Rita of Armenia
Encyclopedia
Rita of Armenia was a daughter of King Levon II of Armenia and Queen Keran
. She was the wife of Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos
, making her a junior empress-consort of the Byzantine Empire
. In 1317, she became the only empress upon the death of the senior empress, Irene of Montferrat. She was known as Maria in Constantinople
.
. According to a passage recording her birth, Rita was the twin
sister of Princess Theophane of Armenia.
The history of George Pachymeres
records that Andronikos II Palaiologos
began negotiations with Levon while seeking a potential wife for his son and junior co-ruler Michael IX Palaiologos
. Levon offered him Rita, and the marriage took place on 16 January 1294. The bride was sixteen years old and the groom seventeen.
Rita assumed the name Maria while at the Byzantine court. They had four children:
and the senior Augusta in Thessaloniki
. Rita became the only Empress when Irene died in 1317.
She remained so for three years. In 1319, however the death of her second son resulted in tragedy. Prince Andronikos maintained a mistress but suspected her of infidelity. He assigned retainers of his to wait by her house and attack whoever tries to enter. The one who approached was Manuel during night time and the retainers failed to recognize him. The second prince died by order of his older brother.
The affair seriously affected the health of Michael IX who died on 12 October 1320. Both deaths strained the relationship between Andronikos II and Andronikos III. Grandfather and grandson started a civil war
that would last until the victory of the younger man in 1328. Meanwhile the widowed Rita retired to a monastery, where she assumed the name "Xene". She would die there five years following the end of the war.
Queen Keran of Armenia
Keran was the wife of Leo II of Armenia. She was the daughter of Prince Hethum of Lampron. Born Anna, she was called Kir Anna beginning in 1270. This name was later shortened to Keran, or Guerane....
. She was the wife of Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos or Palaeologus , , reigned as Byzantine co-emperor with full imperial style 1294/1295–1320...
, making her a junior empress-consort of the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
. In 1317, she became the only empress upon the death of the senior empress, Irene of Montferrat. She was known as Maria 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:...
.
Marriage and children
A chronicle attributed to Hetoum II of Armenia is included in the collection known as Recueil des Historiens des CroisadesRecueil des Historiens des Croisades
The Recueil des Historiens des Croisades is a major collection of several thousand medieval documents written during the Crusades. The documents were collected and published in Paris in the late 19th century, and include documents in Latin, Greek, Arabic, Old French, and Armenian...
. According to a passage recording her birth, Rita was the twin
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
sister of Princess Theophane of Armenia.
The history of George Pachymeres
George Pachymeres
Georgius Pachymeres , a Byzantine Greek historian and miscellaneous writer, was born at Nicaea, in Bithynia, where his father had taken refuge after the capture of Constantinople by the Latins in 1204...
records that Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos
Andronikos II Palaiologos , Latinized as Andronicus II Palaeologus, was Byzantine emperor from 1282 to 1328. He was the eldest surviving son of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Theodora Doukaina Vatatzina, grandniece of John III Doukas Vatatzes...
began negotiations with Levon while seeking a potential wife for his son and junior co-ruler Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos
Michael IX Palaiologos or Palaeologus , , reigned as Byzantine co-emperor with full imperial style 1294/1295–1320...
. Levon offered him Rita, and the marriage took place on 16 January 1294. The bride was sixteen years old and the groom seventeen.
Rita assumed the name Maria while at the Byzantine court. They had four children:
- Andronikos III PalaiologosAndronikos III PalaiologosAndronikos III Palaiologos, Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus was Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341, after being rival emperor since 1321. Andronikos III was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia...
(25 March 1297 – 15 June 1341). - Manuel Palaiologos, despotesDespotesDespot , was a senior Byzantine court title that was bestowed on the sons or sons-in-law of reigning emperors, and initially denoted the heir-apparent...
(died 1319). - Anna Palaiologina (died 1321), who married Thomas I Komnenos DoukasThomas I Komnenos DoukasThomas I Komnenos Doukas ruler of Epirus from c. 1297 until his death in 1318.Thomas was the son of Nikephoros I Komnenos Doukas and Anna Kantakouzene, a niece of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. In 1290 he was conferred the court dignity of despotes by his mother's cousin, Emperor Andronikos...
and then Nicholas OrsiniNicholas OrsiniNicholas Orsini was count palatine of Cephalonia from 1317 to 1323 and ruler of Epirus from 1318 to 1323....
. - Theodora Palaiologina (died after 1330), who married Theodore Svetoslav of BulgariaTheodore Svetoslav of BulgariaTheodore Svetoslav ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He was a wise and capable ruler who brought stability and relative prosperity to the Bulgarian Empire after two decades of constant Mongol intervention in the internal issues of the Empire...
and then Michael Asen III of BulgariaMichael Shishman of BulgariaMichael Asen III ), ruled as emperor of Bulgaria from 1323 to 1330. The exact year of his birth is unknown but it was between 1280 and 1292. He was the founder of the last ruling dynasty of the Second Bulgarian Empire, the Shishman dynasty...
.
Empress
Rita was the junior Empress consort from 1294 to 1317. The senior was Irene of Montferrat, second wife of Andronikos II and stepmother to Michael IX. Since 1303, Andronikos II and Irene held separate courts. The senior emperor resided in ConstantinopleConstantinople
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:...
and the senior Augusta in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. Rita became the only Empress when Irene died in 1317.
She remained so for three years. In 1319, however the death of her second son resulted in tragedy. Prince Andronikos maintained a mistress but suspected her of infidelity. He assigned retainers of his to wait by her house and attack whoever tries to enter. The one who approached was Manuel during night time and the retainers failed to recognize him. The second prince died by order of his older brother.
The affair seriously affected the health of Michael IX who died on 12 October 1320. Both deaths strained the relationship between Andronikos II and Andronikos III. Grandfather and grandson started a civil war
Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328
The Byzantine civil war of 1321–1328 was a series of conflicts fought in the 1320s between the Byzantine emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos and his grandson Andronikos III Palaiologos over control of the Byzantine Empire.-Prelude to the civil war:...
that would last until the victory of the younger man in 1328. Meanwhile the widowed Rita retired to a monastery, where she assumed the name "Xene". She would die there five years following the end of the war.
External links
- Her listing in "Medieval lands" by Charles Cawley. The project "involves extracting and analysing detailed information from primary sources, including contemporary chronicles, cartularies, necrologies and testaments."