Sofia is her children. Sofia Paleolog: the woman who founded the Russian Empire

"Your fate is sealed,

-That's what they say when in heaven
Known choice and soul
Inevitability accepts
Like the lot she created."

Marina Gussar

Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue

“The main effect of this marriage... was that Russia became more famous in Europe, which honored the tribe of the ancient Byzantine emperors in Sofia and, so to speak, followed it with its eyes to the borders of our fatherland... Moreover, many Greeks who came to us with princess, they became useful in Russia with their knowledge of arts and languages, especially Latin, which was then necessary for external affairs of state; enriched Moscow church libraries with books saved from Turkish barbarism and contributed to the splendor of our court by imparting to it the magnificent rites of Byzantium, so that from now on the capital of Ioann could truly be called the new Constantinople, like ancient Kyiv.”

N. Karamzin

“Great Constantinople (Constantinopolis), this acropolis of the universe, the royal capital of the Romans, which by God’s permission was under the rule of the Latins,” fell on May 29, 1453.

Capture of Constantinople by Turkish troops

The great Christian city was dying, slowly, terribly and irrevocably turning into the great Muslim Istanbul.

The struggle was merciless and bloody, the resistance of the besieged was incredibly stubborn, the assault began in the morning, the Turks failed to take the city gates, and only in the evening, having broken through the wall with a gunpowder explosion, the besiegers burst into the city, where they immediately encountered unprecedented resistance - the defenders of the most ancient Christian stronghold stood to the death - of course! - how could one chicken out or retreat when among them, like a simple warrior, the wounded and bloodied great emperor fought until his last breath Constantine XI Palaiologos, and then he did not yet know that just a few seconds later, in the dazzling last moment of his life, rapidly collapsing into darkness, he would forever go down in history as the last Byzantine emperor. Padaya whispered: “Tell Thomas - let him save his head! Where the head is - there is Byzantium, there is our Rome!” Then he wheezed, blood gushed from his throat, and he lost consciousness.

Constantine XI, Sophia's uncle. 19th century drawing

The body of Emperor Constantine was recognized by small golden double-headed eagles on purple morocco boots.

The faithful servant understood perfectly what the words of the late emperor meant: his younger brother - Thomas Paleologus, the ruler, or, as they said here, the despot of Morea, must make every effort to preserve and protect from the Turks the greatest Christian shrine that he kept - the most revered relics of the intercessor and patron of the Byzantine, Greek church by the entire Orthodox world - the head Apostle Andrew.

Saint Andrew the First-Called. St. Andrew's flag is firmly established in the Russian navy, and its meaning is also well-established: it was accepted “for the sake of the fact that Russia received holy baptism from this apostle”

Yes, that same Andrew the First-Called, the brother of St. Peter, an equally great martyr and faithful disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ himself...

Thomas took the dying request of his brother, who heroically fell in battle, very close to his heart and thought for a long time about what he should do to fulfill it properly...

The great shrine, which was kept in Patros It was necessary not only to save it from being captured by the Turks, it had to be preserved in time, moved somewhere, hidden somewhere... Otherwise, how should we understand the words of Constantine “Where the head is, there is Byzantium, there is our Rome!”? The head of the apostle is now here, with Thomas, Rome is in Italy, the Byzantine Empire - alas! - fell along with the fall of Constantinople... What did the brother mean... What does “our Rome” mean? Soon, with all the inexorability of the cruel truth, it became clear that Morea would not withstand the onslaught of the Turks. The last fragments of Byzantium, the second great Roman Empire, crumbled to dust. Peninsula, southern part of Greece, in ancient times the Peloponnese; received the name Moray in the 13th century, from the Slavic “sea”. In the 15th century in the Peloponnese there were several despotates who were formally dependent on Byzantium, but in fact obeyed only their rulers - despots, two of whom, Thomas and Michael, were the younger brothers of Emperor Constantine.

Thomas Paleologus. 11 - Despot of Morea

And suddenly Thomas had an epiphany - he suddenly understood what his brother meant - Constantine undoubtedly believed in a new revival of the empire, he believed that it would certainly arise where our main Greek shrine would be located! But where? How? In the meantime, the safety of his wife and children had to be taken care of - the Turks were approaching. In 1460, Morea was captured by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, Thomas and his family left Morea. Despot Thomas Palaiologos had four children. Eldest daughter Elena just left Father's house Having married the Serbian king, the boys Andreas and Manuel remained with their parents, as well as the youngest child, daughter Zoya, who was 3 years old by the time of the fall of Constantinople.

In 1460, despot Thomas Palaiologos with his family and the greatest shrines of the Christian world, including the head of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, sailed to the once Greek island Kerkyra, which since 1386 belonged to Venetian Republic and therefore was called in Italian - Corfu. The city-state of Venice, a maritime republic that was experiencing a period of greatest growth, remained the most prosperous and rich city in the entire Apennine Peninsula until the 16th century.

Thomas Palaiologos began to establish relations with Venice, a longtime rival of the Byzantines, almost simultaneously with the capture of Constantinople by the Turks. Thanks to the Venetians, Corfu remained the only part of Greece that did not fall under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. From there the exile is transported to Ancona, a port under the control of the Republic of St. Mark. There is no doubt that in 1463 Thomas Palaiologos, together with the Papal-Venetian flotilla, was going to go on a campaign against the Ottomans. His family at that time was under the guardianship of the Venetians in Corfu, they also transported Zoya and her brothers to Rome, having heard about their father’s illness, but, obviously, even after that the Venetian Senate did not interrupt ties with high-born refugees.

