Maria of Antioch
Encyclopedia
Maria of Antioch was a Byzantine empress as the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos
. She was the daughter of Constance of Antioch
and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers
. Her only son was Alexios II Komnenos, who succeeded Manuel in 1180, and died three years afterwards at the age of 14.
, was taken prisoner by Maj al-Dīn, the ruler of Aleppo
and an ally of Nūr al-Dīn. Her mother claimed the Principality of Antioch
for herself, but the nobles supported her son, Maria's brother Bohemund III
. King Baldwin III of Jerusalem
set Bohemund III up as prince and appointed as regent the rich and worldly Aimery of Limoges
, Latin Patriarch of Antioch
and an old opponent of Raynald. Constance protested this decision in Constantinople
at the court of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos, the nominal overlord of Antioch.
At the end of 1159, Manuel's wife Empress Eirene (originally named Bertha of Sulzbach
) had died, and Manuel wanted to marry a princess from one of the Crusader states. John Kontostephanos, the chief dragoman
(interpreter) Theophylact, and the akolouthos
of the Varangian Guard
Basil Kamateros were sent to Jerusalem to seek a new wife, and the two princesses Maria of Antioch and Melisende of Tripoli
, a daughter of Count Raymond II of Tripoli
by Hodierna of Jerusalem
, were offered as candidates. Both were renowned for their beauty, but according to John Kinnamos
Maria was the more beautiful of the two; the tall, blonde-haired princess clearly showed her Norman
ancestry. King Baldwin III suggested Melisende, and her brother Count Raymond III of Tripoli
set about gathering an enormous dowry
, with gifts from Hodierna and from Melisende's namesake, her aunt Queen Melisende
. The ambassadors were not satisfied and delayed the marriage for over a year; they had apparently heard rumours concerning Hodierna's infidelity and therefore Melisende's possible legitimacy. Instead, Manuel chose Maria. Count Raymond was insulted and in retaliation attacked Byzantine Cyprus
.
Meanwhile, an imperial embassy led by Alexios Bryennios Komnenos and the prefect of Constantinople, John Kamateros, came to Antioch
to negotiate the marriage. Maria embarked from the port of St. Simeon for Constantinople in September 1161, and the marriage took place in Hagia Sophia
on December 24. Three patriarchs performed the marriage: Luke Chrysoberges, Patriarch of Constantinople
; Sophronios
, Greek Patriarch of Alexandria, and Athanasios, Greek Patriarch of Antioch. The marriage was celebrated with feasts, gifts to the church, and chariot races
in the Hippodrome
for the people. This strengthened the connection of Antioch to the Byzantine Empire. The marriage also strengthened the position of Maria's mother Constance, who now held the regency of Antioch. According to Niketas Choniates, Maria
In 1169 Maria gave birth to a son, the future emperor Alexios II Komnenos. She played a role in the political and diplomatic life of Constantinople. French being her mother tongue, she was able to observe the double-dealing of the hypoboleus (court interpreter) Aaron Isaakios, who was quietly advising Westerners not to pay too much for the Emperor's favour. As a result, Manuel had Aaron blinded.
, a nephew of Manuel and uncle of Maria Komnene, former queen of Jerusalem
, as an advisor and lover, causing a scandal among the Greek population. As a Westerner who favoured the Italian merchants, Maria was opposed by the Greeks, and her regency was widely considered incompetent. The leaders of the opposition were her stepdaughter, the porphyrogenita Maria Komnene
and her husband, the Caesar Renier of Montferrat
, though himself a fellow Latin. The porphyrogenita Maria may have considered herself the rightful heir, as the elder child of Manuel; she was almost as old as her stepmother Maria. Maria and Renier gained the support of the Patriarch and used Hagia Sophia
as a base of operations. Alexios had the patriarch arrested, leading to open warfare on the streets of Constantinople.
, who had been exiled during Manuel's reign, was invited back by the porphyrogenita Maria, and marched on Constantinople in 1182. He provoked the citizens into a massacre of the Latin inhabitants
, mostly Venetian
and Genoese
merchants. After gaining control of the city, he had the Porphyrogenita and Renier poisoned, and then had Empress Maria arrested and imprisoned in the monastery of St. Diomedes or in a prison nearby. The empress tried to seek help from her brother-in-law King Béla III of Hungary
, to no avail. Andronikos had Alexios II sign the order for his mother's execution, and appointed his own son Manuel
and the sebastos
George to execute her, but they refused. Instead, according to Niketas, Maria was strangled by the hetaireiarches Constantine Tripsychos and the eunuch Pterygeonites, and buried in an unmarked grave on a nearby beach. Presumably owing to the secrecy surrounding her death, alternative versions of her death circulated, such as that she was tied up in a sack and drowned. Andronikos had himself crowned co-emperor, but Alexios II was soon murdered as well, and Andronikos took full control of the empire. Sometime later Andronikos also defaced or destroyed most images of Maria in Constantinople.
