Maria Despina of Mongolia

The illegitimate daughter of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Paleologist . Her mother is called Diplovatatsina ^[1] (perhaps she is a relative of the emperor’s wife, Vatatsina), although this name or nickname is sometimes used in relation to Mary herself ^[2] . The first Ilkhan, Khulagu , expressed a desire to intermarry with the Byzantine reigning house , adding his representative to his wives, and Mikhail decided to send Mary to him ^[3] .

Mary left Constantinople in 1265. Sources called various accompanying: the Antiochian patriarch Euthymius ^[3] ; Rev. Theodosius Villardouin, rector of the monastery of Pantocrator ^[4] ; Vladyka Sargis, Bishop of Yesenkai, and Wardapet Bener ^[5] . However, upon arrival, they learned that Hulagu had passed away. Mary became one of the wives of his son and heir to Abak Khan . According to the reports of the Armenian chroniclers Kirakos Gandzaketsi and Vardan Areveltsi , contemporaries of events, Abaga Khan himself was baptized: “the throne was taken in 714 (1265) by the year Abaga Khan; he took as his wife the daughter of a Romaite king named Despina Khatun. <...> And, having christened Abag Khan, they gave him this girl as a wife ” ^[5] ,“ Abaha Khan was brought a wife from Greece, named Despina, the daughter of King Vatats, with the order that Abaha Khan be baptized and then took would be her wife. It was rumored that he had indeed been baptized and took her to the glory of Christ ” ^[6] . Abaga Khan had many wives (Rashid ad-Din lists a total of 10), Maria Despina (Tespine, as Rashid ad-din called her) was neither the eldest of the wives, nor the main, nor beloved: “since he loved her very much, then placed him above Mertei and Tespine, ”Rashid ad-Din wrote about one of the wives ^[7] , but Maria was respected by her husband and his entourage ^[8] .

After her husband, Abaga Khan, died in 1282 (he was probably poisoned by his brother Ahmad Tekuder ^[9] ), Mary returned to Constantinople . Together with her, Mary brought to Constantinople her daughter from Abaki named Theodora Arakhantlun ^{[1] [2]} , who was married to Isaac Paleologist Asen ^[10] . Some time later, she is again referred to as a participant in the events connecting Byzantium and the Mongols. Beiliki gained strength in Anatolia , crowding the eastern borders of the empire and capturing more and more new territories. The emperor, reluctantly using the Catalan and Alan mercenaries, tried to resort to another way of fighting the Turks. According to Pakhimer , Ilkhan Hudabande Oljeyt (Pakhimer calls him Kharmpantane , Millingen deciphers this name as Charband ^{[11] [12]} ) promised Andronic II 40,000 warriors to oppose the expansion of Osman. Pachimer connects this with the marriage of Ilkhan and the Byzantine princess ^[13] . Even earlier, the Byzantine ambassador was sent to Gazan Khan (died in May 1304) with the proposal of a dynastic union. Presumably, this bride was Irina Paleolog, the illegitimate daughter of Andronicus II ^[14] . However, there is a version that this princess was Maria ^[11] , who first married forty years before. Maria went to Nicaea to continue negotiations with the alleged bridegroom and to encourage the residents of the city ^{[11] [13]} . According to Khalil Inaldzhik , in Nicaea, Mary was supposed to organize the marriage of the Byzantine princess with the new Mongol khan, Oljeyt, but this princess was not her ^[14] . Her contemptuous behavior towards Osman I and the threats to lead the Mongol army against him only angered him ^{[11] [13] [14]} . Osman hurried to seize the fortress of Trikokkiya before the approach of the Mongol forces and made it his base for operations against Nicaea ^{[11] [13]} . Trikokkiya was the only fortress that Osman took by storm, and not by siege. Moreover, the only devices used by Osman's units were ramps (ramps) ^[15] . Not 40,000, but 30,000 people were sent to Aljeyt, as it is said, “to conquer the numerous cities captured by the Turks in Bithynia” ^[16] .

The time of Mary's death is unknown. It is assumed that she was tonsured by a nun named Melania and died in a monastery ^[17] .

After returning to Constantinople in 1282, Mary bought and expanded the monastery of the Virgin Panagiotissa, having built a church in it. In honor of Mary, the church became known as the Mongolian ^[18] . Turks call the church Kan kilisse (Bloody Church). The name recalls that in 1453, after the fall of Constantinople , fierce battles took place near the walls of this church ^[19] .

