Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina or Marija Angelina Nemanjić or Anna Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina ( el, Μαρία Αγγελίνα Δούκαινα Παλαιολογίνα, sr-cyr, Марија Ангелина Немањић; 1349 – 28 December 1394) was a

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...

- Serbian aristocrat and the self-proclaimed ''basilissa'' (

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

: βασίλισσα; Empress, queen) 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 ...

from 1384–85, succeeding the rule of her murdered husband

Thomas Preljubović Thomas Preljubović ( sr, Тома Прељубовић / Toma Preljubović; el, Θωμάς Κομνηνός Παλαιολόγος, Thōmas Komnēnos Palaiologos) was ruler of the Despotate of Epirus in Ioannina from 1366 to his death on December ...

. Maria and her husband were a famed couple as

patrons of the arts Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

during Tomo's rule of

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

from 1366 to 1384. She is portrayed in the icons.

Life

Maria was the daughter of the Serbian Emperor of

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

Simeon Uroš Simeon Uroš ( sr-cyr, Симеон Урош, gr, Συμεών Ούρεσης; 1326–1370), nicknamed Siniša (Синиша), was a self-proclaimed Emperor of Serbs and Greeks, from 1356 to 1370. He was son of Serbian King Stephen Uroš III a ...

, the half-brother of Emperor

Stephen Uroš IV Dušan of Serbia 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 ...

(

Nemanjić dynasty The House of Nemanjić ( sr-Cyrl, Немањић, Немањићи; Nemanjić, Nemanjići, ) was the most prominent dynasty of Serbia in the Middle Ages. This princely, royal, and later imperial house produced twelve Serbian monarchs, who rul ...

), and

Thomais Orsini {{more citations needed, date=February 2022 Thomais Orsini (born c. 1330 - ) was the queen consort of the Serbian tsar and ruler of Epirus and Thessaly, Simeon Uroš Nemanjić.Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994), The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical S ...

. Her maternal grandfather was John Orsini of Epirus. In 1361, Maria, then only 12 years old, married

, who was appointed the governor ( despot) of Epirus in

by her father in 1366. Popular with her subjects, she was allegedly mistreated by her husband and supposedly connived in his murder on 23 December 1384. The population of Ioannina acclaimed Maria as ruler. She used the title of ''basilissa'', female form of

basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...

. She summoned her brother

John Uroš Jovan Uroš Nemanjić ( sr, Јован Урош Немањић / ''Jovan Uroš Nemanjić'') or John Ouresis Doukas Palaiologos or Joasaph of Meteora ( gr, Ιωάννης Ούρεσης Δούκας Παλαιολόγος, ''Iōannēs Ouresēs Doú ...

Doukas Palaiologos (who became a monk in Meteora monastery by the name of Joasaph) to advise her in the affairs of state, though he didn't stay long. John Uroš suggested that Maria marry

Esau de' Buondelmonti Esau de' Buondelmonti ( gr, Ησαύ Μπουοντελμόντ) was the ruler of Ioannina and its surrounding area (central Epirus) from 1385 until his death in 1411, with the Byzantine title of Despot. Life Esau was the son of the Florentine ...

, one of the Latin noblemen captured by Thomas in 1379. It has been alleged that Maria was already enamored of the captive before the murder of her husband, and that this affair had resulted in the

assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

of Thomas. Of course, all of this is pure conjecture. Maria married Esau ("who sought recognition from

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

") in February 1385. Maria survived for a further decade, dying on 28 December 1394. She was 55. Upon Esau's assumption of power, John Uroš left for

Meteora The Meteora (; el, Μετέωρα, ) is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos.Sofianos, D.Z.: "Metéora". ...

where he was tonsured and took the name of Joasaph. He died in 1422. The ''

Chronicle of Ioannina The ''Chronicle of Ioannina'' is a prose chronicle written in Greek about the history of Ioannina during the rule of Thomas Preljubović, the Serb Despot of Epirus, who was based in Ioannina in the second half of the 14th century. The ''Chronicle'' ...

'', so hostile towards Thomas Preljubović, describes Maria in very flattering terms; the Byzantine historian

Laonikos Chalkokondyles Laonikos Chalkokondyles, Latinized as Laonicus Chalcocondyles ( el, Λαόνικος Χαλκοκονδύλης, from λαός "people", νικᾶν "to be victorious", an anagram of Nikolaos which bears the same meaning; c. 1430 – c. 1470; ...

, however, describes her as an unfaithful wife of questionable morality. Both accounts may be

bias Bias is a disproportionate weight ''in favor of'' or ''against'' an idea or thing, usually in a way that is closed-minded, prejudicial, or unfair. Biases can be innate or learned. People may develop biases for or against an individual, a group, ...

ed. Maria does not appear to have had surviving children from either marriage.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palaiologina, Maria Angelina Doukaina 14th-century despots of Epirus 14th-century women rulers 14th-century Serbian royalty Medieval rulers of Epirus Consorts of Epirus Nemanjić dynasty Medieval Serbian princesses 1394 deaths Year of birth uncertain People of Byzantine descent 14th-century rulers in Europe Medieval Ioannina Empresses regnant

Life

See also

References

Sources