Barbara Komnena (russian: Варвара Комнина, Varvara Komnina) is a mythical figure, claimed to be the daughter of the Byzantine emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

(reigned 1081–1118), and the wife of the

Grand Prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes grand duke) was the title of the ruler of Kiev and the ruler of Kievan Rus' from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prince of Vladimir and ...

Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich. Although she is mentioned in the works of various modern historians such as G. V. Vernadsky, most researchers her a fictional character. Varvara never appears among the four daughters of the emperor:

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, Eudokia and

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

.Николай Закревский. Описание Киева, Том 2. Напечатано иждивенѣм Московскаго археологическаго общества, 1868, C.541-542
/ref> She is also never mentioned lists of the members of the

Komnenos Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην� ...

dynasty at all. There is no mention of such a marriage in Byzantine sources. The most important text about this era is the ''

Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' ( el, Ἀλεξιάς, Alexias) is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial ...

'', written by Alexios I's daughter Anna Komnene, who would have been Varvara's sister, and who does not mention her in the number of her father's children, or as a relative given in marriage to the Russian prince. Barbara appears in Russian history mainly in connection with the transfer of the relics of her holy patroness,

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara ( grc, Ἁγία Βαρβάρα; cop, Ϯⲁⲅⲓⲁ Ⲃⲁⲣⲃⲁⲣⲁ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Lebanese and Greek saint and martyr. Acc ...

, from

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

. According to legend, the relics were given to Barbara as a dowry by her father. These relics, according to tradition, were laid by her in St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery, and transferred, after its demolition, to St. Volodimir's Cathedral). Visiting Kiev in 1656, the

Patriarch of Antioch Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (ἐπίσκοπος, ''episkopos'', from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian c ...

Macarios III Zaim Patriarch Macarius (or Makarios) III Ibn al-Za'im ( ar, مكاريوس الثالث بن الزعيم, Makāriyūs aṯ-Ṯāliṯ bin az-Zaʿīm; born Yousef Za'im, died 1672) was Patriarch of Antioch from 1647 to 1672. He led a period of blossom ...

, heard another legend about the transfer of the relics to Kiev in connection with the marriage of Princess Anna Porphyrogenita to Prince

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych ( orv, Володимѣръ Свѧтославичь, ''Volodiměrъ Svętoslavičь'';, ''Uladzimir'', russian: Владимир, ''Vladimir'', uk, Володимир, ''Volodymyr''. Se ...

. However, it seems most likely that the transfer relics of Saint Barbara's relics to Kiev took place after the

Mongol invasion of Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered Kievan Rus' in the 13th century, destroying numerous southern cities, including the largest cities, Kiev (50,000 inhabitants) and Chernihiv (30,000 inhabitants), with the only major cities escaping destr ...

and during the

decline of the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire experienced several cycles of growth and decay over the course of nearly a thousand years, including major losses during the Early Muslim conquests of the 7th century. However, modern historians generally agree that the start ...

. Researchers point out that the story of Princess Barbara seems to have appeared in hagiographic literature, such as ''The Lives of Saints'' by

Dimitry of Rostov Demetrius of Rostov (russian: Димитрий Ростовский, translit=Dmitri Rostovsky, ua, Димитрій Ростовський, translit=Dymytrii Rostovskyi, secular name Daniil Savvich Tuptalo, russian: Даниил Саввич Т ...

, and also in ''The torment of St. the Great Martyr Barbara and the story of her glorious wonders'' by .Ірина Володимирівна Жиленко. ЖИТІЄ ТА ЧУДЕСА СВЯТОЇ ВЕЛИКОМУЧЕНИЦІ ВАРВАРИ
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Komnena, Barbara 11th-century Byzantine women 12th-century Byzantine women Family of Alexios I Komnenos Legendary Russian people Rurik dynasty