Theodora Kantakouzene
Encyclopedia
Alexios III of Trebizond
Alexios III Megas Komnenos or Alexius III , Emperor of Trebizond from December 1349 until his death. He was the son of Emperor Basil of Trebizond and his second wife, Irene of Trebizond...
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Family
Theodora is considered a daughter of Nikephoros Kantakouzenos, sebastokratōrSebastokrator
Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used by other rulers whose states bordered the Empire or were within its sphere of influence. The word is a compound of "sebastos" Sebastokratōr was a senior court title in the late Byzantine Empire. It was also used...
. According to the chronicle of their kinsman John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos
John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzenus was the Byzantine emperor from 1347 to 1354.-Early life:Born in Constantinople, John Kantakouzenos was the son of a Michael Kantakouzenos, governor of the Morea. Through his mother Theodora Palaiologina Angelina, he was a descendant of the reigning house of...
, Nikephoros was imprisoned by orders of Alexios Apokaukos
Alexios Apokaukos
Alexios Apokaukos was a leading Byzantine statesman and high-ranking military officer during the reigns of emperors Andronikos III Palaiologos and John V Palaiologos...
, one of the main advisors of Anna of Savoy
Anna of Savoy
Anna of Savoy, born Giovanna, was a Byzantine Empress consort, as the second wife of Andronikos III Palaiologos.-Family:She was a daughter of Amadeus V, Count of Savoy and his second wife Maria of Brabant. Her maternal grandparents were John I, Duke of Brabant and Margaret of Flanders...
in the civil war against John VI, in 1341. Nikephoros was later released and recorded being the governor of Adrianople
Edirne
Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...
in the 1350s. The identity of her mother is unknown.
The available Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
translations of the chronicle mention Nikephoros as a Patruelis of John VI, a paternal first cousin. Assuming this was not an error in translation, Theodora's paternal grandfather would be a sibling of Michael Kantakouzenos
Michael Kantakouzenos
Michael Kantakouzenos was the first epitropos of the Byzantine province of the Morea, a position he held from 1308 till his death in 1316.-Despot:...
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Marriage
On 28 September 1351, Theodora married Alexios III of TrebizondAlexios III of Trebizond
Alexios III Megas Komnenos or Alexius III , Emperor of Trebizond from December 1349 until his death. He was the son of Emperor Basil of Trebizond and his second wife, Irene of Trebizond...
. According to Trebizond: The Last Greek Empire of the Byzantine Era (1926) by William Miller, the marriage took place in newly rebuilt Church of St. Eugenios. Miller considered the marriage to be the result of an alliance between John VI and Alexios III. Her new husband was about a week short of his thirteenth birthday. Theodora is considered likely to have been of an equivalent age, born in about 1340.
They would have six children. The maternity of the daughters has been questioned because of their marriage to non-Christian rulers, a practice typically followed by illegitimate daughters of emperors such as Maria Palaiologina. However they are not mentioned as illegitimates in available sources. :
- Anna of TrebizondAnna of Trebizond, Queen of GeorgiaAnna Megale Komnene , , was a Trapezuntine Queen consort of Georgia as the second wife of King Bagrat V...
(6 April 1357 – after 1406). Married Bagrat V of GeorgiaBagrat V of GeorgiaBagrat V, “the Great” was the son of the Georgian king Davit IX with whom he was co-ruler from 1355, and became king after the death of his father in 1360....
as his second wife. The "Georgian Chronicle" of the 18th century indicates she was the mother of Bagrat V's youngest son, Constantine I of GeorgiaConstantine I of GeorgiaConstantine I was King of Georgia from 1407 to 1411 .He was the elder son of King Bagrat V of Georgia by his second wife, Anna of Trebizond. His maternal grandparents were Alexios III of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene....
. - Basil of Trebizond (17 September 1358 – c. 1377). Eldest son, died young.