Long before the siege of the Byzantine capital, the wise Konstantin secretly, under the guise of ordinary merchant cargo, he sent Thomas a collection of the most valuable books from the Constantinople library, accumulated over centuries. In the far corner of the large harbor of the island of Corfu there was already one ship of Thomas Palaiologos, sent here a few months earlier. In the holds of this ship were treasures of human wisdom that almost no one knew anything about.

There were a large number of volumes of rare publications in Greek, Latin and Jewish languages, ranging from unique and very ancient copies of the gospels, the main works of most ancient historians, philosophers and writers, works on mathematics, astronomy, the arts, and ending with secretly kept manuscripts of predictions of prophets and astrologers , as well as books that reveal the secrets of long-forgotten magic. Constantine once told him that the remains of the library burned by Herostratus, papyri of Egyptian priests, and sacred texts taken by Alexander the Great from Persia are kept there.

One day, Thomas brought ten-year-old Zoya to this ship, showed her the holds and said:

- “This is your dowry, Zoya. The knowledge of great people of the past is hidden here, and their books contain the key to the future. Some of them I will later give you to read. The rest will wait for you to come of age and marry.”

So they settled on the island Corfu, where they lived for almost five years.

However, Zoya hardly saw her father during these years.

Having hired the best mentors for the children, he left them in the care of their mother, his beloved wife Catherine, and, taking with him the sacred relic, he went to Rome in 1460 in order to solemnly present it to Pope Paul II, hoping in return to receive confirmation of his rights to the Constantinople throne and military support in the fight for his return - by this time Thomas Palaiologos remained the only legal heir fallen Emperor Constantine.

Dying Byzantium, hoping to receive military assistance from Europe in the fight against the Turks, signed a 1439 year Union of Florence for the unification of Churches, and now its rulers could seek refuge with the papal throne.

On March 7, 1461, in Rome, the Morean despot was greeted with worthy honors, the head Apostle Andrew during a magnificent and majestic service with a huge crowd of people placed in the cathedral St. Peter's, and Foma was assigned a very high salary for those times - 6,500 ducats per year. The Pope awarded him the Order of the Golden Rose. Thomas remained to live in Italy.

However, over time, he began to gradually understand that his hopes were unlikely to ever be realized and that, most likely, he would remain a respected but useless exile.

His only consolation was his friendship with the cardinal Vissarion, which began and strengthened in the process of his efforts to receive support from Rome.

Vissarion of Nicaea

This unusually talented man was known as the leader of the Byzantine Latinophiles. Literary gift, erudition, ambition and ability to flatter strong of the world This, and, of course, his commitment to the union contributed to his successful career. He studied in Constantinople, then took monastic vows in one of the monasteries of the Peloponnese, and in the capital of the Morea, Mystras, he asceticised at the philosophical school of Gemistos Pletho. In 1437, at the age of 35, he was elected Metropolitan of Nicaea. However, Nicaea had long been conquered by the Turks, and this magnificent title was needed to give additional weight to the supporters of the union at the meetings of the upcoming council. For the same reasons, another Latinophile, Isidore, was ordained metropolitan of Moscow by the Patriarch of Constantinople without the consent of the Russians.

Catholic Cardinal Bessarion of Nicea, a Greek and a favorite of the pope, advocated the unification of Christian churches in the face of the Turkish threat. Coming every few months to Corfu, Thomas would talk for a long time with the children, sitting in his black throne-chair, inlaid with gold and ivory, with a large double-headed Byzantine eagle above the head.

He prepared the young men Andreas and Manuel for the humiliating future of princes without a kingdom, poor petitioners, seekers of rich brides - he tried to teach them how to maintain dignity in this situation and arrange their lives tolerably, not forgetting belonging to their ancient, proud and once powerful family . But he also knew that without wealth and lands they had no chance of reviving the former glory of the Great Empire. And therefore he pinned his hopes on Zoya.

His beloved daughter Zoya grew up as a very smart girl, but from the age of four she knew how to read and write in Greek and Latin, was very capable of languages, and now, at the age of thirteen, she already knew the ancient and modern history, knew the basics of mathematics and astronomy, retold entire chapters from Homer from memory, and most importantly, she loved to study, a spark of thirst for knowledge of the secrets of the world that was opening up before her sparkled in her eyes, moreover, she already seemed to guess that her life would be this world would not be simple at all, but this did not frighten her, did not stop her; on the contrary, she strove to learn as much as possible, as if she were preparing with excitement and rapture for a long, dangerous, but unusually exciting game.

The twinkle in Zoya’s eyes instilled great hope in her father’s heart, and he began to gradually and gradually prepare his daughter for the great mission that he was going to entrust to her.

When Zoya was fifteen years old, a hurricane of misfortunes hit the girl. At the beginning of 1465, Catherine Zaccaria's mother suddenly died. Her death shocked everyone - children, relatives, servants, but she simply struck down Foma. He lost interest in everything, was sad, lost weight, seemed to be decreasing in size, and it soon became clear that he was fading away.

However, suddenly the day came when it seemed to everyone that Thomas seemed to come to life: he came to the children, asked Zoya to accompany him to the port, and there they climbed onto the deck of the very ship where Zoya’s dowry was kept, and sailed with their daughter and sons to Rome .

Rome. The eternal City

However, they did not live together in Rome for long; soon, on May 12, 1465, Thomas died at the age of 56. The sense of self-worth and beauty that Thomas managed to preserve into old age made a great impression on the Italians. He also pleased them by officially converting to Catholicism.

