Eudokia Angelina (or Eudocia Angelina) ( gr, Ευδοκία Αγγελίνα, sr, Evdokija Anđel; around 1173–died , or later) was the consort of
Stefan the First-Crowned
Stefan Nemanja II ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Немања II, ), or Stephen the First-Crowned ( sr, / , ; – 24 September 1228), was the Grand Prince of Serbia from 1196 and the King of Serbia from 1217 until his death in 1228. He was the first ...
of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
from c. 1190 to c. 1200. She later remarried, to
Alexios V Doukas
Alexios V Doukas ( gr, Ἀλέξιος Δούκας; – December 1204), in Latinised spelling Alexius V Ducas, was Byzantine emperor from February to April 1204, just prior to the sack of Constantinople by the participants of the Fourth ...
, who briefly ruled as Emperor of Byzantium in 1204. She was a daughter of
Alexios III Angelos
Alexios III Angelos ( gkm, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, Alexios Komnēnos Angelos; 1211), Latinized as Alexius III Angelus, was Byzantine Emperor from March 1195 to 17/18 July 1203. He reigned under the name Alexios Komnen ...
and
Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera
Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina or better Kamatera ( el, Εὐφροσύνη Δούκαινα Καματερίνα ἢ Καματηρά, – 1211) was a Byzantine Empress by marriage to the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos.
Euphrosyne was ...
.
Life
Eudokia first married
Stefan, the second son of
Stefan Nemanja
Stefan Nemanja (Serbian Cyrillic: , ; – 13 February 1199) was the Grand Prince ( Veliki Župan) of the Serbian Grand Principality (also known as Raška, lat. ) from 1166 to 1196. A member of the Vukanović dynasty, Nemanja founded the Nemanji ...
, Grand Župan of
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. The marriage was arranged by her uncle, the emperor
Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos or Angelus ( grc-gre, Ἰσαάκιος Κομνηνός Ἄγγελος, ; September 1156 – January 1204) was Byzantine Emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204.
His father Andronikos Doukas Angelos was a ...
, around 1190, while her father was in exile in Syria. In 1196, on her father-in-law's retirement to a monastery, Eudokia's husband became ruler of Serbia. According to the
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
historian
Nicetas Choniates
Niketas or Nicetas Choniates ( el, Νικήτας Χωνιάτης; c. 1155 – 1217), whose actual surname was Akominatos (Ἀκομινάτος), was a Byzantine Greek government official and historian – like his brother Michael Akominatos, wh ...
, Stefan and Eudokia quarrelled and separated, accusing one another of adultery, and therefore in 1200 or 1201, Eudokia was banished from Serbia. Eudokia fled on foot with only the clothes on her back, seeking refuge at the court of Stefan's brother
Vukan, ruler of
Zeta
Zeta (, ; uppercase Ζ, lowercase ζ; grc, ζῆτα, el, ζήτα, label= Demotic Greek, classical or ''zē̂ta''; ''zíta'') is the sixth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 7. It was derived f ...
, who befriended her and provided for. When she recovered, Eudokia went to
Dyrrachium, from where a Byzantine ship returned her to her father in
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 (" ...
. The
repudiation of Eudokia shows the decline of Byzantine power and prestige.
In Constantinople Eudokia became the mistress of the future
Alexios V Doukas
Alexios V Doukas ( gr, Ἀλέξιος Δούκας; – December 1204), in Latinised spelling Alexius V Ducas, was Byzantine emperor from February to April 1204, just prior to the sack of Constantinople by the participants of the Fourth ...
, with whom she (and her mother) fled the city into
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
on April 12, 1204, as the Crusaders of the
Fourth Crusade
The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...
were storming the city. Reaching her deposed father at
Mosynopolis
Mosynopolis ( el, Μοσυνόπολις), of which only ruins now remain in Greek Thrace, was a city in the Roman province of Rhodope, which was known until the 9th century as Maximianopolis (Μαξιμιανούπολις) or, to distinguish it ...
, Eudocia was allowed to marry Alexios V, but he was arrested and mutilated on the orders of Alexios III. Eudokia was furious with her father's actions. Afterwards Alexios without any supporters, was captured and sentenced to death by the Crusaders.
Eudokia married thirdly
Leo Sgouros
Leo Sgouros ( el, Λέων Σγουρός), Latinized as Leo Sgurus, was a Greek independent lord in the northeastern Peloponnese in the early 13th century. The scion of the magnate Sgouros family, he succeeded his father as hereditary lord in th ...
, the independent ruler of
Corinth
Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...
, after he offered asylum to Alexios III and his family in 1204. Blockaded in the citadel of Corinth, Leo Sgouros committed suicide in 1207/1208. Eudokia is thought to have died around 1211.
By her marriage to Stefan of Serbia she had four children:
[Laskaris, p.24]
*
Stefan Radoslav
Stefan Radoslav ( sr-cyr, Стефан Радослав; 1192 – after 1235), also known as Stephanos Doukas ( gr, Στέφανος Δούκας), was the King of Serbia, from 1228 to 1233.
Family
Stefan was the eldest son of Stefan Nemanji ...
, King of Serbia (1228-1234)
*
Stefan Vladislav
Stefan Vladislav ( sr-cyr, Стефан Владислав, ; – after 1264) was the King of Serbia from 1234 to 1243. He was the middle son of Stefan the First-Crowned of the Nemanjić dynasty, who ruled Serbia from 1196 to 1228. Radosla ...
, King of Serbia from 1234 to 1243
*
Sava II
Saint Sava II ( sr, Свети Сава II / ''Sveti Sava II''; 1201–1271) was the third archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, serving from 1263 until his death in 1271. He was the middle son of King Stefan the First-Crowned of the Nemanji ...
, Archbishop of the Serbian Orthodox Church, serving from 1263 until his death in 1271
*
Komnena Nemanjić
Komnena Nemanjić ( sr-cyr, Комнена Немањић; fl. 1208–1215) was the Duchess consort of Dimitri Progoni, the albanian '' megas archon'' of Kruja, and later Gregory Kamonas, the ''archon'' of Elbasan. She was the daughter of Serbi ...
See also
*
List of Byzantine emperors
This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...
*
List of Roman and Byzantine Empresses
This is a list of Roman and Byzantine empresses. A Roman empress was a woman who was the wife of a Roman emperor, the ruler of the Roman Empire.
The Romans had no single term for the position: Latin and Greek titles such as '' augusta'' (Greek ...
Notes
Sources
*
*
*
*
*''O city of Byzantium: annals of Niketas Choniates'' tr. Harry J. Magoulias (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1984).
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angelina, Eudokia
1170s births
1210s deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain
Date of death unknown
Eudokia
Medieval Serbian royal consorts
Christians of the Fourth Crusade
Medieval Serbian people of Greek descent
Remarried royal consorts
12th-century Byzantine women
13th-century Byzantine empresses
Daughters of Byzantine emperors