Manuel I Komnenos
Manuel I Komnenos was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean....
. She was the daughter of Constance of Antioch
Constance of Antioch
Constance of Antioch was the only daughter of Bohemund II of Antioch by his wife Alice, princess of Jerusalem. She was also Princess regnant of the Principality of Antioch from 1130 to her death.-Early life:...
and her first husband Raymond of Poitiers
Raymond of Antioch
Raymond of Poitiers was Prince of Antioch 1136–1149. He was the younger son of William IX, Duke of Aquitaine and his wife Philippa, Countess of Toulouse, born in the very year that his father the Duke began his infamous liaison with Dangereuse de Chatelherault.-Assumes control:Following the...
. Her only son was Alexios II Komnenos, who succeeded Manuel in 1180, and died three years afterwards at the age of 14.
Life
In 1160, Maria's stepfather, Constance's second husband Raynald of ChâtillonRaynald of Chatillon
Raynald of Châtillon was a knight who served in the Second Crusade and remained in the Holy Land after its defeat...
, was taken prisoner by Maj al-Dīn, the ruler of Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
and an ally of Nūr al-Dīn. Her mother claimed the Principality of Antioch
Principality of Antioch
The Principality of Antioch, including parts of modern-day Turkey and Syria, was one of the crusader states created during the First Crusade.-Foundation:...
for herself, but the nobles supported her son, Maria's brother Bohemund III
Bohemund III of Antioch
Bohemond III of Antioch , also known as the Stammerer or the Stutterer, was Prince of Antioch from 1163 to his death. He was a son of Constance of Antioch by her first husband Raymond of Poitiers...
. King Baldwin III of Jerusalem
Baldwin III of Jerusalem
Baldwin III was king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem, and the grandson of Baldwin II of Jerusalem.-Succession:...
set Bohemund III up as prince and appointed as regent the rich and worldly Aimery of Limoges
Aimery of Limoges
Aimery or Aymery of Limoges , Aimerikos in Greek and Hemri in Armenian, was a Roman Catholic ecclesiarch in Frankish Outremer and the fourth Latin Patriarch of Antioch from c. 1140 until his death. Throughout his lengthy episcopate he was the most powerful figure in the Principality of Antioch...
, Latin Patriarch of Antioch
Latin Patriarch of Antioch
The Latin Patriarch of Antioch was an office created in 1098 by Bohemund, founder of the Principality of Antioch, one of the crusader states....
and an old opponent of Raynald. Constance protested this decision in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
at the court of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos, the nominal overlord of Antioch.
At the end of 1159, Manuel's wife Empress Eirene (originally named Bertha of Sulzbach
Bertha of Sulzbach
Bertha of Sulzbach was the first wife and Empress of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus.-Family:...
) had died, and Manuel wanted to marry a princess from one of the Crusader states. John Kontostephanos, the chief dragoman
Byzantine aristocracy and bureaucracy
The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy, which was inherited from the Roman Empire. At the apex of the pyramid stood the Emperor, sole ruler and divinely ordained, but beneath him a multitude of officials and court functionaries operated the administrative...
(interpreter) Theophylact, and the akolouthos
Akolouthos
Akolouthos , anglicized as Acolyte, was a Byzantine office with varying functions over time. Originally a subaltern officer of the imperial tagma of the Vigla, it was associated with the command over the famed Varangian Guard in the 11th-12th centuries.The title is first attested in the 9th...
of the Varangian Guard
Varangians
The Varangians or Varyags , sometimes referred to as Variagians, were people from the Baltic region, most often associated with Vikings, who from the 9th to 11th centuries ventured eastwards and southwards along the rivers of Eastern Europe, through what is now Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.According...