Took over the education of the royal orphans Vatican, entrusting them to the cardinal Vissarion of Nicea. A Greek from Trebizond, he was equally at home in both Greek and Latin cultural circles. He managed to combine the views of Plato and Aristotle, the Greek and Roman forms of Christianity.

However, when Zoya Palelog found herself in Vissarion’s care, his star had already set. Paul II, who donned the papal tiara in 1464, and his successor Sixtus IV did not like Vissarion, who supported the idea of ​​​​limiting papal power. The cardinal went into the shadows, and once he even had to retire to the monastery of Grota Feratta.

Nevertheless, he raised Zoe Paleologue in European Catholic traditions and especially taught her to humbly follow the principles of Catholicism in everything, calling her “the beloved daughter of the Roman Church.” Only in this case, he inspired the pupil, will fate give you everything. “You will have everything if you imitate the Latins; otherwise you will get nothing.”

Zoya (Sofia) Paleolog

Zoya has grown over the years into an attractive girl with dark, sparkling eyes and soft white skin. She was distinguished by a subtle mind and prudence in behavior. According to the unanimous assessment of her contemporaries, Zoya was charming, and her intelligence, education and manners were impeccable. Bolognese chroniclers wrote enthusiastically about Zoe in 1472: “Truly she... is charming and beautiful... She was short, she seemed about 24 years old; the eastern flame sparkled in her eyes, the whiteness of her skin spoke of the nobility of her family.” The Italian princess Clarissa Orsini, who came from a noble Roman family closely associated with the papal throne, the wife of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who visited Zoe in Rome in 1472, found her beautiful, and this news has been preserved for centuries.

Pope Paul II allocated 3,600 ecus per year for the maintenance of orphans (200 ecus per month for children, their clothes, horses and servants; plus it was necessary to save for a rainy day, and spend 100 ecus on the maintenance of a modest courtyard). The court included a doctor, a professor of Latin, a professor of Greek, a translator and 1-2 priests.

It was then that Cardinal Vissarion very carefully and delicately hinted to the Byzantine princess about the possibility of marriage with one of the richest young men in Italy, Federico Gonzago, the eldest son of Louis Gonzago, ruler of the richest Italian city of Mantua.

Banner "Sermon of John the Baptist" from Oratorio San Giovanni, Urbino. Italian experts believe that Vissarion and Sofia Paleologus (3rd and 4th characters from the left) are depicted in the crowd of listeners. Gallery of the Province of Marche, Urbino

However, as soon as the cardinal began to take these actions, it suddenly turned out that the father of the possible groom had heard from nowhere about the extreme poverty of the bride and lost all interest in her as his son’s prospective bride.

A year later, the cardinal hinted at Prince Carracciolo, who also belonged to one of the richest families in Italy, but as soon as the matter began to move forward, some pitfalls were again revealed.

Cardinal Vissarion was a wise and experienced man - he knew very well that nothing happens on its own.

Having conducted a secret investigation, the cardinal definitely found out that with the help of complex and subtle intrigues, deftly woven by Zoya herself using her maids and chambermaids, in both cases she tried to upset the matter, but in such a way that the refusal in no case came from her, poor orphan, who should not neglect such suitors.

After thinking a little, the cardinal decided that it was a matter of religion and that Zoya must want a husband who belonged to the Orthodox Church.

To check this, he soon offered his pupil an Orthodox Greek - James Lusignian, the illegitimate son of the Cypriot king John II, who, having forcibly taken the crown from his sister, usurped his father's throne. And then the cardinal became convinced that he was right.

Zoya really liked this proposal, she carefully examined it from all sides, hesitated for some time, it even came to an engagement, but at the last minute Zoya changed her mind and refused the groom, but then the cardinal knew exactly why and began to understand something. Zoya correctly calculated that the throne under Jacob was shaking, that he did not have a confident future, and then in general - well, what kind of kingdom is this, after all - some kind of pitiful Cyprus island! Zoya made it clear to her teacher that she was a Byzantine princess, and not a simple prince’s daughter, and the cardinal temporarily stopped his attempts. And it was then that good old Pope Paul II unexpectedly fulfilled his promise to the orphan princess so dear to his heart. Not only did he find her a worthy groom, he also solved a number of political problems.

Destiny's sought-after gift awaits cutting

In those years, the Vatican was looking for allies to organize a new crusade, intending to involve all European sovereigns in it. Then, on the advice of Cardinal Vissarion, the pope decided to marry Zoya to the Moscow sovereign Ivan III, knowing about his desire to become the heir of the Byzantine basileus.

The marriage of Princess Zoe, renamed Sophia in Russian Orthodox fashion, with the recently widowed young Grand Duke of the distant, mysterious, but, according to some reports, incredibly rich and powerful Moscow principality, was extremely desirable for the papal throne for several reasons.

Firstly, through a Catholic wife it would be possible to positively influence the Grand Duke, and through him the Orthodox Russian Church in implementing the decisions of the Union of Florence - and the Pope had no doubt that Sophia was a devoted Catholic, for she, one might say, had grown up on the steps of his throne.

Secondly, it would be a huge political victory to gain Moscow's support against the Turks.

And finally, Thirdly, in itself, strengthening ties with distant Russian principalities has great value for all European politics.

So, by the irony of history, this fateful marriage for Russia was inspired by the Vatican. All that remained was to obtain Moscow's consent.

