The legacy of Sophia Paleolog is Russia itself…” Yorgos Leonardos summed up.
The niece of the last ruler of Byzantium, having survived the collapse of one empire, decided to revive it in a new place.
Mother of the "Third Rome"
At the end of the 15th century, in the Russian lands united around Moscow, the concept began to emerge, according to which the Russian state was the successor of the Byzantine Empire. A few decades later, the thesis "Moscow - the Third Rome" will become a symbol of the state ideology of the Russian state.
A major role in the formation of a new ideology and in the changes that were taking place at that time inside Russia was destined to be played by a woman whose name was heard by almost everyone who had ever come into contact with Russian history. Sophia Paleolog, wife of Grand Duke Ivan III, has contributed to the development of Russian architecture, medicine, culture and many other areas of life.
There is another view of her, according to which she was the "Russian Catherine de Medici", whose intrigues set off the development of Russia along a completely different path and brought confusion to the life of the state.
The truth, as usual, lies somewhere in between. Sophia Paleolog did not choose Russia - Russia chose her, a girl from the last dynasty of Byzantine emperors, as a wife for the Grand Duke of Moscow.
Byzantine orphan at the papal court
Zoya Paleologina, daughter Despot (this is the title of the position) Morea Thomas Palaiologos, was born at a tragic time. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire, the successor of Ancient Rome, after a thousand years of existence, collapsed under the blows of the Ottomans. The fall of Constantinople was a symbol of the empire's death, in which Emperor Constantine XI, brother of Thomas Palaiologos and uncle of Zoe.
The Despotate of Morea, a province of Byzantium ruled by Thomas Palaiologos, held out until 1460. These years, Zoya lived with her father and brothers in Mystra, the capital of Morea, a city located next to Ancient Sparta. After Sultan Mehmed II captured the Morea, Thomas Palaiologos went to the island of Corfu, and then to Rome, where he died.
Children from the royal family of the lost empire lived at the court of the Pope. Shortly before the death of Thomas Palaiologos, in order to gain support, he converted to Catholicism. His children also became Catholics. Zoya after baptism in the Roman rite was named Sophia.
A 10-year-old girl, taken into the care of the papal court, did not have the opportunity to decide anything on her own. She was appointed mentor Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea, one of the authors of the union, which was supposed to unite Catholics and Orthodox under the common authority of the Pope.
Sophia's fate was going to be arranged through marriage. In 1466 she was offered as a bride to a Cypriot King Jacques II de Lusignan but he refused. In 1467 she was offered as a wife Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. The prince agreed, after which a solemn betrothal took place.
Bride on the "icon"
But Sophia was not destined to become the wife of an Italian. In Rome, it became known that the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III had been widowed. The Russian prince was young, at the time of the death of his first wife he was only 27 years old, and it was expected that he would soon be looking for a new wife.
Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea saw this as a chance to promote his idea of Uniatism to Russian lands. From his filing in 1469 Pope Paul II sent a letter to Ivan III, in which he proposed 14-year-old Sophia Paleolog as a bride. The letter referred to her as an "Orthodox Christian" without mentioning her conversion to Catholicism.
Ivan III was not devoid of ambition, which his wife would often play later on. Upon learning that the niece of the Byzantine emperor was proposed as a bride, he agreed.
Negotiations, however, had just begun - it was necessary to discuss all the details. The Russian ambassador sent to Rome returned with a gift that shocked both the groom and his entourage. In the annals, this fact was reflected in the words “bring the princess on the icon.”
The fact is that in Russia at that time secular painting did not exist at all, and the portrait of Sophia sent to Ivan III was perceived in Moscow as an “icon”.
However, having figured out what was happening, the Moscow prince was pleased with the appearance of the bride. In historical literature, there are various descriptions of Sophia Paleolog - from beauty to ugliness. In the 1990s, studies of the remains of the wife of Ivan III were carried out, during which her appearance was also restored. Sophia was a short woman (about 160 cm), prone to corpulence, with strong-willed features that can be called, if not beautiful, then rather pretty. Be that as it may, Ivan III liked her.
The failure of Vissarion of Nicaea
The formalities were settled by the spring of 1472, when a new Russian embassy arrived in Rome, this time for the bride herself.
On June 1, 1472, an absentee betrothal took place in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. Russian Deputy Grand Duke Ambassador Ivan Fryazin. The guests were wife of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Clarice Orsini And Queen Katarina of Bosnia. The Pope, in addition to gifts, gave the bride a dowry of 6,000 ducats.
On June 24, 1472, a large convoy of Sophia Paleolog, together with the Russian ambassador, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by a Roman retinue led by Cardinal Bessarion of Nicaea.
It was necessary to get to Moscow through Germany along the Baltic Sea, and then through the Baltic States, Pskov and Novgorod. Such a difficult route was due to the fact that Russia once again began to have political problems with Poland during this period.
