Marina Smilets ( bg, Марина Смилец, before 1292 – 7 April 1355) was the eldest daughter of tsar
Smilets of Bulgaria
Smilets ( bg, Смилец) reigned as tsar of Bulgaria from 1292 to 1298.
Life
Although Smilets is credited with being descended "from the noblest family of the Bulgarians", his antecedents are completely unknown. Judging by the landholdings of S ...
and his
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 ...
wife, tentatively called
Smiltsena Palaiologina
Smiltsena ( bg, Смилцена) was the niece of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, and empress-consort (tsaritsa) of Tsar Smilets of Bulgaria.
Empress consort of Bulgaria
Smiltsena was the daughter of sebastocrator Constantine Palai ...
.
Family
The date and the place of Marina's birth are unknown, but she was born before her father's ascension on the Bulgarian throne in 1292, maybe in his official residence in
Kran
Kran may refer to:
* Kran, Kardzhali Province, a village in Kardzhali Province, Bulgaria
* Kran, Stara Zagora Province, a town in Stara Zagora Province, Bulgaria
* Kran Peninsula, peninsula forming the northeast extremity of Liège Island in the ...
. Marina's mother was the daughter of
Constantine Palaiologos (half-brother of Michael VIII)
Constantine Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Παλαιολόγος) (died 1271) was a Byzantine nobleman and the younger half-brother of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
Life and career
Constantine was b ...
. In the histories she was called
Smiltsena (Bulgarian: Смилцена; ''the wife of Smilets''), without a name being given. Marina was the elder sister of tsar
Ivan II of Bulgaria
Ivan II ( bg, Иван II, or Йоан II, ''Ioan II'', also styled inconsistently ''Ivan IV'' or ''Ioan IV''), reigned as tsar of Bulgaria from 1298 to 1299. The date of his birth is unknown, but probably not much earlier than c. 1290. He died ...
and
Teodora
Teodora ( sr, Теодора) is a feminine given name, a variation of the name Theodora.
Notable people with the name include:
*Teodora Sava (born 2001), Romanian singer
*Teodora Albon (born 1977), Romanian football referee
*Teodora Ginés, (153 ...
,
queen-consort of Serbia. Marina was maternal aunt of Emperor
Stefan Dušan
Stefan Uroš IV Dušan ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош IV Душан, ), known as Dušan the Mighty ( sr, / ; circa 1308 – 20 December 1355), was the King of Serbia from 8 September 1331 and Tsar (or Emperor) and autocrat of the Serbs, Gr ...
.
Despotissa of Kran
Tsar
Smilets died in 1298 and
Ivan II of Bulgaria
Ivan II ( bg, Иван II, or Йоан II, ''Ioan II'', also styled inconsistently ''Ivan IV'' or ''Ioan IV''), reigned as tsar of Bulgaria from 1298 to 1299. The date of his birth is unknown, but probably not much earlier than c. 1290. He died ...
succeeded him as emperor in
Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
. The new
tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East Slavs, East and South Slavs, South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''Caesar (title), caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" i ...
was a child, and the government was in the hands of the widowed empress Smiltsena. Marina's mother apparently defeated Smilets' brothers
Radoslav
Radoslav () is a common Slavic masculine given name, derived from ''rad-'' ("happy, eager, to care") and ''slava'' ("glory, fame"), both very common in Slavic dithematic names. It roughly means "eager glory". It is known since the Middle Ages. Th ...
and
Voysil, who sought refuge in the
Byzantine Empire
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 ...
and entered into Byzantine service. To meet this threat and the invasion of the
Mongol prince Chaka, Smiltsena sought an alliance with
Aldimir
Aldimir ( bg, Алдимир) or EltimirWhile Aldimir is mentioned in Medieval Greek sources solely as Ἐλτιμηρῆς, ''Eltimiris'', his original name ''Aldimir'' has been established thanks to the discovery of his son Ivan Dragushin's epi ...
(Eltimir), the brother of the former ruler
George Terter I
George Terter I ( bg, Георги Тертер I), of the Terter dynasty ruled as tsar of Bulgaria 1280–1292. He was born in Cherven. The date of his birth is unknown, and he died in 1308/1309.
Early life
The antecedents of George Terter I ar ...