Basil Kamateros were sent to Jerusalem to seek a new wife, and the two princesses Maria of Antioch and Melisende of Tripoli
Melisende of Tripoli
Melisende of Tripoli was the daughter of Hodierna of Tripoli and Raymond II, count of Tripoli.- Biography :Melisende was named for her aunt, Melisende, Queen of Jerusalem. She was a cousin of Kings Baldwin III and Amalric I....
, a daughter of Count Raymond II of Tripoli
Raymond II of Tripoli
Raymond II of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1137 to 1152.He was the son of Pons of Tripoli and Cecile of France. In 1137, he married Hodierna of Rethel, daughter of Baldwin II, King of Jerusalem. Later that year, he succeeded his father, after Pons was killed in a battle with the army of...
by Hodierna of Jerusalem
Hodierna of Tripoli
Hodierna of Jerusalem was a Countess consort of Tripoli. She was the daughter of Baldwin II of Jerusalem and the Armenian noblewoman Morphia. She was countess of Tripoli through her marriage to Raymond II of Tripoli...
, were offered as candidates. Both were renowned for their beauty, but according to John Kinnamos
John Kinnamos
Joannes Kinnamos or John Cinnamus was a Greek historian. He was imperial secretary to Emperor Manuel I , whom he accompanied on his campaigns in Europe and Asia Minor...
Maria was the more beautiful of the two; the tall, blonde-haired princess clearly showed her Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
ancestry. King Baldwin III suggested Melisende, and her brother Count Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli
Raymond III of Tripoli was Count of Tripoli from 1152 to 1187 and Prince of Galilee and Tiberias in right of his wife Eschiva.-Early life:...
set about gathering an enormous dowry
Dowry
A dowry is the money, goods, or estate that a woman brings forth to the marriage. It contrasts with bride price, which is paid to the bride's parents, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. The same culture may simultaneously practice both...
, with gifts from Hodierna and from Melisende's namesake, her aunt Queen Melisende
Melisende of Jerusalem
Melisende was Queen of Jerusalem from 1131 to 1153, and regent for her son between 1153 and 1161 while he was on campaign. She was the eldest daughter of King Baldwin II of Jerusalem, and the Armenian princess Morphia of Melitene. She was named after her paternal grandmother, Melisende of...
. The ambassadors were not satisfied and delayed the marriage for over a year; they had apparently heard rumours concerning Hodierna's infidelity and therefore Melisende's possible legitimacy. Instead, Manuel chose Maria. Count Raymond was insulted and in retaliation attacked Byzantine Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
Meanwhile, an imperial embassy led by Alexios Bryennios Komnenos and the prefect of Constantinople, John Kamateros, came to Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
to negotiate the marriage. Maria embarked from the port of St. Simeon for Constantinople in September 1161, and the marriage took place in Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
on December 24. Three patriarchs performed the marriage: Luke Chrysoberges, Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
; Sophronios
Patriarch Sophronius III of Alexandria
-References:...
, Greek Patriarch of Alexandria, and Athanasios, Greek Patriarch of Antioch. The marriage was celebrated with feasts, gifts to the church, and chariot races
Chariot racing
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death, but generated strong spectator enthusiasm...
in the Hippodrome
Hippodrome of Constantinople
The Hippodrome of Constantinople was a circus that was the sporting and social centre of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. Today it is a square named Sultanahmet Meydanı in the Turkish city of Istanbul, with only a few fragments of the original structure surviving...
for the people. This strengthened the connection of Antioch to the Byzantine Empire. The marriage also strengthened the position of Maria's mother Constance, who now held the regency of Antioch. According to Niketas Choniates, Maria
"...was like unto the laughter-loving, golden AphroditeAphroditeAphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
, the white-armed and ox-eyed HeraHeraHera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
, the long-necked and beautiful ankled Laconian, whom the ancients deified for their beauty, and all the rest of the beauties whose good looks have been preserved in distinguished books and histories."
In 1169 Maria gave birth to a son, the future emperor Alexios II Komnenos. She played a role in the political and diplomatic life of Constantinople. French being her mother tongue, she was able to observe the double-dealing of the hypoboleus (court interpreter) Aaron Isaakios, who was quietly advising Westerners not to pay too much for the Emperor's favour. As a result, Manuel had Aaron blinded.
Widowhood
After the death of Manuel in 1180 Maria officially became a nun with the name "Xene", but in reality she acted as regent for their son Alexios II. Despite being a nun she had many ambitious suitors, but she chose another Alexios, the prōtosebastos and prōtovestiariosProtovestiarios
Protovestiarios was a high Byzantine court position, originally reserved for eunuchs.-History and functions:The title is first attested in 412, as the comes sacrae vestis, an official in charge of the Byzantine emperor's "sacred wardrobe" , coming under the praepositus sacri cubiculi...
