Sofia Paleolog went from the last Byzantine princess to the Grand Duchess of Moscow. Thanks to her intelligence and cunning, she could influence the policy of Ivan III, won in palace intrigues. Sophia also managed to put her son Vasily III on the throne.
Zoya Palaiologos was born around 1440-1449. She was the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos, brother of the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine. The fate of the whole family after the death of the ruler was unenviable. Thomas Palaiologos fled to Corfu and then to Rome. After a while, the children followed him. Paleologists were patronized by Pope Paul II himself. The girl had to convert to Catholicism and change her name from Zoya to Sophia. She received an education appropriate to her status, not bathed in luxury, but not in poverty either.
Sophia became a pawn in the political game of the Pope. At first he wanted to give her as a wife to the king of Cyprus, James II, but he refused. The next contender for the girl's hand was Prince Caracciolo, but he did not live to see the wedding. When the wife of Prince Ivan III died in 1467, Sophia Paleolog was offered to him as his wife. The Pope did not mention that she was a Catholic, thereby wishing to expand the influence of the Vatican in Rus'. Negotiations for marriage continued for three years. Ivan III was seduced by the opportunity to marry such an eminent person.
The betrothal in absentia took place on June 1, 1472, after which Sophia Paleolog went to Muscovy. Everywhere she was given all sorts of honors and organized holidays. At the head of her motorcade was a man who carried a Catholic cross. Upon learning of this, Metropolitan Philip threatened to leave Moscow if the cross was brought into the city. Ivan III ordered to take away the Catholic symbol 15 miles from Moscow. Dad's plans failed, and Sophia returned to her faith again. The wedding took place on November 12, 1472 in the Assumption Cathedral.
At court, the newly-made Byzantine wife of the Grand Duke was disliked. Despite this, Sophia had a huge influence on her husband. The chronicles describe in detail how Palaiologos persuaded Ivan III to free himself from the Mongol yoke.
Following the Byzantine model, Ivan III developed a complex judicial system. At the same time, for the first time, the Grand Duke began to call himself "Tsar and Autocrat of All Rus'." It is believed that the image of the double-headed eagle, which later appeared on the coat of arms of Muscovy, Sophia Paleolog brought with her.
Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III had eleven children (five sons and six daughters). From his first marriage, the tsar had a son, Ivan Molodoy, the first contender for the throne. But he fell ill with gout and died. Another "obstacle" for the children of Sophia on the way to the throne was the son of Ivan the Young Dmitry. But he and his mother fell out of favor with the king and died in captivity. Some historians suggest that Palaiologos was involved in the deaths of the direct heirs, but there is no direct evidence. Ivan III's successor was Sophia's son Vasily III.
The Byzantine princess and princess of Muscovy died on April 7, 1503. She was buried in a stone sarcophagus in the Ascension Monastery.
The marriage of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus turned out to be successful politically and culturally. were able to leave a mark not only in the history of their country, but also become beloved queens in a foreign land.
The sudden death of the first wife of Ivan III, Princess Maria Borisovna, on April 22, 1467, made the Grand Duke of Moscow think about a new marriage. The widowed grand duke opted for the Fechian princess Sophia Palaiologos, who lived in Rome and was known as a Catholic. Some historians believe that the idea of the "Roman-Byzantine" marriage union was born in Rome, others prefer Moscow, others - Vilna or Krakow.
Sophia (in Rome she was called Zoe) Palaiologos was the daughter of the Morean despot Thomas Palaiologos and was the niece of Emperors Constantine XI and John VIII. Despina Zoya spent her childhood in Morea and on the island of Corfu. She came to Rome with her brothers Andrei and Manuel after the death of her father in May 1465. The paleologists came under the auspices of Cardinal Bessarion, who retained sympathy for the Greeks. The Patriarch of Constantinople and Cardinal Vissarion tried to renew the union with Russia with the help of marriage.
Arriving in Moscow from Italy on February 11, 1469, Yuri Grek brought Ivan III a certain “leaf”. In this message, the author of which, apparently, was Pope Paul II himself, and the co-author was Cardinal Bessarion, the Grand Duke was informed about the stay in Rome of a noble bride devoted to Orthodoxy, Sophia Palaiologos. Dad promised Ivan his support in case he wants to woo her.
In Moscow, they did not like to rush into important matters, and they pondered over the new news from Rome for four months. Finally, all reflections, doubts and preparations were left behind. January 16, 1472 Moscow ambassadors set off on a long journey.
In Rome, the Muscovites were honorably received by the new Pope Gikctom IV. As a gift from Ivan III, the ambassadors presented the pontiff with sixty selected sable skins. From now on, the case quickly went to completion. A week later, Sixtus IV in St. Peter's Cathedral performs a solemn ceremony of Sophia's absentee betrothal to the Moscow sovereign.