In February 1469 In the same year, the ambassador of Cardinal Vissarion arrived in Moscow with a letter to the Grand Duke, in which he was invited to legally marry the daughter of the Despot of Morea.

According to the ideas of that time, Sophia was considered a middle-aged woman, but she was very attractive, with amazingly beautiful, expressive eyes and soft matte skin, which in Rus' was considered a sign of excellent health. And most importantly, she was distinguished by a sharp mind and an article worthy of a Byzantine princess.

The Moscow sovereign accepted the offer. He sent his ambassador, the Italian Gian Battista della Volpe (he was nicknamed Ivan Fryazin in Moscow), to Rome to make a match. This nobleman from Vicenza, a city ruled by Venice since 1404, originally lived in the Golden Horde, in 1459 he entered the service of Moscow as a coin master and became known as Ivan Fryazin. He ended up in both the Horde and Moscow, probably at the behest of his Venetian patrons.

The ambassador returned a few months later, in November, bringing with him a portrait of the bride. This portrait, which seemed to mark the beginning of the era of Sophia Paleologus in Moscow, is considered the first secular image in Rus'. At least, they were so amazed by it that the chronicler called the portrait an “icon,” without finding another word: “And bring the princess on the icon.” By the way, the word “icon” originally meant “drawing”, “image”, “image” in Greek.

V. Muizhel. “Ambassador Ivan Frezin presents Ivan III portrait of his bride Sophia Paleolog"

However, the matchmaking dragged on because Moscow Metropolitan Philip for a long time objected to the sovereign’s marriage to a Uniate woman, who was also a pupil of the papal throne, fearing the spread of Catholic influence in Rus'. Only in January 1472, having received the consent of the hierarch, Ivan III sent an embassy to Rome for the bride, since a compromise was found: in Moscow, secular and church authorities agreed that before the wedding Zoya would be baptized according to the Orthodox rite.

Pope Sixtus IV

On May 21, a ceremonial reception of Russian ambassadors took place at Pope Sixtus IV, which was attended by representatives of Venice, Milan, Florence, and the Duke of Ferrara.

Reception at Sixtus IV. Melozzo da Forli

Already on June 1, at the insistence of Cardinal Vissarion, a symbolic betrothal took place in Rome - the engagement of Princess Sophia and the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan, who was represented by the Russian ambassador Ivan Fryazin.

Pope Sixtus IV treated the orphan with paternal concern: he gave Zoe as a dowry, in addition to gifts, about 6,000 ducats and sent letters in advance to the cities in which, in the name of respect due to the apostolic see, he asked to accept Zoe with goodwill and kindness. Vissarion was also concerned about the same thing; he wrote to the Sienese in case the bride passed through their city: “We earnestly ask you to mark her arrival with some kind of celebration and take care of a dignified reception.” Not surprisingly, Zoe's journey was something of a triumph.

On June 24, having said goodbye to the pope in the Vatican gardens, Zoya headed to the far north. On the way to Moscow, the bride of the “white emperor,” as the Duke of Milan Francesco Sforza called Ivan III in his message, was accompanied by a retinue of Greeks, Italians and Russians, including Yuri Trachaniot, Prince Constantine, Dmitry - the ambassador of the Zoe brothers, and the Genoese Anton Bonumbre , Bishop of Accia (our chronicles mistakenly call him a cardinal), papal legate, whose mission should act in favor of the subordination of the Russian Church.

Many cities in Italy and Germany (according to surviving news: Sienna, Bologna, Vicenza (Volpe’s hometown), Nuremberg, Lubeck) met and saw off her with royal honor, and held festivities in honor of the princess.

Almost the Kremlin wall in Vicenza. Italy

So, in Bologna, Zoya was received in his palace by one of the main local lords. The princess repeatedly showed herself to the crowd and aroused general surprise with her beauty and richness of attire. The relics of St. were visited with extraordinary pomp. Dominica, she was accompanied by the most distinguished young people. Bolognese chroniclers talk about Zoya with delight.

Saint Domenic. Founder of the Dominican Order

On the 4th month of the journey, Zoya finally set foot on Russian soil. On October 1st she left Kolyvani(Tallinn), was soon in Dorpat, where the messengers of the Grand Duke came to meet their future empress, and then went to Pskov.

N.K. Roerich. Old Pskov. 1904

On October 1, a messenger galloped to Pskov and announced at the assembly: “The princess crossed the sea, the daughter of Thomas, the Tsar of Constantinople, is going to Moscow, her name is Sophia, she will be your empress, and the wife of Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich. And you would meet her and accept her honestly.” The messenger galloped further, to Novgorod, to Moscow, and the Pskovites, as the chronicle reports “... the mayors and boyars went to meet the princess in Izborsk, lived here for a whole week, when a messenger arrived from Dorpat (Tartu) with an order to go meet her on the German coast.”

The Pskovites began to feed the honey and collect food, and sent six large decorated ships, posadniks and boyars in advance to “honorably” meet the princess. On October 11, near the mouth of the Embakh, the mayors and boyars met the princess and beat her with cups and golden horns filled with honey and wine. On the 13th, the princess arrived in Pskov and stayed for exactly 5 days. The Pskov authorities and nobles presented her and her retinue with gifts and gave her 50 rubles. The affectionate reception touched the princess, and she promised the Pskovites her intercession before her future husband. The legate Accia, who accompanied her, had to obey: follow her to the church, and there venerate the holy icons and venerate the image of the Mother of God on the orders of the despina.

