Maria of Bulgaria (died 21 November, after 1095), known as Maria Doukaina ( gr, Μαρία Δούκαινα) in the Byzantine sources, was the wife of ''
protovestiarios'' and ''
domestikos ton scholon''
Andronikos Doukas and mother of Empress
Irene Doukaina.
Life
Maria was a daughter of Troian of Bulgaria by an unnamed Byzantine noblewoman descended from the families of
Kontostephanos and
Phokas, and thus a granddaughter of
Ivan Vladislav, the last ruler of the
First Bulgarian Empire
The First Bulgarian Empire ( cu, блъгарьско цѣсарьствиѥ, blagarysko tsesarystviye; bg, Първо българско царство) was a medieval Bulgar- Slavic and later Bulgarian state that existed in Southeastern Europ ...
.
Maria married
Andronikos Doukas well before 1066. Her husband was a son of the ''
Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caes ...
''
John Doukas, a major power player in Byzantine politics of the era, and Eirene Pelagonitissa. He was also a nephew of
Constantine X
Constantine X Doukas Romanization of Greek, or Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantinos X Doukas'', 1006 – 23 May 1067), was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder and first ruling member of th ...
and first cousin of
Michael VII
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas ( gr, Μιχαήλ Δούκας), nicknamed Parapinakes ( gr, Παραπινάκης, lit. "minus a quarter", with reference to the devaluation of the Byzantine currency under his rule), was the senior Byzantine e ...
.
Maria was endowed with an inheritance of vast land holdings around
Lake Ohrid, and her considerable income was used to support her husband's lavish lifestyle and political ambitions. As the last descendants of the ruling family of Bulgaria, Maria and her daughters
Irene
Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), the Greek for "peace".
Irene, and related names, may refer to:
* Irene (given name)
Places
* Irene, Gauteng, South Africa
* Irene, South Dakota, United States
* Irene, Texas, United Stat ...
and Anna, who married the
first notable member of the
Palaiologos family, carried not only immense wealth but also legitimisation of Byzantine authority over the Bulgarian population: her (and her daughters') prominent marriages are evidence for the eventual integration of the descendants of the
Cometopuli dynasty into the court nobility in
Constantinople. As mother of the Empress Irene Doukaina, Maria was a woman of some influence in the early years of the reign of
Alexios I Komnenos, although she, as a widow, shunned the Imperial court and chose to live in her
Lake Ohrid estate. Her granddaughter
Anna Komnene praises her beauty and wisdom in 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 ...
''.
In 1077–1081, she extensively rebuilt and restored the
Chora Church, to more or less its present shape.
Family
Maria of Bulgaria and Andronikos Doukas had seven children:
*
Michael Doukas
*
Constantine Doukas
Constantine X Doukas or Ducas ( el, Κωνσταντῖνος Δούκας, ''Kōnstantinos X Doukas'', 1006 – 23 May 1067), was Byzantine emperor from 1059 to 1067. He was the founder and first ruling member of the Doukid dynasty. Duri ...
*
Stephen Doukas
Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...
*
John Doukas
*
Irene Doukaina, who married Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos.
*Anna Doukaina, who married
George Palaiologos
*Theodora Doukaina, a nun
References
Sources
*
*
External links
*{{cite web , last=Marek , first=Miroslav , url=http://genealogy.euweb.cz/balkan/balkan8.html#MT , title= A family tree of the Comitopuli dynasty , publisher= Genealogy.EU
11th-century Byzantine women
11th-century Bulgarian women
Aaronios family
Doukid dynasty
Year of birth unknown
Year of death unknown
Cometopuli dynasty