At the end of June 1472, the bride, accompanied by Moscow ambassadors, the papal legate and a large retinue, went to Moscow. At parting, the Pope gave her a long audience and his blessing. He ordered to arrange magnificent, crowded meetings everywhere for Sofya and her retinue.
Sophia Paleolog arrived in Moscow on November 12, 1472, and her wedding with Ivan III took place right there. What is the reason for the rush? It turns out that the next day the memory of St. John Chrysostom, the heavenly patron of the Moscow sovereign, was celebrated. From now on, the family happiness of Prince Ivan was given under the patronage of the great saint.
Sophia became a full-fledged Grand Duchess of Moscow.
The very fact that Sophia agreed to go to seek her fortune from Rome to distant Moscow suggests that she was a brave, energetic and adventurous woman. In Moscow, she was expected not only by the honors rendered to the Grand Duchess, but also by the hostility of the local clergy and the heir to the throne. At every step she had to defend her rights.
Ivan, for all his love of luxury, was thrifty to the point of stinginess. He saved literally everything. Growing up in a completely different environment, Sophia Paleolog, on the contrary, strove to shine and show generosity. This was required by her ambition of a Byzantine princess, the niece of the last emperor. In addition, generosity made it possible to make friends among the Moscow nobility.
But the best way to assert yourself was, of course, childbearing. The Grand Duke wanted to have sons. Sophia herself wanted this. However, to the delight of ill-wishers, she gave birth to three daughters in a row - Elena (1474), Theodosia (1475) and again Elena (1476). Sophia prayed to God and all the saints for the gift of a son.
Finally, her request was granted. On the night of March 25-26, 1479, a boy was born, named after his grandfather Vasily. (For his mother, he always remained Gabriel - in honor of the Archangel Gabriel.) Happy parents connected the birth of their son with last year's pilgrimage and fervent prayer at the tomb of St. Sergius of Radonezh in the Trinity Monastery. Sophia said that when approaching the monastery, the great old man himself appeared to her, holding a boy in his arms.
Following Vasily, she had two more sons (Yuri and Dmitry), then two daughters (Elena and Feodosia), then three more sons (Semyon, Andrei and Boris) and the last, in 1492, a daughter, Evdokia.
But now the question inevitably arose about the future fate of Vasily and his brothers. The heir to the throne remained the son of Ivan III and Maria Borisovna, Ivan Molodoy, whose son Dmitry was born on October 10, 1483, in marriage with Elena Voloshanka. In the event of the death of the Sovereign, he would not hesitate in one way or another to get rid of Sophia and her family. The best they could hope for was exile or exile. At the thought of this, the Greek woman was seized with rage and impotent despair.
In the winter of 1490, Sophia's brother, Andrei Paleologus, came to Moscow from Rome. Together with him, the Moscow ambassadors who traveled to Italy returned. They brought to the Kremlin a lot of all kinds of craftsmen. One of them, a visiting doctor Leon, volunteered to heal Prince Ivan the Young of a leg disease. But when he put jars to the prince and gave his potions (from which he could hardly die), a certain malefactor added poison to these potions. On March 7, 1490, 32-year-old Ivan the Young died.
This whole story gave rise to many rumors in Moscow and throughout Rus'. Hostile relations between Ivan the Young and Sophia Paleolog were well known. The Greek woman did not enjoy the love of Muscovites. It is quite clear that rumor attributed to her the murder of Ivan the Young. In The History of the Grand Duke of Moscow, Prince Kurbsky directly accused Ivan III of poisoning his own son, Ivan the Young. Yes, such a turn of events opened the way to the throne for the children of Sophia. Sovereign himself found himself in an extremely difficult position. Probably, in this intrigue, Ivan III, who ordered his son to use the services of a vain doctor, turned out to be only a blind tool in the hands of a cunning Greek woman.
After the death of Ivan the Young, the question of the heir to the throne escalated. There were two candidates: the son of Ivan the Young - Dmitry and the eldest son of Ivan III and Sophia
Paleolog - Vasily. The claims of Dmitry the grandson were reinforced by the fact that his father was the officially proclaimed Grand Duke - co-ruler of Ivan III and heir to the throne.
The sovereign was faced with a painful choice: to send either his wife and son to prison, or his daughter-in-law and grandson ... The murder of an opponent has always been the usual price of supreme power.