In the Kahriye Museum , a former temple and mosque, a mosaic depicting a nun to the right of Jesus has been preserved. The inscription reports that it is "[Sister] Andronicus of Paleologus Madam of the Mongols, nun Melane." The image of Mary was added to an earlier mosaic in 1316-1321 during the restoration and expansion of the temple by the philosopher Metohid. Mary donated the Gospel to the temple, which was probably the reason that her image appeared on the wall ^[17] .

Manuel Phil (circa 1275 - circa 1345) wrote a poem with an appeal (prayer) of Mary to the Virgin ^[17] :

Sources

• Extract from the Arab traveler. - 1818. - S. 292-294. - (Herald of Europe, Part 101).
• Vardan Areveltsi . General History of Vardan the Great / Translation from the Ancient Arm. Emin N .. - M .: printing house of the Lazarevsky Institute of Oriental Languages, 1861. - 184 p.
• George Pachimer . From the "Συγγραφικῶν ἱστοριῶν" by George Pachimer // Byzantine time- book : [ Russian ] / Per. from Greek: D. A. Korobeinikova. Repl. Ed .: G. G. Litavrin . - M .: Nauka , 2000 .-- T. 59 (84). - S. 288-292. - 304 p. - ISBN 5-02-008594-4 .
• Gandzaketsi K. History of Armenia / Transl. with ancient arm., foreword. and comment. L.A. Khanlaryan. - Moscow: The main edition of the eastern literature of the publishing house "Science", 1976. - 359 p. - (Monuments of the written language of the East).
• Rashid ad Din. Jami at-tawarih. Collection of annals. Volume 1. - M. - L .: Publishing house of the USSR Academy of Sciences, 1946.
• Pachymeres G., Bekker I. De Michaele et Andronico Palaeologis libri tredecim, I. - Bonn: E. Weber, 1835. - Vol. 36. - ( Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae ). (Greek) (lat.)
• Pachymeres G., Bekker I. De Michaele et Andronico Palaeologis libri tredecim, II . - Bonn: E. Weber, 1835. - Vol. 37. - ( Corpus Scriptorum Historiae Byzantinae ). (Greek) (lat.)

Literature

• Kemaloglu I. Church of Mary of the Mongol in Istanbul: Golden Horde Review. - Sh.Mardzhani Institute of History, Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, 2014. - No. 4 (6) . - S. 69-76 .
• Shukurov R.M. Türks in the Byzantine world (1204-1461). - M .: Publishing house of Moscow University, 2017 .-- 631 p. - (Proceedings of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University: Issue 74; Series 2, Historical Research, 33). - ISBN 978-5-19-011131-6 .
• Tsvetkoviћ M. Vanbrachna deca of the Tsarist dynasty Paleologist : Byzantine light on the Balkans = Byzantine World in the Balkans. - Beograd: Vizantoloshki Institute of SANU, 2012. - No. 42/2 . - S. 397-413 .
• Ibn Battuta. Travels in Asia and Africa: 1325-1354 / Har Gibb. - London: Broadway House, 1929. (English)
• Heath I. Byzantine Armies: AD 1118-1461 . - Osprey, 1995 .-- 48 p. - (MEN-AT-ARMS). - ISBN 9781855323476 . (eng.)
• İnalcık H., Akbaygil I. The Struggle Between Osman Gazi and The Byzantines For Nicaea : İznik: Throughout History. - Türkiye İş Bankası Kültür Yayınları, 2003. - P. 59-85. (tour.)
• İnalcık H. Osman Ghazi's Siege of Nicaea and the Battle of Bapheus : The Ottoman Emirate (1300–1389). Halcyon Days in Crete I: A Symposium Held in Rethymnon, 11–13 January 1991 / Zachariadou E .. - Crete University Press, 1994. - S. 55-81 . - ISSN 960-7309-58-8 . (eng.)
• Lindner Rudi Paul. Nomads and Ottomans in Medieval Anatolia . - Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, Indiana University, 1983. - Vol. 144. - 167 p. - (Indiana University Uralic and Altaic series). - ISBN 0933070128 , 9780933070127. (English)
• Millingen A. van. Byzantine Churches In Constantinople Their History And Architecture . - Macmillan And Co. London, 1912. - 477 p. (eng.)
• Runciman, Steven . A History of the Crusades . - Penguin Books , 1987. - Vol. 3 .-- 542 s. - ISBN 0521347726 , 9780521347723.
• Shukurov R. The Byzantine Turks, 1204-1461 . - 2016 .-- 528 s. - ISBN 9004307753 , 9789004307759.