- Manuel III of TrebizondManuel III of TrebizondManuel III Megas Komnenos was Emperor of Trebizond from March 20, 1390 to his death in 1417. He was the son of Emperor Alexios III of Trebizond by Theodora Kantakouzene.Manuel became the heir of his father in 1377, after the death of his elder brother Basil...
(16 December 1364 – 5 March 1417). - Eudokia of TrebizondEudokia of TrebizondEudokia Megale Komnene , was a Trapezuntine noblewoman, and a member of the powerful Byzantine Komnenos dynasty as a daughter of Emperor Alexios III of Trebizond....
. Married first Tadjeddin Pasha of SinopSinop, TurkeySinop is a city with a population of 36,734 on İnce Burun , by its Cape Sinop which is situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey, historically known as Sinope...
, also Emir of Limnia. The marriage took place on 8 October 1379. Tadjeddin was killed in battle against his uncle Haji Omar in 1386. George SphrantzesGeorge SphrantzesGeorge Sphrantzes, also Phrantzes or Phrantza was a late Byzantine Greek historian. He was born in Constantinople. At an early age he became secretary to Manuel II Palaiologos; in 1432 protovestiarites; in 1446 prefect of Mistras, and subsequently great logothete...
indicates she had children by her first husband but does not name them. Eudokia then married Constantine DragašConstantine DragasConstantine Dragaš Dejanović was a Serbian magnate that ruled the area around Kyustendil from 1378, during the fall of the Serbian Empire, until his death on May 17, 1395 at the battle of Rovine...
, a regional semi-independent lord in the fragmenting realm of the former Serbian EmpireSerbian EmpireThe Serbian Empire was a short-lived medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the Serbian Kingdom. Stephen Uroš IV Dušan was crowned Emperor of Serbs and Greeks on 16 April, 1346, a title signifying a successorship to the Eastern Roman Empire...
, his own realm centered at Velbăžd (KyustendilKyustendilKyustendil is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of Kyustendil Province, with a population of 44 416 . Kyustendil is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, 90 km southwest of Sofia...
). In 1395, together with his neighbor and ally, the Serbian king of Prilep MarkoPrince MarkoMarko Mrnjavčević was de jure the Serbian king from 1371 to 1395, while de facto he ruled only over a territory in western Macedonia centered on the town of Prilep...
, Constantine Dragaš was killed fighting for their Ottoman overlord Sultan Bayezid IBayezid IBayezid I was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1389 to 1402. He was the son of Murad I and Valide Sultan Gülçiçek Hatun.-Biography:Bayezid was born in Edirne and spent his youth in Bursa, where he received a high-level education...
against Mircea cel Bătrân of Wallachia at Rovine, near CraiovaCraiovaCraiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...
. Eudokia had no known children by her second marriage. Her stepchildren by Constantine included Helena DragašHelena DragašHelena Dragaš Helena was born to Constantine Dragaš of the noble House of Dejanović. Constantine was a Serbian provincial lord, ruling one of the principalities that emerged after the breakup of the Serbian Empire, centered at Velbăžd . Her mother was Constantine's unnamed first wife...
. - Maria of Trebizond. Married Suleyman Beg, Emir of Chalybia. He was a son of Haji Omar and cousin of Tadjeddin Pasha.
- An unnamed daughter. Married Mutahharten, Emir of Erzindjan.
Alexios III had at least one illegitimate son, Andronikos of Trebizond. He was betrothed or married to Gulkhan Khatun, a daughter of David IX of Georgia
David IX of Georgia
David IX of Georgia , from the Bagrationi dynasty, was king of Georgia from 1346 until his death.-Family:David was the only known son of George V of Georgia. The identity of his mother is not known. The "Georgian Chronicle" of the 18th century reports George V marrying a daughter of "the Greek...
. This illegitimate was assassinated on 14 March 1376.
Alexios died on 20 March 1390. Theodora survived him, retiring to a monastery 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:...
. Her monastic name was Theodosia. There is no further mention of her.