, a nephew of Manuel and uncle of Maria Komnene, former queen of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
, as an advisor and lover, causing a scandal among the Greek population. As a Westerner who favoured the Italian merchants, Maria was opposed by the Greeks, and her regency was widely considered incompetent. The leaders of the opposition were her stepdaughter, the porphyrogenita Maria Komnene
Maria Komnene (Porphyrogenita)
Maria Komnene was the eldest daughter of the Emperor Manuel I Komnenos by his first wife, Irene of Sulzbach. She was known as the Porphyrogenneta or Porphyrogenita because she had been "born in the Purple Chamber", i.e...
and her husband, the Caesar Renier of Montferrat
Renier of Montferrat
Renier of Montferrat was the fifth son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg...
, though himself a fellow Latin. The porphyrogenita Maria may have considered herself the rightful heir, as the elder child of Manuel; she was almost as old as her stepmother Maria. Maria and Renier gained the support of the Patriarch and used Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
as a base of operations. Alexios had the patriarch arrested, leading to open warfare on the streets of Constantinople.
Execution
Manuel's cousin Andronikos KomnenosAndronikos I Komnenos
Andronikos I Komnenos was Byzantine Emperor from 1183 to 1185). He was the son of Isaac Komnenos and grandson of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos.-Early years:...
, who had been exiled during Manuel's reign, was invited back by the porphyrogenita Maria, and marched on Constantinople in 1182. He provoked the citizens into a massacre of the Latin inhabitants
Massacre of the Latins
The Massacre of the Latins occurred in Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, in May 1182. It was a large-scale massacre of the Roman Catholic or "Latin" merchants and their families, who at that time dominated the city's maritime trade and financial sector...
, mostly Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
merchants. After gaining control of the city, he had the Porphyrogenita and Renier poisoned, and then had Empress Maria arrested and imprisoned in the monastery of St. Diomedes or in a prison nearby. The empress tried to seek help from her brother-in-law King Béla III of Hungary
Béla III of Hungary
Béla III was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was educated in the court of the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I who was planning to ensure his succession in the Byzantine Empire till the birth of his own son...
, to no avail. Andronikos had Alexios II sign the order for his mother's execution, and appointed his own son Manuel
Manuel Komnenos (born 1145)
Manuel Komnenos was the eldest son of Andronikos Komnenos by his first wife, whose name is not recorded....
and the sebastos
Sebastos
Sebastos was an honorific used by the ancient Greeks to render the Roman imperial title of Augustus. From the late 11th century on, during the Komnenian period, it and variants derived from it formed the basis of a new system of court titles for the Byzantine Empire. The female form of the title...
George to execute her, but they refused. Instead, according to Niketas, Maria was strangled by the hetaireiarches Constantine Tripsychos and the eunuch Pterygeonites, and buried in an unmarked grave on a nearby beach. Presumably owing to the secrecy surrounding her death, alternative versions of her death circulated, such as that she was tied up in a sack and drowned. Andronikos had himself crowned co-emperor, but Alexios II was soon murdered as well, and Andronikos took full control of the empire. Sometime later Andronikos also defaced or destroyed most images of Maria in Constantinople.
Sources
- Lynda Garland, Byzantine Empresses: Woman and Power in Byzantium, AD 527-1204. Routledge, 1999.
- Steven RuncimanSteven RuncimanThe Hon. Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman CH — known as Steven Runciman — was a British historian known for his work on the Middle Ages...
, A History of the Crusades, Vol. II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem. Cambridge University Press, 1952. - Warren Treadgold, A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press, 1997.
- O City of Byzantium, Annals of Niketas ChoniatēsNicetas ChoniatesNicetas or Niketas Choniates , sometimes called Acominatos, was a Greek historian – like his brother Michael Acominatus, whom he accompanied from their birthplace Chonae to Constantinople...
, trans. Harry J. Magoulias. Wayne State University Press, 1984. - John Cinnamus, Deeds of John and Manuel Comnenus, trans. Charles M. Brand. Columbia University Press, 1976.
- William of TyreWilliam of TyreWilliam of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
, A History of Deeds Done Beyond the Sea, trans. E. A. Babcock and A. C. Krey. Columbia University Press, 1943.