From time immemorial, the Byzantines were famous for their cunning and deceit. The fact that Sophia Palaiologos inherited these qualities in full, Bessarion of Nicaea found out soon after the bride's convoy crossed the border of Russia. The 17-year-old girl announced that from now on she would no longer perform Catholic rites, but would return to the faith of her ancestors, that is, to Orthodoxy. All the ambitious plans of the cardinal collapsed. Attempts by Catholics to gain a foothold in Moscow and increase their influence failed.
November 12, 1472 Sophia entered Moscow. Here, too, there were many who were wary of her, seeing her as a "Roman agent." According to some information, Metropolitan Philip, dissatisfied with the bride, refused to hold the wedding ceremony, because of which the ceremony was held Kolomna Archpriest Hosea.
But be that as it may, Sophia Paleolog became the wife of Ivan III.
How Sophia delivered Russia from the yoke
Their marriage lasted 30 years, she gave birth to her husband 12 children, of which five sons and four daughters survived to adulthood. Judging by historical documents, the Grand Duke was attached to his wife and children, for which he even received reproaches from high-ranking ministers of the church, who believed that this was detrimental to state interests.
Sophia never forgot about her origin and behaved as, in her opinion, the emperor's niece was supposed to behave. Under her influence, the receptions of the Grand Duke, especially the receptions of ambassadors, were furnished with a complex and colorful ceremonial, similar to the Byzantine one. Thanks to her, the Byzantine double-headed eagle migrated to Russian heraldry. Thanks to her influence, Grand Duke Ivan III began to call himself the "Russian Tsar". Under the son and grandson of Sophia Paleolog, this naming of the Russian ruler will become official.
Judging by the actions and deeds of Sophia, she, having lost her native Byzantium, seriously set about building it in another Orthodox country. To help her was the ambition of her husband, on whom she successfully played.
When the Horde Khan Akhmat prepared an invasion of Russian lands and in Moscow they discussed the issue of the amount of tribute with which you can pay off misfortune, Sophia intervened in the matter. Bursting into tears, she began to reproach her husband for the fact that the country was still forced to pay tribute and that it was time to end this shameful situation. Ivan III was not a warlike person, but his wife's reproaches touched him to the core. He decided to gather an army and march towards Akhmat.
At the same time, the Grand Duke sent his wife and children first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero, fearing a military failure.
But failure did not happen - on the Ugra River, where the troops of Akhmat and Ivan III met, the battle did not happen. After what is known as “standing on the Ugra”, Akhmat retreated without a fight, and dependence on the Horde ended completely.
15th century rebuilding
Sophia inspired her husband that the sovereign of such a great power as he could not live in the capital with wooden churches and chambers. Under the influence of his wife, Ivan III began the restructuring of the Kremlin. For the construction of the Assumption Cathedral from Italy was invited architect Aristotle Fioravanti. At the construction site, white stone was actively used, which is why the expression “white-stone Moscow”, which has been preserved for centuries, appeared.
The invitation of foreign experts in various fields became a widespread phenomenon under Sophia Paleolog. The Italians and Greeks, who took up the post of ambassadors under Ivan III, will begin to actively invite their fellow countrymen to Russia: architects, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths. Among the visitors there were a large number of professional doctors.
Sophia arrived in Moscow with a large dowry, part of which was occupied by a library that included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, among which were poems Homer, essays Aristotle And Plato and even books from the Library of Alexandria.
These books formed the basis of the legendary missing library of Ivan the Terrible, which enthusiasts are trying to find to this day. Skeptics, however, believe that such a library did not really exist.
Speaking about the hostile and wary attitude towards Sophia of the Russians, it must be said that they were embarrassed by her independent behavior, active interference in state affairs. Such behavior for Sophia's predecessors as Grand Duchesses, and simply for Russian women, was uncharacteristic.
Battle of the heirs
By the time of the second marriage of Ivan III, he already had a son from his first wife - Ivan Young who was declared heir to the throne. But with the birth of children, Sophia began to grow tension. The Russian nobility split into two groups, one of which supported Ivan the Young, and the second - Sophia.
Relations between the stepmother and stepson did not work out, so much so that Ivan III himself had to exhort his son to behave decently.
Ivan Molodoy was only three years younger than Sophia and did not feel respect for her, apparently considering his father's new marriage a betrayal of his dead mother.
In 1479, Sophia, who had previously given birth only to girls, gave birth to a son named Vasily. As a true representative of the Byzantine imperial family, she was ready to provide her son with the throne at any cost.
By this time, Ivan the Young was already mentioned in Russian documents as a co-ruler of his father. And in 1483 the heir married daughter of the ruler of Moldavia, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka.
The relationship between Sophia and Elena immediately became hostile. When in 1483 Elena gave birth to a son Dmitry, Vasily's prospects for inheriting his father's throne became completely illusory.
Women's rivalry at the court of Ivan III was fierce. Both Elena and Sophia were eager to get rid of not only their rival, but also her offspring.
