Elena of Bulgaria was an
empress consort of
Nicaea
Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
, married to
Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Doukas Laskaris; 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John II ...
(r. 1254–1258). She was daughter of
Bulgarian Emperor
In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...
Ivan Asen II
Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II ( bg, Иван Асен II, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I one of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Empi ...
and
Anna Maria of Hungary
Anna Maria of Hungary (1204–1237) was an Empress consort of Bulgaria, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. She was sister of king Béla IV and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
Her grandmother was Agnes of Antioch from House ...
.
Life
Born in to
Bulgarian Emperor
In the medieval history of Europe, Bulgaria's status as the Bulgarian Empire ( bg, Българско царство, ''Balgarsko tsarstvo'' ) occurred in two distinct periods: between the seventh and the eleventh centuries and again between the ...
Ivan Asen II
Ivan Asen II, also known as John Asen II ( bg, Иван Асен II, ; 1190s – May/June 1241), was Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1218 to 1241. He was still a child when his father Ivan Asen I one of the founders of the Second Bulgarian Empi ...
and
Anna Maria of Hungary
Anna Maria of Hungary (1204–1237) was an Empress consort of Bulgaria, daughter of King Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania. She was sister of king Béla IV and Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
Her grandmother was Agnes of Antioch from House ...
, she was the sister of emperor
Kaliman I of Bulgaria
Kaliman Asen I, also known as Coloman Asen I or Koloman ( bg, Калиман Асен I; 1234-August/September 1246) was Emperor (Tsar) of Bulgaria from 1241 to 1246. He was the son of Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria and Anna Maria of Hungary. He was on ...
and princess Tamara of Bulgaria. Her maternal grandparents were king
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II ( hu, II. András, hr, Andrija II., sk, Ondrej II., uk, Андрій II; 117721 September 1235), also known as Andrew of Jerusalem, was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1205 and 1235. He ruled the Principality of Halych from 1188 ...
and
Gertrude of Merania
Gertrude of Merania ( 1185 – 28 September 1213) was Queen of Hungary as the first wife of Andrew II from 1205 until her assassination. She was regent during her husband's absence.
Life
She was the daughter of the Bavarian Count Berthold IV ...
. On the paternal side, Emperor
Ivan Asen I of Bulgaria
Ivan Asen I, also known as Asen I or John Asen I ( bg, Иван Асен I; died in 1196), was emperor or tsar of Bulgaria from 1187/1188 to 1196 as co-ruler with his elder brother, Peter II. Hailing from the Byzantine theme of Paristrion, his ...
and
Elena of Bulgaria.
She was betrothed to
Baldwin II of Courtenay
Baldwin II, also known as Baldwin of Courtenay (french: Baudouin de Courtenay; late 1217 – October 1273), was the last Latin Emperor ruling from Constantinople.
Biography
Baldwin II was born in Constantinople (the only Latin emperor to be b ...
, the last
Latin emperor
The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261 ...
before marrying Theodore.
As part of an alliance between her father and the
Nicaean emperor
The Empire of Nicaea or the Nicene Empire is the conventional historiographic name for the largest of the three Byzantine Greeks, Byzantine Greek''A Short history of Greece from early times to 1964'' by W. A. Heurtley, H. C. Darby, C. W. Crawley ...
John III Vatatzes
John III Doukas Vatatzes, Latinized as Ducas Vatatzes ( el, Ιωάννης Δούκας Βατάτζης, ''Iōannēs Doukas Vatatzēs'', c. 1192 – 3 November 1254), was Emperor of Nicaea from 1221 to 1254. He was succeeded by his son, known ...
, negotiations began in 1233 on a marriage between her and Vatatzes' son and heir,
Theodore II Laskaris
Theodore II Doukas Laskaris or Ducas Lascaris ( gr, Θεόδωρος Δούκας Λάσκαρις, Theodōros Doukas Laskaris; 1221/1222 – 16 August 1258) was Emperor of Nicaea from 1254 to 1258. He was the only child of Emperor John II ...
. This took place finally in 1235 at
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
. She died in the spring or summer of 1252.
[Angelov, D. ''The Byzantine Hellene: The Life of Emperor Theodore Laskaris and Byzantium in the Thirteenth Century'', Cambridge / New York 2019, p. 128, 129.]
Her husband died in 1258 and their son,
John IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris (or Ducas Lascaris) ( el, Ἰωάννης Δούκας Λάσκαρις, ''Iōannēs Doukas Laskaris'') (December 25, 1250 – c. 1305) was emperor of Nicaea from August 16, 1258, to December 25, 1261. This empire was one ...
, who was only seven years old, became emperor.
Family
Elena and Theodore had five children:
*
Irene Doukaina Laskarina Irene Doukaina Laskarina ( bg, Ирина Ласкарина Асенина, el, Ειρήνη Δούκαινα Λασκαρίνα) was empress consort (tsaritsa) of Bulgaria (1258–1268). She was the second wife of Tsar Constantine Tikh of Bulgar ...
, who married
Constantine Tikh of Bulgaria
Konstantin Tih ( bg, Константин Тих Асен) or Constantine I Tikh (Константин I), was the tsar of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277, he was offered the throne from Mitso Asen. He led the Bulgarian Empire at a time when the nearb ...
(r. 1257-1277)
*
Maria Doukaina Laskarina
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, da ...
, who married
Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas
Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas, Latinized as Nicephorus I Comnenus Ducas ( el, Νικηφόρος Κομνηνός Δούκας, Nikēphoros Komnēnos Doukas; – ) was ruler of Epirus from 1267/8 to his death in 1296/98.
Life
Born around 1240 ...
of
Epirus
sq, Epiri rup, Epiru
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = Historical region
, image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg
, map_alt =
, map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
.
* Theodora, who married Matthew,
Baron of Veligosti
The Barony of Veligosti or Veligosti–Damala was a medieval Frankish fiefdom of the Principality of Achaea, originally centred on Veligosti ( el, Βελίγοστι or Βελιγόστη; french: Véligourt; es, Viligorda; it, Villegorde) in ...
*
Eudoxia Laskarina Asanina, who married Guglielmo Peire de Ventimiglia
*
John IV Laskaris
John IV Doukas Laskaris (or Ducas Lascaris) ( el, Ἰωάννης Δούκας Λάσκαρις, ''Iōannēs Doukas Laskaris'') (December 25, 1250 – c. 1305) was emperor of Nicaea from August 16, 1258, to December 25, 1261. This empire was one ...
, emperor between 1258 and 1261
References
Sources
*
*
*
1224 births
13th-century births
1252 deaths
13th-century deaths
13th-century Bulgarian women
13th-century Byzantine women
Bulgarian princesses
Laskarid dynasty
Empresses of Nicaea
Asen dynasty
Daughters of emperors
Mothers of Byzantine emperors
{{Byzantine-bio-stub