F. A. Bronnikov. Meeting the princess. 1883

Probably, the Pope would never have believed it if he had known that the future Grand Duchess of Moscow, as soon as she found herself on Russian soil, while still on her way to the wedding in Moscow, insidiously betrayed all his quiet hopes, immediately forgetting all her Catholic upbringing . Sophia, who apparently met in childhood with the Athonite elders, opponents of the Union of Florence, was deeply Orthodox at heart. She skillfully hid her faith from the powerful Roman “patrons”, who did not help her homeland, betraying it to the Gentiles for ruin and death.

She immediately openly, brightly and demonstratively showed her devotion to Orthodoxy, to the delight of the Russians, venerating all the icons in all the churches, behaving impeccably at the Orthodox service, crossing herself as an Orthodox woman.

But even before that, while on board the ship carrying Princess Sophia for eleven days from Lübeck to Revel, from where the cortege would head further to Moscow by land, she remembered her father.

Sophia sat thoughtfully on the deck, looking somewhere into the distance beyond the horizon, not paying attention to the persons accompanying her - Italians and Russians - standing respectfully at a distance, and it seemed to her as if she saw a light radiance that came from somewhere above, permeating everything the body is carried away into the heavenly heights, there, far, far away, where all souls are carried away and where the soul of her father is now...

Sophia peered into the distant invisible land and thought only about one thing - whether she did the right thing; Did you make a mistake in your choice? Will she be able to serve the birth of the Third Rome where her tight sails are now carrying her? And then it seemed to her that an invisible light warmed her, gave her strength and confidence that everything would succeed - and how could it be otherwise - after all, from now on, where she, Sophia, is, there is now Byzantium, there is the Third Rome, in her new homeland - Muscovy.

Kremlin despina

Early in the morning of November 12, 1472, Sophia Paleologus arrived in Moscow, where her first meeting with Ivan and the throne city took place. Everything was ready for the wedding celebration, timed to coincide with the name day of the Grand Duke - the day of remembrance of St. John Chrysostom. The betrothal took place in the house of the Grand Duke's mother. On the same day, in the Kremlin, in a temporary wooden church, erected near the Assumption Cathedral under construction, so as not to stop the services, the sovereign married her. The Byzantine princess saw her husband for the first time. Grand Duke he was young - only 32 years old, handsome, tall and stately. His eyes were especially remarkable, “formidable eyes.”

Ivan III Vasilievich

And before, Ivan Vasilyevich was distinguished by his tough character, but now, having become related to the Byzantine monarchs, he turned into a formidable and powerful sovereign. This was largely due to his young wife.

The wedding of Ivan III with Sophia Paleologus in 1472. Engraving from the 19th century.

The wedding in a wooden church took place strong impression on Sophia Paleolog. One can imagine how shocked she was by the old Kremlin cathedrals dating back to the Kalitin era (the first half of the 14th century) and the dilapidated white stone walls and towers of the fortress built under Dmitry Donskoy. After Rome, with its St. Peter's Cathedral and the cities of continental Europe with their magnificent stone structures of different eras and styles, it was probably difficult for the Greek princess Sophia to reconcile with the fact that her wedding ceremony took place in a temporary wooden church that stood on the site of the dismantled Assumption Cathedral XIV century.

She brought a generous dowry to Rus'. After the wedding, Ivan III adopted the Byzantine double-headed eagle as a coat of arms - a symbol of royal power, placing it on his seal. The two heads of the eagle face the West and the East, Europe and Asia, symbolizing their unity, as well as the unity (“symphony”) of spiritual and temporal power. Actually, Sophia’s dowry was the legendary “Liberia” - a library (better known as the “library of Ivan the Terrible”). It included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, among which were unknown to us poems by Homer, works by Aristotle and Plato, and even surviving books from the famous Library of Alexandria. Seeing wooden Moscow, burned after the fire of 1470, Sophia was afraid for the fate of the treasure and for the first time hid the books in the basement of the stone Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Senya - the home church of the Moscow Grand Duchesses, built by order of St. Eudoxia, the widow of Dmitry Donskoy. And, according to Moscow custom, she put her own treasury for preservation in the underground of the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist - the very first church in Moscow, which stood until 1847.

According to legend, she brought with her a “bone throne” as a gift to her husband: its wooden frame was entirely covered with plates of ivory and walrus bone with scenes on biblical themes carved on them, and an image of a unicorn was placed on the back of the throne. This throne is known to us as the throne of Ivan the Terrible: the king is depicted on it by the sculptor M. Antokolsky. (In 1896 the throne was installed in Assumption Cathedral for the coronation of Nicholas II. But the sovereign ordered it to be staged for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (according to other sources, for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna), and he himself wished to be crowned on the throne of the first Romanov). And now the throne of Ivan the Terrible is the oldest in the Kremlin collection.

Throne of Ivan the Terrible

Sophia also brought with her several Orthodox icons.

Our Lady "Hodegetria". The gold earrings with eagles attached to the Virgin Mary's necklace were undoubtedly "attached" by the Grand Duchess

Our Lady on the throne. Cameo on lapis lazuli

And even after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III, the founder of the Palaeologus dynasty, with which the Moscow rulers became related, appeared in the Archangel Cathedral. Thus, the continuity of Moscow to the Byzantine Empire was established, and the Moscow sovereigns appeared as the heirs of the Byzantine emperors.