In the autumn of 1497, Ivan III leaned over to the side of Dmitry. He ordered to prepare for the grandson a solemn "marriage to the kingdom." Upon learning of this, supporters of Sophia and Prince Vasily formed a conspiracy that included the murder of Dmitry, as well as Vasily's flight to Beloozero (from where the road to Novgorod opened in front of him), the seizure of the grand ducal treasury stored in Vologda and Beloozero. However, already in December, Ivan arrested all the conspirators, including Vasily.
The investigation revealed the involvement in the conspiracy of Sophia Paleolog. It is possible that she was the organizer of the enterprise. Sophia got the poison and waited for the right opportunity to poison Dmitry.
On Sunday, February 4, 1498, 14-year-old Dmitry was solemnly declared heir to the throne in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Sophia Paleolog and her son Vasily were absent from this coronation. It seemed that their case was finally lost. The courtiers rushed to please Elena Stefanovna and her crowned son. However, the crowd of flatterers soon retreated in bewilderment. Sovereign did not give Dmitry real power, giving him control over only some northern counties.
Ivan III continued to painfully seek a way out of the dynastic impasse. Now his original plan did not seem successful. The Sovereign felt sorry for his young sons Vasily, Yuri, Dmitry Zhilka, Semyon, Andrey ... Yes, and with Princess Sophia he lived together for a quarter of a century ... Ivan III understood that sooner or later Sophia's sons would revolt. There were only two ways to prevent the performance: either destroy the second family, or bequeath the throne to Vasily and destroy the family of Ivan the Young.
Sovereign this time chose the second path. On March 21, 1499, he "granted ... the son of his prince Vasil Ivanovich, named him the sovereign of the Grand Duke, gave him Great Novgorod and Pskov to the Grand Duchy." As a result, three great princes appeared in Rus' at once: father, son and grandson!
On Thursday, February 13, 1500, a magnificent wedding was played in Moscow. Ivan III gave his 14-year-old daughter Theodosius in marriage to Prince Vasily Danilovich Kholmsky, the son of the famous commander and leader of the Tver "fellowship" in Moscow. This marriage contributed to the rapprochement between the children of Sophia Paleolog and the top of the Moscow nobility. Unfortunately, exactly one year later Theodosius died.
The denouement of the family drama came only two years later. “The same spring (1502) the prince of great April And on Monday put disgrace on the grandson of his Grand Duke Dmitry and on his mother on the Grand Duchess Elena, and from that day he did not order them to be remembered in litanies and litias, nor to be called the Grand Duke, and put them on the bailiffs." Three days later, Ivan III "granted his son Vasily, blessed and planted autocrat on the Grand Duchy of Volodimer and Moscow and All Rus', with the blessing of Simon, Metropolitan of All Rus'."
Exactly one year after these events, on April 7, 1503, Sophia Paleolog died. The body of the Grand Duchess was buried in the cathedral of the Kremlin Ascension Monastery. She was buried next to the grave of the Tsar's first wife, Princess Maria Borisovna of Tver.
Soon the health of Ivan III himself deteriorated. On Thursday, September 21, 1503, he, together with the heir to the throne, Vasily and his younger sons, went on a pilgrimage to the northern monasteries. However, the saints were no longer inclined to help the penitent sovereign. Upon returning from the pilgrimage, Ivan was stricken with paralysis: "... took away his arm and leg and eye." Ivan III died on October 27, 1505.
SOFIA FOMINICHNA PALEOLOGIST(nee Zoya) (1443/1449–1503) – second wife of c. book. Moscow Ivan III Vasilyevich, daughter of the ruler (despot) of the Morea (Peloponnese) Thomas Palaiologos, niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, who died during the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453. She was born between 1443 and 1449 in the Peloponnese.
After 1453 Thomas of Morea moved with his family to Rome. There, Sophia received a good upbringing for that time at the court of the enlightened Pope Sixtus IV (known for his patronage of Michelangelo, to whom he ordered the painting of the chapel of his name at the papal chambers). The idea of the marriage of the grown-up Zoya with the widowed ruler of the Moscow kingdom, Ivan III, who in 1467 buried his first wife Maria Borisovna, daughter of the Prince of Tver, also belonged to the papal curia. The main purpose of the marriage was to involve Rus' in a pan-European crusade against Turkey. The French and Milanese dukes unsuccessfully wooed Zoya, who wanted to intermarry with the noble Palaiologos family, but the curia was already focused on Moscow.
A papal legate sent to Russia in 1467, who proposed marriage, was received with honors. Ivan III, who strengthened the grand ducal power, hoped that kinship with the Byzantine house would help Muscovy increase international prestige, which had noticeably shaken over the two centuries of the Horde yoke, and help increase the authority of the grand ducal power within the country.