In 1484, Ivan III decided to give his daughter-in-law a pearl dowry left over from his first wife. But then it turned out that Sophia had already given it to her relative. The Grand Duke, enraged by the arbitrariness of his wife, forced her to return the gift, and the relative herself, together with her husband, had to flee the Russian lands for fear of punishment.
The loser loses everything
In 1490, the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, fell ill with "aching legs." Especially for his treatment from Venice was called doctor Lebi Zhidovin, but he could not help, and on March 7, 1490, the heir died. The doctor was executed by order of Ivan III, and rumors circulated in Moscow that Ivan Young died as a result of poisoning, which was the work of Sophia Paleolog.
There is no evidence for this, however. After the death of Ivan the Young, his son became the new heir, known in Russian historiography as Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk.
Dmitry Vnuk was not officially proclaimed heir, and therefore Sophia Paleolog continued her attempts to achieve the throne for Vasily.
In 1497, a conspiracy of supporters of Vasily and Sophia was uncovered. Enraged, Ivan III sent its participants to the chopping block, but did not touch his wife and son. However, they were in disgrace, actually under house arrest. On February 4, 1498, Dmitry Vnuk was officially proclaimed heir to the throne.
The fight, however, was not over. Soon, Sophia's party managed to achieve revenge - this time, the supporters of Dmitry and Elena Voloshanka were given into the hands of the executioners. The denouement came on April 11, 1502. New accusations of a conspiracy against Dmitry Vnuk and his mother Ivan III considered convincing, sending them under house arrest. A few days later, Vasily was proclaimed co-ruler of his father and heir to the throne, and Dmitry Vnuk and his mother were placed in prison.
Birth of an empire
Sophia Paleolog, who actually elevated her son to the Russian throne, herself did not live up to this moment. She died on April 7, 1503 and was buried in a massive white stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to the grave. Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III.
The Grand Duke, who was widowed a second time, outlived his beloved Sophia by two years, passing away in October 1505. Elena Voloshanka died in prison.
Vasily III, having ascended the throne, first of all tightened the conditions of detention for a competitor - Dmitry Vnuk was shackled in iron shackles and placed in a small cell. In 1509, the 25-year-old noble prisoner died.
In 1514, in an agreement with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I Vasily III for the first time in the history of Russia is called the emperor of the Rus. This charter is then used Peter I as proof of their rights to be crowned as emperor.
The efforts of Sophia Palaiologos, a proud Byzantine who set about building a new empire to replace the lost one, were not in vain.
1. Sofia Paleolog was the daughter of the Despot of the Morea (now the Peloponnese) Thomas Palaiologos and niece of the last emperor of the Byzantine Empire Constantine XI.
2. Sophia was named at birth Zoey. It was born two years after the Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453, and the Byzantine Empire ceased to exist. Morea was captured five years later. Zoe's family was forced to flee, finding refuge in Rome. To obtain the support of the Pope Thomas, Palaiologos converted to Catholicism with his family. With the change of faith, Zoya became Sophia.
3. The immediate guardian of Sophia Paleolog was appointed cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea, supporter of the union, that is, the unification of Catholics and Orthodox under the authority of the Pope. Sophia's fate was supposed to be decided by an advantageous marriage. In 1466 she was offered as a bride to a Cypriot King Jacques II de Lusignan, but he refused. In 1467 she was offered as a wife Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. The prince agreed, after which a solemn betrothal took place.
4. The fate of Sophia changed dramatically after it became known that Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III widowed and looking for a new wife. Vissarion of Nicaea decided that if Sophia Paleolog becomes the wife of Ivan III, the Russian lands could be brought under the influence of the Pope.
Sofia Paleolog. Reconstruction from the skull of S. Nikitin. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
5. On June 1, 1472, in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, Ivan III and Sophia Palaiologos were betrothed in absentia. Russian Deputy Grand Duke Ambassador Ivan Fryazin. The wife of the ruler of Florence was present as guests Lorenzo the Magnificent Clarice Orsini and Queen Katarina of Bosnia.
6. During the marriage negotiations, representatives of the Pope were silent about the transition of Sophia Palaiologos to Catholicism. But a surprise awaited them too - immediately after crossing the Russian border, Sophia announced to Bessarion of Nicaea who accompanied her that she was returning to Orthodoxy and would not perform Catholic rites. In fact, this was the end of the attempt to carry out the union project in Russia.
7. The wedding of Ivan III and Sophia Paleolog in Russia took place on November 12, 1472. Their marriage lasted 30 years, Sofia gave birth to her husband 12 children, but the first four were girls. Born in March 1479, the boy, named Vasily, later became the Grand Duke of Moscow Basil III.
8. At the end of the 15th century, a fierce struggle unfolded in Moscow for the right to succession to the throne. The son of Ivan III from his first marriage was considered the official heir Ivan Young, who even had the status of co-ruler. However, with the birth of her son Vasily, Sophia Palaiologos joined the struggle for his rights to the throne. The Moscow elite was divided into two warring parties. Both of them fell into disgrace, but in the end, the victory remained with the supporters of Sophia Palaiologos and her son.
