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 Irene Doukaina or Ducaena ( el, , ''Eirēnē Doukaina''; – 19 February 1138) was a Byzantine Greek empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos. She was the mother of Emperor John II Komnenos and the historian Anna Ko ...

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 Ivan Vladislav ( cu, Їѡаннъ Владиславъ; bg, Иван/Йоан Владислав; died February 1018) ruled as emperor (tsar) of the First Bulgarian Empire from August or September 1015 to February 1018. The year of his birth is ...

, 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 Eur ...

. 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 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 a civil war, an ...

'' John Doukas, a major power player in Byzantine politics of the era, and Eirene Pelagonitissa. He was also a nephew of Constantine X 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 Lake Ohrid ( mk, Охридско Езеро , al, Liqeni i Ohrit , also referred as ''Liqeni i Pogradecit'';) is a lake which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of E ...

, 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 State ...

and Anna, who married the first notable member of the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...

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 The Kometopuli dynasty ( Bulgarian: , Bulgarian; ; Byzantine Greek: , ) was the last royal dynasty in the First Bulgarian Empire, ruling from ca. 976 until the fall of Bulgaria under Byzantine rule in 1018. The most notable member of the dyna ...

into the court nobility 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 (" ...

. 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 Alexios I Komnenos ( grc-gre, Ἀλέξιος Κομνηνός, 1057 – 15 August 1118; Latinized Alexius I Comnenus) was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. Although he was not the first emperor of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during ...

, although she, as a widow, shunned the Imperial court and chose to live in her

estate. Her granddaughter

Anna Komnene Anna Komnene ( gr, Ἄννα Κομνηνή, Ánna Komnēnḗ; 1 December 1083 – 1153), commonly Latinized as Anna Comnena, was a Byzantine princess and author of the ''Alexiad'', an account of the reign of her father, the Byzantine emperor, ...

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 '' '' tr, Kariye Mosque'' , image = Chora Church Constantinople 2007 panorama 002.jpg , caption = Exterior rear view , map_type = Istanbul Fatih , map_size = 220px , map_caption ...

, 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. Dur ...

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 *

, who married Emperor

. *Anna Doukaina, who married

George Palaiologos George Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Γεώργιος Παλαιολόγος) was a Byzantine general, one of the most prominent military commanders and supporters of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118). He was the son of the first know ...

*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