The ambassador of Ivan III, Ivan Fryazin, sent along with the legate to Rome in order to “see the bride”, said that Zoya was short, plump, with beautiful big eyes and unusually white skin (cleanliness of the skin as a sign of health was highly valued in Muscovy). With him from Rome, Fryazin brought a portrait of the bride in the form of a parsuna (images of a real person as a saint, the chronicler reports that Zoya was “painted on the icon”). Many contemporaries also talked about the sharp mind of a young woman.
In March 1472, the second embassy to the pope ended with the arrival of Zoe in Moscow. Together with her, her dowry came to Russia, which included (in addition to many material values and jewelry) a huge “library” - Greek “parchments”, Latin chronographs, Hebrew manuscripts, which later, apparently, entered the library of Ivan the Terrible. Many wagons with dowries were accompanied by the papal legate Anthony, dressed in a red cardinal dress and carrying a four-pointed Catholic cross as a sign of hope for the conversion of the Russian prince to Catholicism. The cross was taken away from Anthony at the entrance to Moscow on the orders of Metropolitan Philip, who did not approve of this marriage.
November 12, 1472, having converted to Orthodoxy under the name of Sophia, Zoya was married to Ivan III. At the same time, the wife “Catholicized” her husband, and the husband “orthodoxized” his wife, which was perceived by contemporaries as a victory of the Orthodox faith over “Latinism”.
On April 18, 1474, Sophia gave birth to the first (quickly deceased) daughter Anna, then another daughter (who also died so quickly that they did not have time to christen her). Disappointments in family life were compensated by activity in extra-home affairs. Her husband consulted with her in making state decisions (in 1474 he bought out half of the Rostov principality, a friendly alliance was concluded with the Crimean Khan Mengli Giray). Baron Herberstein, who twice came to Moscow as the ambassador of the German emperor under Vasily II, after hearing a lot of boyar talk, wrote about Sophia in his notes that she was an unusually cunning woman who had a great influence on the prince.
Sophia actively participated in diplomatic receptions (the Venetian envoy Cantarini noted that the reception organized by her was "very majestic and affectionate"). According to a legend cited not only by Russian chronicles, but also by the English poet John Milton, in 1477 Sophia was able to outwit the Tatar Khan, declaring that she had a sign from above about the construction of a church to St. and the actions of the Kremlin. This story presents Sophia as a resolute nature (“she put them out of the Kremlin, she demolished the house, although she did not build the temple”). In 1478 Rus' actually stopped paying tribute to the Horde; two years remained before the complete overthrow of the yoke.
March 25, 1479 Sophia gave birth to a son, the future Prince Vasily III Ivanovich.
In 1480, again on the “advice” of his wife, Ivan III went with the militia to the Ugra River (near Kaluga), where the army of the Tatar Khan Akhmat was stationed. "Standing on the Ugra" did not end with a battle. The onset of frost and lack of food forced the khan and his army to leave. These events put an end to the Horde yoke. The main obstacle to strengthening the grand duke's power collapsed and, relying on his dynastic connection with "Orthodox Rome" (Constantinople) through his wife Sophia, Ivan III proclaimed himself the successor to the sovereign rights of the Byzantine emperors. The Moscow coat of arms with George the Victorious was combined with the double-headed eagle - the ancient coat of arms of Byzantium. This emphasized that Moscow is the heir of the Byzantine Empire, Ivan III is “the king of all Orthodoxy”, the Russian Church is the successor of the Greek one. Under the influence of Sophia, the ceremonial of the Grand Duke's court acquired an unprecedented splendor, similar to the Byzantine-Roman.
In 1483, Sophia's authority was shaken: she imprudently presented a precious family necklace ("sazhen") that had previously belonged to Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III, to her niece, the wife of the Vereisk prince Vasily Mikhailovich. The husband intended an expensive gift for his daughter-in-law Elena Stepanovna Voloshanka, the wife of his son Ivan the Young from his first marriage. In the conflict that arose (Ivan III demanded the return of the necklace to the treasury), but Vasily Mikhailovich chose to flee with the necklace to Lithuania. Taking advantage of this, the Moscow boyar elite, dissatisfied with the success of the prince's centralization policy, opposed Sophia, considering her the ideological inspirer of Ivan's innovations, which infringed on the interests of his children from his first marriage.
Sophia began a stubborn struggle to justify the right to the Moscow throne for her son Vasily. When her son was 8 years old, she even made an attempt to organize a conspiracy against her husband (1497), but he was uncovered, and Sophia herself was convicted on suspicion of magic and connection with the “witch woman” (1498) and, together with her son Vasily, was disgraced .