With the arrival in the capital of Russia of the Greek princess, the heir to the former greatness of the Palaiologans, in 1472, a fairly large group of immigrants from Greece and Italy formed at the Russian court. Over time, many of them occupied significant government positions and more than once carried out important diplomatic assignments for Ivan III. The Grand Duke sent embassies to Italy five times. But their task was not to establish connections in the field of politics or trade. They all returned to Moscow with large groups of specialists, among whom were architects, doctors, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths. Twice Sophia's brother Andreas came to the Russian capital with Russian embassies (Russian sources called him Andrey). It so happened that the Grand Duchess for some time maintained contact with one of the members of her family, which had broken up due to difficult historical events.

It should be recalled that the traditions of the Russian Middle Ages, which strictly limited the role of women to household chores, extended to the family of the Grand Duke and representatives of noble families. That is why so little information has been preserved about the lives of the great Russian princesses. Against this background, the life story of Sophia Paleolog is reflected in written sources much more detail. However, it is worth noting that Grand Duke Ivan III treated his wife, who received a European upbringing, with great love and understanding and even allowed her to give audiences to foreign ambassadors. In the memoirs of foreigners about Rus' in the second half of the 15th century, records of such meetings with the Grand Duchess were preserved. In 1476, the Venetian envoy Contarini was introduced to the Moscow empress. This is how he recalled it, describing his trip to Persia: “The Emperor also wished me to visit Despina. I did this with due bows and appropriate words; then a long conversation followed. Despina addressed me with such kind and courteous speeches as could be said; she urgently asked that her greetings be conveyed to the Serene Signoria; and I said goodbye to her.” Sophia, according to some researchers, even had her own thought, the composition of which was determined by the Greek and Italian aristocrats who came with her and settled in Rus', in particular, the prominent diplomats of the late 15th century Trachaniotes. In 1490, Sophia Paleologus met in her part of the Kremlin palace with the Tsar's ambassador Delator. Special mansions were built for the Grand Duchess in Moscow. Under Sophia, the Grand Duke's court was distinguished by its splendor. The kingship ceremony owes its appearance to the dynastic marriage of Ivan III with Sophia. Near 1490 In 1999, for the first time, an image of a crowned double-headed eagle appeared on the front portal of the Chamber of Facets.

Detail of the throne of Ivan the Terrible

The Byzantine concept of the sacredness of imperial power influenced Ivan III’s introduction of “theology” (“by God’s grace”) in the title and in the preamble of state charters.

Construction of the Kremlin

The “Great Greek” brought with her her ideas about the court and the power of government, and many of the Moscow orders did not suit her heart. She didn’t like that her sovereign husband remained a tributary of the Tatar Khan, that the boyars’ entourage behaved too freely with their sovereign, so the boyars were hostile to Sophia. That the Russian capital, built entirely of wood, stands with patched fortress walls and dilapidated stone churches. That even the sovereign's mansions in the Kremlin are made of wood and that Russian women look at the world from a small window. Sophia Paleolog not only made changes at court.

Some Moscow monuments owe their appearance to her. There is no doubt that the stories of Sophia and the representatives of the Greek and Italian nobility who came with her about the beautiful examples of church and civil architecture of Italian cities, about their impregnable fortifications, about the use of everything advanced in military affairs and other branches of science and technology to strengthen the position of the country, influenced the decision of Ivan III to “open a window to Europe”, to attract foreign craftsmen to rebuild the Kremlin, especially after the disaster of 1474, when the Assumption Cathedral, built by Pskov craftsmen, collapsed. Rumors immediately spread among the people that the trouble had happened because of the “Greek woman,” who had previously been in “Latinism.” However, the great husband of the Greeks wanted to see Moscow equal in beauty and majesty to the European capitals and to maintain his own prestige, as well as to emphasize the continuity of Moscow not only to the Second, but also to the First Rome. Such Italian masters as Aristotle Fiorovanti, Pietro Antonio Solari, Marco Fryazin, Anton Fryazin, Aleviz Fryazin, Aleviz Novy took part in the reconstruction of the residence of the Moscow sovereign. Italian craftsmen in Moscow were called by the common name “Fryazin” (from the word “fryag”, that is, “franc”). And the current towns of Fryazino and Fryazevo near Moscow are a kind of “Little Italy”: it was there at the end of the 15th century that Ivan III gave out estates to numerous Italian “fryags” who came to his service.

Much of what is now preserved in the Kremlin was built precisely under Grand Duchess Sophia. Several centuries passed, but exactly the same as now she saw the Assumption Cathedral and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Faceted Chamber (so named on the occasion of its decoration in Italian style- edges). And the Kremlin itself - the fortress that guarded the ancient center of the capital of Rus' - grew and was created before her eyes.

Faceted Chamber. 1487-1491

Interior view in the Chamber of Facets

Scientists have noticed that the Italians traveled to the unknown Muscovy without fear, because despina could give them protection and help. Whether this is true or not, only the Russian ambassador Semyon Tolbuzin, sent by Ivan III to Italy, invited Fioravanti to Moscow, because he was famous in his homeland as “new Archimedes,” and he happily agreed.

A special, secret order awaited him in Moscow, after which at the beginning of July 1475 Fioravanti set off on a journey.

Having examined the buildings of Vladimir, Bogolyubov and Suzdal, he went further north: on behalf of the Duke of Milan, he needed to get him white gyrfalcons, which were very highly valued in Europe. Fioravanti reached the shore White Sea visiting along the way Rostov, Yaroslavl, Vologda and Veliky Ustyug. In total, he walked and drove about three thousand kilometers (!) and reached the mysterious city of “Xalauoco” (as Fioravanti called it in one of his letters to Milan), which is nothing more than a distorted name Solovkov. Thus, Aristotle Fioravanti turned out to be the first European who, more than a hundred years before the Englishman Jenkinson, walked the path from Moscow to Solovki.

