Mary of Antioch (in monasticism - Ksenia ; 1145 , Antioch - 1182 , Constantinople ) - the second wife of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnin . Daughter of Princess Constance of Antioch and Raimund de Poitiers . Mother of Emperor Alexei II Komnin and regent during his childhood.
| Mary of Antioch | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Successor | Andronic Komnin | ||||||
| Birth | 1145 Antioch | ||||||
| Death | 1182 Constantinople | ||||||
| Kind | |||||||
| Father | Raimund de Poitiers | ||||||
| Mother | Constance, Princess of Antioch | ||||||
| Spouse | |||||||
| Children | Alexey II Komnin | ||||||
Biography
Maria was born in Antioch and, according to the contemporary chronicler Nikita Choniate , was particularly beautiful: [1]
This woman was very beautiful and even extremely beautiful - in a word, an extraordinary beauty. In comparison with her, the Venus and the golden and blond-haired Juno , and Elena , famous for her high neck and beautiful legs Elena , whom the ancients have enraptured for beauty, and indeed all the women whom books and stories give out as beauties, did not mean anything decisively. .
Emperor Manuel, widowed in 1159 , decided to marry this beauty and sent an embassy from the first aristocrats of the empire and his closest relatives to Antioch. [2] Mary was brought to the capital and at the end of 1161 [3] in the Hagia Sophia, Patriarch Luke Hrisoverg married her to the emperor. At the same time she was awarded the title of August . [four]
Married to Manuel, Mary had the only son Alex . On September 24, 1180, Manuel passed away. Mary, who became a monk with the name of Xenia, became regent of her young son. [5] The administration of the empire together with Maria was carried out by her favorite protosevast Alexei, the nephew of Emperor Manuel, in connection with whom she was still alive during her husband's life. [6] Mary had little knowledge of the affairs of the empire. [7] In her policy, she patronized the Italian merchants, which caused discontent among the trade and craft population of Constantinople. In the capital, she was nicknamed the "foreigner." [3] According to Nikita Choniate, “ in the absence of a vigilant and strict mentor, everything became disordered because everyone pursued his own goal and everyone opposed each other; or, as it were, taking away the strong and solid pillar, everything shook in the opposite direction . " [eight]
The reign of Mary was unhappy with the daughter of Manuel from her first marriage, Maria Porfirorodnaya and her husband Rainer Monferratsky , who led the nobility opposed to the empress. In May 1181, the confrontation between Empress Maria and her stepdaughter turned into open popular unrest. Supporters of Maria Porfirorodnoy, who wanted to remove from the management of protosevast Alexei and all Latin advisers, clashed with government forces. The unrest was able to stop the Patriarch Theodosius , but the peace that came was short-lived. [9] In April 1182, Andronicus Comnenus , a cousin of the late emperor Manuel, supported by nationally minded dignitaries , entered Constantinople. Under him, a repeated solemn coronation of Alexei II took place, but Andronic became his new regent and felt himself the sovereign master of the empire. [ten]
At the end of 1182 [11] Andronicus decided to get rid of Empress Mary. She was accused of secret relations with the king of Hungary, Bela , the husband of her half-sister Agnes , “ and encouraged him to destroy Vranitsova and Velehrad with letters and generous promises .” [12] Mary was imprisoned in the monastery of St. Diomede, and then subjected to trial, which pronounced her death sentence. After that, according to Nikita Khoniat, "the paper, written in the literal sense by splashes of maternal blood, condemning her to death , is immediately fastened by the king-son ." [12] By order of Andronicus, the etheriarch Konstantin Trypsikh and the eunuch Pteryhionit strangled Mary and buried her body in sea sand on the shore. [13] Regarding this murder, Nikita Choniat exclaims in his Chronicle: [12]
| Oh sun! What a black crime! O beginningless Word of God! How incomprehensible is your patience! |
In September 1183, by order of Andronicus, the only son of Mary, Emperor Alexei II, was strangled.
Notes
- ↑ Nikita Choniat . The reign of Manuel Comnenus. Prince 3 Ch. five
- ↑ Velichko A.M. History of the Byzantine emperors. - M. , 2010. - T. 4. - S. 639. - ISBN 978-5-91399-019-8 .
- ↑ 1 2 Dil C. Byzantine portraits. - M .: Art, 1994 .-- S. 280.
- ↑ John Kinnam . A brief overview of the reign of John and Manuel Komninov. Prince 5 Ch. four
- ↑ Alexei II Komnin // Orthodox Encyclopedia . - M .: Church and Scientific Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2000. - T. I. - S. 628-629. - 752 s. - 40,000 copies. - ISBN 5-89572-006-4 .
- ↑ Assumption F.I. Division VI. Comnines // History of the Byzantine Empire. In 5 volumes - M .: AST, Astrel, 2005 .-- V. 5 .-- 558 p. - ISBN 5-271-03856-4 .
- ↑ Velichko A.M. History of the Byzantine emperors. - M. , 2010. - T. 4. - S. 674. - ISBN 978-5-91399-019-8 .
- ↑ Nikita Choniat . The reign of Alexei Porfirorodny, son of King Manuel. Ch. one
- ↑ Velichko A.M. History of the Byzantine emperors. - M. , 2010 .-- T. 4 .-- S. 680-681. - ISBN 978-5-91399-019-8 .
- ↑ Velichko A.M. History of the Byzantine emperors. - M. , 2010. - T. 4. - S. 686. - ISBN 978-5-91399-019-8 .
- ↑ Lynda Garland. Mary of Antioch // An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors
- ↑ 1 2 3 Nikita Choniat . The reign of Alexei Porfirorodny, son of King Manuel. Ch. 17
- ↑ Velichko A.M. History of the Byzantine emperors. - M. , 2010. - T. 4. - S. 689. - ISBN 978-5-91399-019-8 .