But fate was merciful to this indefatigable defender of the rights of her kind (during the years of her 30-year marriage, Sophia gave birth to 5 sons and 4 daughters). The death of the eldest son of Ivan III, Ivan the Young, forced Sophia's wife to change her anger to mercy and return the exiles to Moscow. To celebrate, Sophia ordered a church shroud with her name (“Tsarevna of Tsargorod, Grand Duchess of Moscow Sophia of the Grand Duke of Moscow”).
Feeling like a mistress in the capital again, Sophia managed to attract doctors, cultural figures and especially architects to Moscow; active stone construction began in Moscow. The architects Aristotle Fioravanti, Marco Ruffo, Aleviz Fryazin, Antonio and Petro Solari, who arrived from Sophia’s homeland and at her order, erected the Faceted Chamber, the Assumption and the Annunciation Cathedrals on the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin; completed the construction of the Archangel Cathedral. Sophia's influence on her husband increased. Boyar Bersen reproachfully said then, according to the chronicler: "Our sovereign, locking himself up, does all sorts of things by the bed." According to the great Russian historian V.O. Klyuchevsky, Sophia “cannot be denied influence on the decorative setting and backstage life of the Moscow court, on court intrigues and personal relationships; but she could act on political affairs only by suggestions that echoed the secret or vague thoughts of Ivan himself.
Sophia died on August 7, 1503 in Moscow two years earlier than Ivan III, having achieved many honors. She was buried in the Moscow Ascension Convent of the Kremlin.
In December 1994, in connection with the transfer of the remains of the princely and royal wives to the basement chamber of the Archangel Cathedral, a sculptural portrait of Sophia was restored from the well-preserved skull of Sophia by M.M. Gerasimov’s student S.A. Nikitin.
Lev Pushkarev, Natalya Pushkareva
Assumption Cathedral has always been the most important cathedral of the Russian state. It occupies a special place in the historical past of Russia. For many centuries this church was the state and religious center. Here, weddings to the principality of the great princes and oaths of vassal loyalty to the specific princes took place, here they crowned kings, and then emperors ...
They say that every city founded in antiquity or in the Middle Ages has its own secret name. According to legend, only a few people could know him. The city's secret name contained its DNA. Having learned the "password" of the city, the enemy could easily take possession of it.
According to the ancient urban planning tradition, at the beginning the secret name of the city was born, then there was a corresponding place, the “heart of the city”, which symbolized the World Tree. Moreover, it is not necessary that the navel of the city should be located in the "geometric" center of the future city.
The city is almost like Koshchei’s: “... his death is at the end of a needle, that needle is in an egg, that egg is in a duck, that duck is in a hare, that hare is in a chest, and the chest stands on a tall oak, and that Koschei tree, like its own eye, protects ".
Interestingly, ancient and medieval city planners always left hints. Love for puzzles distinguished many professional guilds. Some Freemasons are worth something.
Before the profanation of heraldry in the Enlightenment, the role of these rebuses was performed by the coats of arms of cities. But this is in Europe. In Russia, until the 17th century, there was no tradition at all to encrypt the essence of the city, its secret name, in the coat of arms or some other symbol.
State seal of Grand Duke John III of 1497
For example, George the Victorious migrated to the coat of arms of Moscow from the seals of the great Moscow princes, and even earlier - from the seals of the Tver principality. It had nothing to do with the city. In Rus', the starting point for the construction of the city was the temple. It was the axis of any settlement.
In Moscow, this function was performed by the Assumption Cathedral for centuries. In turn, according to the Byzantine tradition, the temple was to be built on the relics of the saint. At the same time, the relics were usually placed under the altar (sometimes also on one side of the altar or at the entrance to the temple).
It was the relics that represented the “heart of the city”. The name of the saint, apparently, was the very "secret name". In other words, if St. Basil's Cathedral was the "founding stone" of Moscow, then the "secret name" of the city would be "Vasilyev" or "Vasilyev-grad".
However, we do not know whose relics lie at the base of the Assumption Cathedral. There is not a single mention of this in the annals. Probably the saint's name was kept secret.
At the end of the 12th century, a wooden church stood on the site of the current Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin. A hundred years later, the Moscow prince Daniil Alexandrovich built the first Assumption Cathedral on this site. However, for unknown reasons, after 25 years, Ivan Kalita builds a new cathedral on this site.
It is interesting that the temple was built on the model of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky. It's not entirely clear why? St. George's Cathedral can hardly be called a masterpiece of ancient Russian architecture. So there was something else?
Reconstruction of the original view of St. George's Cathedral in Yuryev-Polsky
The model temple in Yuryev-Polsky was built in 1234 by Prince Svyatoslav Vsevolodovich on the site on the foundation of the white stone church of George, which was built in 1152 when the city was founded by Yuri Dolgoruky. Apparently, some increased attention was paid to this place. And the construction of the same temple in Moscow, perhaps, was supposed to emphasize some kind of continuity.