. Aldimir was accordingly married to Marina and, if this had not happened earlier, was given the title of
despotēs and invested with an extensive landholding around
Kran
Kran may refer to:
* Kran, Kardzhali Province, a village in Kardzhali Province, Bulgaria
* Kran, Stara Zagora Province, a town in Stara Zagora Province, Bulgaria
* Kran Peninsula, peninsula forming the northeast extremity of Liège Island in the ...
. As his wife, Marina was granted the title of ''despotissa of Kran''.
Despina Marina gave birth to a son, called
Ivan Dragushin
Ivan Dragushin (Bulgarian: Иван Драгушин) was a Bulgarian nobleman, son of despot Aldimir from the Cuman Terter dynasty.
Ivanʻs mother was Marina Smilets, the daughter of tsar Smilets of Bulgaria, whilst Ivan's father was Aldimir, ...
.
The regents of Ivan II were unable to strengthen their position, and abandoned
Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province.
Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...
to Chaka, who installed himself as emperor in 1299. Smiltsena and Ivan II settled in the possessions of Aldimir and Marina, where they may have remained until the accession of Aldimir's nephew
Theodore Svetoslav
Theodore Svetoslav ( bg, Тодор Светослав, ''Todor Svetoslav'' and also Теодор Светослав, ''Teodor Svetoslav'') ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He expanded the ter ...
to the throne in 1300. Aldimir entered into an alliance with Theodore Svetoslav and his own possessions around Kran were enlarged. As result Aldemir maybe asked Marina's family to leave Kran and they fled to
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 (" ...
.
Exile
In 1305 Aldemir appears to have entered into negotiations with the Byzantines, and Theodore annexed his uncle's lands. Marina may have had a strong influence over the policy of her husband and, after Aldimir's subjugation by the Tsar, she and
Ivan Dragushin
Ivan Dragushin (Bulgarian: Иван Драгушин) was a Bulgarian nobleman, son of despot Aldimir from the Cuman Terter dynasty.
Ivanʻs mother was Marina Smilets, the daughter of tsar Smilets of Bulgaria, whilst Ivan's father was Aldimir, ...
fled to
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 (" ...
.
After 1321, Marina and her son relocated to the
Kingdom of Serbia
The Kingdom of Serbia ( sr-cyr, Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Princi ...
, where the power was seized by King
Stefan Dečanski
Stefan Uroš III ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Урош III, ), known as Stefan Dečanski ( sr-Cyrl, Стефан Дечански, ; 1276 – 11 November 1331), was the King of Serbia from 6 January 1322 to 8 September 1331. Dečanski was the son of ...
, who was married to Marina's sister
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 of ...
. Marina
[Marina is known as Marina Smilec in Serbian.] was treated with high respect by Dečanski and his son, Stefan Dušan, who was her
nephew
In the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a niece or nephew is a child of the subject's sibling or sibling-in-law. The converse relationship, the relationship from the niece or nephew's perspective, is that of an ...
. In Serbia, Marina and her son were land in
Polog
Polog ( mk, Полог, Polog; sq, Pollog), also known as the Polog Valley ( mk, links=no, Полошка Котлина, Pološka Kotlina; sq, links=no, Lugina e Pollogut), is located in the north-western part of the Republic of North Macedo ...
. Later she retired to a monastery under the monastic name Maria.
Marina was portrayed along with a boy, а grandson of her, in the church of
Kavadarci
Kavadarci ( mk, Кавадарци ) is a town in the Tikveš region of North Macedonia. In the heart of North Macedonia's wine country, it is home to the largest winery in Southeast Europe, named after the Tikveš plain. The town of Kavadarci i ...
in
Pološko Monastery.
Marina Smilets survived her son and died on 7 April
1355. She was buried in
Skopie
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
.
References
Sources
* Pavlov, Plamen, ''"Търновските царици"''. ДАР-РХ, 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smilets, Marina
13th-century births
1355 deaths
13th-century Bulgarian people
14th-century Bulgarian people
Bulgarian princesses
Marina
A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats.
A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...
14th-century Serbian royalty
People of the Serbian Empire
Year of birth uncertain
Year of birth unknown
Bulgarian expatriates in Serbia
13th-century Bulgarian women
14th-century Bulgarian women
14th-century Serbian women
13th-century Serbian women
13th-century Serbian people
14th-century Serbian people
Daughters of emperors