Maria of Alania

Maria of Alania
Mariam Bagrationi
Byzantine Empress consort
Tenure1071–1081
Born1053
Kingdom of Georgia
Died1118 (aged 64–65)
Byzantine Empire
SpouseMichael VII (1065–1078)
Nicephorus III (1078–1081)
IssueConstantine Doukas
DynastyBagrationi (by birth)
Doukas (by marriage)
FatherBagrat IV of Georgia
MotherBorena of Alania
ReligionGeorgian Orthodox Church

Maria of Alania[1] (Greek: Μαρία Ἀλανή; born Martha;[2] Georgian: მართა; 1053–1118) was Byzantine empress by marriages to emperors Michael VII Doukas and Nikephoros III Botaneiates. Her status as empress was considered a significant success for a newly unified Kingdom of Georgia, which would achieve regional influence comparable to that of Byzantium only during the reign of Martha's nephew, King David IV, who refused to carry a Byzantine title. Maria was the only foreign Byzantine empress of the eleventh century.

  1. ^ Maria's mother was Borena of Alania, the second wife of Bagrat of Georgia, although she herself was from Georgia.
  2. ^ On a list of commemorations given to prominent Georgians at the 1103 Georgian ecclesiastic council of Ruis-Urbnisi, organized by Maria's nephew David IV, Empress Maria is hailed as "Our Queen Martha, the Augusta". Dolidze, Kartuli samartlis dzeglebi, 126.