The Assumption Cathedral in Moscow stood for less than 150 years, and then Ivan III suddenly decided to rebuild it. The formal reason is the dilapidation of the structure. Although one and a half hundred years for a stone temple is not God knows how long.
The temple was dismantled, and in its place in 1472 the construction of a new cathedral began. However, on May 20, 1474, an earthquake occurred in Moscow. The unfinished cathedral was seriously damaged, and Ivan decides to dismantle the remains and start building a new temple.
Architects from Pskov are invited for construction, but for mysterious reasons, they categorically refuse to build. Then Ivan III, at the insistence of his second wife Sophia Palaiologos, sends emissaries to Italy, who were supposed to bring the Italian architect and engineer Aristotle Fioravanti to the capital. By the way, in his homeland he was called the “new Archimedes”.
It looks absolutely fantastic, because for the first time in the history of Rus', a Catholic architect is invited to build an Orthodox church, the main church of the Moscow State! From the point of view of the then tradition - a heretic.
Why an Italian was invited, who had never seen a single Orthodox church, remains a mystery. Maybe because not a single Russian architect wanted to deal with this project.
The construction of the temple under the leadership of Aristotle Fioravanti began in 1475 and ended in 1479. It is interesting that the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir was chosen as a model.
Historians explain that Ivan III wanted to show the continuity of the Muscovite state from the former "capital city" of Vladimir. But this again does not look very convincing, since in the second half of the 15th century, the former authority of Vladimir could hardly have had any image value.
Perhaps this was due to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God, which in 1395 was transported from the Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir to the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow, built by Ivan Kalita. However, history has not preserved direct indications of this.
One of the hypotheses why Russian architects did not get down to business, and an Italian architect was invited, is connected with the personality of the second wife of John III, the Byzantine Sophia Palaiologos.
Sofia Paleolog enters Moscow. Miniature of the Front Chronicle.
As you know, Pope Paul II actively promoted the Greek princess as a wife to Ivan III. In 1465 her father, Thomas Palaiologos, brought her with his other children to Rome. The family settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV. A few days after their arrival, Thomas died, having converted to Catholicism before his death.
History has left us no information that Sophia converted to the "Latin faith", but it is unlikely that the Palaiologos could remain Orthodox while living at the court of the Pope. In other words, Ivan III, most likely, wooed a Catholic. Moreover, not a single chronicle reports that Sophia converted to Orthodoxy before the wedding.
The wedding took place in November 1472. In theory, it was supposed to take place in the Assumption Cathedral. However, shortly before this, the temple was dismantled to the foundation in order to begin new construction. This looks very strange, because about a year before that, it was known about the upcoming wedding.
It is also surprising that the wedding took place in a specially built wooden church near the Assumption Cathedral, which was demolished immediately after the ceremony. Why another Kremlin cathedral was not chosen remains a mystery.
Let's get back to the refusal of Pskov architects to restore the destroyed Assumption Cathedral. One of the Moscow chronicles says that the Pskovites allegedly did not take up the work because of its complexity. However, it is hard to believe that Russian architects could refuse Ivan III, a rather harsh man, on such an occasion.
The reason for the categorical refusal should have been very weighty. It was probably related to some heresy. A heresy that only a Catholic could bear - Fioravanti. What could it be?
Moscow Kremlin under Ivan III
The Assumption Cathedral, built by an Italian architect, does not have any "seditious" deviations from the Russian tradition of architecture. The only thing that could cause a categorical refusal is the holy relics.
Perhaps the relics of a non-Orthodox saint could become a "mortgage" relic. As you know, Sophia brought many relics as a dowry, including Orthodox icons and a library. But, probably, we do not know about all the relics. It is no coincidence that Pope Paul II lobbied for this marriage so much.
If during the reconstruction of the temple there was a change of relics, then, according to the Russian tradition of urban planning, the “secret name” and, most importantly, the fate of the city changed. People who understand history well and subtly know that it was with Ivan III that the change in the rhythm of Russia began. Then still Rus'.
Alexey Pleshanov
linkThis woman was credited with many important state deeds. Why is Sophia Paleolog so distinguished? Interesting facts about her, as well as biographical information are collected in this article.
Cardinal's Proposal
In February 1469, the ambassador of Cardinal Vissarion arrived in Moscow. He handed over a letter to the Grand Duke with a proposal to marry Sophia, the daughter of Theodore I, Despot of Morea. By the way, this letter also said that Sophia Paleolog (real name - Zoya, they decided to replace it with an Orthodox one for diplomatic reasons) had already refused two crowned suitors who were wooing her. They were the Duke of Milan and the French king. The fact is that Sophia did not want to marry a Catholic.