Arriving in Moscow, Fioravanti drew up a master plan for the new Kremlin, being built by his compatriots. Construction of the walls of the new cathedral began already in 1475. On August 15, 1479, the solemn consecration of the cathedral took place. The following year, Rus' was freed from the Tatar-Mongol yoke. This era was partly reflected in the architecture of the Assumption Cathedral, which became the symbol of the Third Rome.

Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

Its five powerful chapters, symbolizing Christ surrounded by the four evangelist apostles, are notable for their helmet-like shape. The poppy, that is, the top of the temple dome, symbolizes the flame - a burning candle and fiery heavenly forces. During the period of the Tatar yoke, the crown becomes like a military helmet. This is only a slightly different image of fire, since Russian warriors considered the heavenly army as their patrons - angelic forces led by Archangel Michael. The warrior’s helmet, on which the image of the Archangel Michael was often placed, and the poppy helmet of the Russian temple merged into a single image. Externally, the Assumption Cathedral is very close to the cathedral of the same name in Vladimir, which was taken as a model. The luxurious painting was mostly completed during the architect's lifetime. In 1482, the great architect, as the chief of artillery, took part in Ivan III’s campaign against Novgorod, and during this campaign he built a very strong pontoon bridge across the Volkhov. After this campaign, the master wanted to return to Italy, but Ivan III did not let him go, but, on the contrary, arrested him and put him in prison after trying to leave secretly. But he could not afford to keep Fioravanti in prison for a long time, since in 1485 a campaign against Tver was planned, where “Aristotle with guns” was necessary. After this campaign, the name of Aristotle Fioravanti no longer appears in the chronicles; there is no evidence of his return to his homeland. He probably died soon after.

There is a version that in the Assumption Cathedral the architect made a deep underground crypt, where they placed a priceless library. It was this hiding place that the Grand Duke accidentally discovered. Vasily III many years after the death of his parents. At his invitation, Maxim the Greek came to Moscow in 1518 to translate these books, and allegedly managed to tell Ivan the Terrible, son of Vasily III, about them before his death. Where this library ended up during the time of Ivan the Terrible is still unknown. They looked for her in the Kremlin, and in Kolomenskoye, and in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, and at the site of the Oprichnina Palace on Mokhovaya. And now there is an assumption that Liberia rests under the bottom of the Moscow River, in dungeons dug from the chambers of Malyuta Skuratov.

The construction of some Kremlin churches is also associated with the name of Sophia Paleologus. The first of them was the cathedral in the name of St. Nikolai Gostunsky, built near the bell tower of Ivan the Great. Previously, there was a Horde courtyard where the khan's governors lived, and such a neighborhood depressed the Kremlin despina. According to legend, the saint himself appeared to Sophia in a dream Nicholas the Wonderworker and ordered to build in that place Orthodox church. Sophia showed herself to be a subtle diplomat: she sent an embassy with rich gifts to the khan’s wife and, telling about the wonderful vision that had appeared to her, asked to give her land in exchange for another - outside the Kremlin. Consent was received, and in 1477 a wooden St. Nicholas Cathedral, later replaced by a stone one and stood until 1817. (Remember that the deacon of this church was the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov). However, historian Ivan Zabelin believed that, on the orders of Sophia Paleologus, another church was built in the Kremlin, consecrated in the name of Saints Cosmas and Damian, which did not survive to this day.

A. Vasnetsov. In the Moscow Kremlin. Watercolor

Legends call Sophia Paleologus the founder Spassky Cathedral, which, however, was rebuilt during the construction of the Terem Palace in the 17th century and began to be called Verkhospassky at the same time - because of its location. Another legend says that Sophia Paleologus brought the temple image of the Savior Not Made by Hands of this cathedral to Moscow. In the 19th century, the artist Sorokin painted an image of the Lord from it for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This image has miraculously survived to this day and is now located in the lower (stylobate) Transfiguration Church as its main shrine. It is known that this is the image Savior Not Made by Hands, which her father blessed her with. In the Kremlin Cathedral Spasa na Bor the frame from this image was kept, and the icon lay on the lectern All-Merciful Savior, also brought by Sophia. Then all the royal and imperial brides were blessed with this icon. The miraculous icon “Praise of the Mother of God” remained in the temple. Let us remember that the Savior Not Made by Hands is considered the very first icon revealed during the earthly life of the Lord, and the most accurate image of the Savior. It was placed on princely banners, under which Russian soldiers went to battle: the image of the Savior signified the vision of Christ in the sky and foreshadowed victory.

Another story is connected with the Church of the Savior on Bor, which was then the cathedral church of the Kremlin Spassky monastery, with the despina, thanks to which the Novospassky Monastery.

