Anna Palaiologina (daughter of Michael IX)

Anna Palaiologina
Died1320
Spouse
Names
Greek: Ἅννα Παλαιολογίνα
DynastyPalaiologos
FatherMichael IX Palaiologos
MotherRita of Armenia

Anna Palaiologina (died 1320; Greek: Ἅννα Παλαιολογίνα) was a Byzantine princess and queen-consort (basilissa) of the Despotate of Epirus.[1][2]

She was a daughter of the Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos and his wife, Rita of Armenia.[3] In 1304, her hand was sought by the Epirote regent, Anna Palaiologina Kantakouzene, for her son Thomas I Komnenos Doukas. The marriage eventually took place in ca. 1307, bringing Epirus closer to the rulers of Constantinople.[3][4][1] At that time, the rulers of Epirus were politically vulnerable, following their refusal to obey imperial authority.[2]

Some sources intimate that Thomas I Komnenos Doukas did not treat Anna well.[2] In 1318 Thomas was killed by his nephew, Nicholas Orsini, count of Cephalonia, who seized control of Epirus.[2][5] Orsini then took Anna as his wife, despite her technically now being his aunt.[2] There is speculation that she may have greeted her first husband's death with joy, or even have supported it.[2][5] She died in 1320.[3] In 1323, Nicholas Orsini was murdered by his brother, John II Orsini.[6]

  1. ^ a b Nicol, Donald M. (1996-07-13). The Byzantine Lady: Ten Portraits, 1250-1500. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-57623-9.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Nicol, Donald M. (1984). The Despotate of Epiros 1267-1479: A Contribution to the History of Greece in the Middle Ages. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-26190-6.
  3. ^ a b c PLP, 21344. Παλαιολογίνα ῎Αννα.
  4. ^ Rossi, Maria Alessia; Sullivan, Alice Isabella (2021-11-22). Eclecticism in Late Medieval Visual Culture at the Crossroads of the Latin, Greek, and Slavic Traditions. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. ISBN 978-3-11-069561-8.
  5. ^ a b Polemis, Demetrios I. (1968). The Doukai: A Contribution to Byzantine Prosopography. Athlone P. ISBN 978-0-485-13122-2.
  6. ^ Nicol, Donald M. (1993-10-14). The Last Centuries of Byzantium, 1261-1453. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-43991-6.