Sophia Palaiologos (of course, her photo cannot be found, but the portraits are presented in the article), according to the ideas of that distant time, she was no longer young. However, she was still quite attractive. She had expressive, amazingly beautiful eyes, as well as matte delicate skin, which was considered in Rus' a sign of excellent health. In addition, the bride was distinguished by her article and a sharp mind.
Who is Sofia Fominichna Paleolog?
Sofia Fominichna is the niece of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last emperor of Byzantium. Since 1472, she was the wife of Ivan III Vasilyevich. Her father was Thomas Palaiologos, who fled to Rome with his family after the Turks captured Constantinople. Sophia Paleolog lived after the death of her father in the care of the great pope. For a number of reasons, he wished to marry her to Ivan III, who was widowed in 1467. He answered yes.
Sofia Paleolog gave birth to a son in 1479, who later became Vasily III Ivanovich. In addition, she achieved the announcement of Vasily the Grand Duke, whose place was to be taken by Dmitry, the grandson of Ivan III, who was crowned king. Ivan III used his marriage to Sophia to strengthen Rus' in the international arena.
Icon "Blessed Sky" and the image of Michael III
Sophia Paleolog, Grand Duchess of Moscow, brought several Orthodox icons. It is believed that among them was a rare image of the Mother of God. She was in the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral. However, according to another legend, the relic was transported from Constantinople to Smolensk, and when the latter was captured by Lithuania, Sofya Vitovtovna, the princess, was blessed with this icon for marriage when she married Vasily I, the Moscow prince. The image, which is today in the cathedral, is a list from an ancient icon, made at the end of the 17th century by order (pictured below). Muscovites, according to tradition, brought lamp oil and water to this icon. It was believed that they were filled with healing properties, because the image had healing power. This icon today is one of the most revered in our country.
In the Archangel Cathedral, after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of Michael III, the Byzantine emperor, who was the ancestor of the Palaiologos dynasty, also appeared. Thus, it was argued that Moscow is the successor of the Byzantine Empire, and the sovereigns of Rus' are the heirs of the Byzantine emperors.
The birth of the long-awaited heir
After Sophia Paleolog, the second wife of Ivan III, married him in the Assumption Cathedral and became his wife, she began to think about how to gain influence and become a real queen. Paleolog understood that for this it was necessary to present the prince with a gift that only she could do: to give birth to a son who would become the heir to the throne. To the chagrin of Sophia, the firstborn was a daughter who died almost immediately after birth. A year later, a girl was born again, who also died suddenly. Sophia Palaiologos cried, prayed to God to give her an heir, handed out handfuls of alms to the poor, donated to churches. After some time, the Mother of God heard her prayers - Sophia Paleolog became pregnant again.
Her biography was finally marked by a long-awaited event. It took place on March 25, 1479 at 8 pm, as stated in one of the Moscow chronicles. A son was born. He was named Vasily Pariysky. The boy was baptized by Vasiyan, Archbishop of Rostov, in the Sergius Monastery.
What did Sophia bring with her?
Sophia managed to inspire what was dear to her, and what was appreciated and understood in Moscow. She brought with her the customs and traditions of the Byzantine court, pride in her own lineage, and annoyance at having to marry a Mongol-Tatar tributary. It is unlikely that Sophia liked the simplicity of the situation in Moscow, as well as the unceremonious relations that prevailed at the court at that time. Ivan III himself was forced to listen to reproachful speeches from obstinate boyars. However, in the capital, even without it, many had a desire to change the old order, which did not correspond to the position of the Moscow sovereign. And the wife of Ivan III with the Greeks brought by her, who saw both Roman and Byzantine life, could give the Russians valuable instructions on what models and how to implement the changes desired by everyone.
Sophia's influence
The prince's wife cannot be denied influence on the behind-the-scenes life of the court and its decorative setting. She skillfully built personal relationships, she was excellent at court intrigues. However, Paleolog could only respond to political ones with suggestions that echoed the vague and secret thoughts of Ivan III. Especially clear was the idea that by her marriage the princess was making the rulers of Moscow the successors of the emperors of Byzantium, with the interests of the Orthodox East holding on to the latter. Therefore, Sophia Paleolog in the capital of the Russian state was valued mainly as a Byzantine princess, and not as a Grand Duchess of Moscow. She herself understood this. How she used the right to receive foreign embassies in Moscow. Therefore, her marriage to Ivan was a kind of political demonstration. It was announced to the whole world that the heiress of the Byzantine house, which had fallen shortly before, transferred its sovereign rights to Moscow, which became the new Constantinople. Here she shares these rights with her husband.
Reconstruction of the Kremlin, the overthrow of the Tatar yoke
Ivan, sensing his new position in the international arena, found the old Kremlin environment ugly and cramped. From Italy, following the princess, the masters were discharged. They built the Assumption Cathedral (St. Basil's Cathedral) on the site of the wooden choirs, as well as a new stone palace. In the Kremlin at that time, a strict and complex ceremonial began to start up at the court, imparting arrogance and stiffness to Moscow life. Just as in his own palace, Ivan III began to act in external relations with a more solemn step. Especially when the Tatar yoke without a fight, as if by itself, fell off the shoulders. And it weighed almost two centuries over the entire north-eastern Russia (from 1238 to 1480). A new language, more solemn, appears at this time in government papers, especially diplomatic ones. There is a lot of terminology.
The role of Sophia in overthrowing the Tatar yoke
Paleolog in Moscow was not loved for the influence it exerted on the Grand Duke, as well as for the changes in the life of Moscow - "great disorders" (in the words of the boyar Bersen-Beklemishev). Sophia interfered not only in internal, but also in foreign affairs. She demanded that Ivan III refuse to pay tribute to the Horde Khan and finally free himself from his power. Skillful advice Paleolog, as evidenced by V.O. Klyuchevsky, always met the intentions of her husband. Therefore, he refused to pay tribute. Ivan III trampled on the khan's charter in Zamoskovreche, in the Horde courtyard. Later, the Transfiguration Church was built on this site. However, even then the people "spoke" of Paleologus. Before Ivan III went to the great in 1480, he sent his wife and children to Beloozero. For this, the subjects attributed to the sovereign the intention to quit power in the event that he takes Moscow and flees with his wife.
"Duma" and a change in the treatment of subordinates
Ivan III, freed from the yoke, finally felt like a sovereign sovereign. Palace etiquette through the efforts of Sophia began to resemble Byzantine. The prince gave his wife a "gift": Ivan III allowed Paleolog to gather his own "thought" from the members of the retinue and arrange "diplomatic receptions" in his half. The princess received foreign ambassadors and conversed politely with them. This was an unprecedented innovation for Rus'. The treatment at the court of the sovereign also changed.
Sophia Palaiologos brought sovereign rights to her husband, as well as the right to the Byzantine throne, as noted by F.I. Uspensky, a historian who studied this period. The boyars had to reckon with this. Ivan III used to love disputes and objections, but under Sophia, he radically changed the treatment of his courtiers. Ivan began to hold himself impregnable, easily fell into anger, often imposed disgrace, demanded special respect for himself. Rumor also attributed all these misfortunes to the influence of Sophia Paleolog.
Fight for the throne
She was also accused of violating the throne. Enemies in 1497 told the prince that Sophia Paleologus planned to poison his grandson in order to put her own son on the throne, that fortune-tellers preparing a poisonous potion were secretly visiting her, that Vasily himself was participating in this conspiracy. Ivan III took the side of his grandson in this matter. He ordered the soothsayers to be drowned in the Moscow River, arrested Vasily, and removed his wife from him, defiantly executing several members of the Paleolog "thought". In 1498, Ivan III married Dmitry in the Assumption Cathedral as heir to the throne.
However, Sophia had in her blood the ability to court intrigues. She accused Elena Voloshanka of heresy and was able to bring about her downfall. The Grand Duke placed his grandson and daughter-in-law in disgrace and named Vasily in 1500 as the legitimate heir to the throne.
Sophia Paleolog: role in history
The marriage of Sophia Paleolog and Ivan III, of course, strengthened the Muscovite state. He contributed to its transformation into the Third Rome. Sofia Paleolog lived for over 30 years in Russia, having given birth to 12 children to her husband. However, she never managed to fully understand a foreign country, its laws and traditions. Even in official chronicles there are records condemning her behavior in some situations that are difficult for the country.
Sofia attracted architects and other cultural figures, as well as doctors, to the Russian capital. The creations of Italian architects have made Moscow not inferior in majesty and beauty to the capitals of Europe. This helped to strengthen the prestige of the Moscow sovereign, emphasized the continuity of the Russian capital to the Second Rome.
Sophia's death
Sophia died in Moscow on August 7, 1503. She was buried in the Ascension Convent of the Moscow Kremlin. In December 1994, in connection with the transfer of the remains of the royal and princely wives to the Archangel Cathedral, S. A. Nikitin restored her sculptural portrait based on the preserved skull of Sophia (pictured above). Now we can at least roughly imagine what Sophia Paleolog looked like. Interesting facts and biographical information about her are numerous. We tried to select the most important when compiling this article.