Novospassky Monastery in Moscow

After the wedding, the Grand Duke still lived in wooden mansions, which constantly burned in the frequent Moscow fires. One day, Sophia herself had to escape the fire, and she finally asked her husband to build a stone palace. The Emperor decided to please his wife and fulfilled her request. So the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, together with the monastery, was cramped by new palace buildings. And in 1490, Ivan III moved the monastery to the bank of the Moscow River, five miles from the Kremlin. Since then the monastery began to be called Novospassky, and the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor remained an ordinary parish church. Due to the construction of the palace, the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Senya, which was also damaged by the fire, was not restored for a long time. Only when the palace was finally ready (and this happened only under Vasily III) did it have a second floor, and in 1514 the architect Aleviz Fryazin raised the Church of the Nativity to a new level, which is why it is still visible from Mokhovaya Street. Under Sophia, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe and the State Courtyard were built, the Annunciation Cathedral was rebuilt, and the Arkhangelsk Cathedral was completed. The dilapidated walls of the Kremlin were strengthened and eight Kremlin towers were erected, the fortress was surrounded by a system of dams and a huge moat on Red Square. The defensive structures built by Italian architects withstood the siege of time and enemies. The Kremlin ensemble was completed under the descendants of Ivan and Sofia.

N.K. Roerich. The city is being built

In the 19th century, during excavations in the Kremlin, a bowl with ancient coins minted under the Roman Emperor Tiberius was discovered. According to scientists, these coins were brought by someone from the numerous retinue of Sophia Paleologus, which included natives of both Rome and Constantinople. Many of them took government positions, becoming treasurers, ambassadors, and translators.

Under Sophia, diplomatic ties began to be established with European countries, where the Greeks and Italians who had initially arrived with her were appointed envoys. The candidates were most likely selected not without the participation of the princess. And the first Russian diplomats were strictly punished in their service letters not to drink alcohol while abroad, not to fight among themselves and thereby not disgrace their country. The first ambassador to Venice was followed by appointments to a number of European courts. In addition to diplomatic missions, they also carried out other missions. Clerk Fyodor Kuritsyn, ambassador to the Hungarian court, is credited with the authorship of “The Tale of Dracula,” which was very popular in Rus'.

In Despina's retinue, A. Chicheri, the ancestor of Pushkin's grandmother, Olga Vasilievna Chicherina, and the famous Soviet diplomat, arrived in Rus'.

Twenty years later, foreign travelers began to call the Moscow Kremlin a “castle” in European style, due to the abundance of stone buildings in it. In the seventies and nineties of the fifteenth century, master money makers, jewelers, doctors, architects, minters, gunsmiths, and various other skilled people, whose knowledge and experience helped the country become a powerful and advanced power, came to Moscow from Italy and then from other countries.

Thus, through the efforts of Ivan III and Sophia, the Paleologus Renaissance flourished on Russian soil.

(To be continued)

Sofia(Zoya) Paleolog- a woman from the family of Byzantine emperors, the Palaiologos, played an outstanding role in the formation of the ideology of the Muscovite kingdom. By Moscow standards of that time, Sophia’s level of education was simply incredibly high. Sophia had a very great influence on her husband, Ivan III, which caused discontent among the boyars and clergy. The double-headed eagle - the family coat of arms of the Palaiologan dynasty was accepted by Grand Duke Ivan III as an integral part of the dowry. The double-headed eagle has since become the personal coat of arms of Russian tsars and emperors (not state emblem!) Many historians believe that Sophia was the author of the future state concept of Muscovy: “Moscow is the third Rome.”

Sofia, reconstruction based on the skull.

The decisive factor in Zoya’s fate was the fall of the Byzantine Empire. Emperor Constantine died in 1453 during the capture of Constantinople, 7 years later, in 1460, Morea (the medieval name of the Peloponnese peninsula, the possession of Sophia’s father) was captured by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, Thomas went to the island of Corfu, then to Rome, where he soon died. Zoya and her brothers, 7-year-old Andrei and 5-year-old Manuil, moved to Rome 5 years after their father. There she received the name “Sofia”. The paleologians settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV (the customer of the Sistine Chapel). To get support, Last year During his life, Thomas converted to Catholicism.
After the death of Thomas on May 12, 1465 (his wife Catherine died a little earlier in the same year), the famous Greek scholar, Cardinal Vissarion of Nicea, a supporter of the union, took charge of his children. His letter has been preserved, in which he gave instructions to the teacher of orphans. From this letter it follows that the pope will continue to allocate 3,600 ecus per year for their maintenance (200 ecus per month for children, their clothes, horses and servants; plus they should have saved for a rainy day, and spent 100 ecus on the maintenance of a modest courtyard ). The court included a doctor, a professor of Latin, a professor of Greek, a translator and 1-2 priests.

Vissarion of Nicea.

A few words should be said about the deplorable fate of Sophia's brothers. After the death of Thomas, the crown of the Palaiologos was de jure inherited by his son Andrei, who sold it to various European monarchs and died in poverty. During the reign of Bayezid II, the second son, Manuel, returned to Istanbul and threw himself at the mercy of the Sultan. According to some sources, he converted to Islam, started a family and served in the Turkish navy.
In 1466, the Venetian lordship proposed her candidacy as a bride to the Cypriot king Jacques II de Lusignan, but he refused. According to Fr. Pirlinga, the splendor of her name and the glory of her ancestors were a poor bulwark against the Ottoman ships cruising the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Around 1467, Pope Paul II, through Cardinal Vissarion, offered her hand to Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. She was solemnly engaged, but the marriage did not take place.
Ivan III was widowed in 1467 - his first wife Maria Borisovna, Princess Tverskaya died, leaving him with his only son, heir - Ivan the Young.
The marriage of Sophia to Ivan III was proposed in 1469 by Pope Paul II, presumably in the hope of increasing the influence of the Catholic Church in Moscow or, perhaps, bringing the Catholic and Orthodox churches closer together - restoring the Florentine union of churches. Ivan III's motives were probably related to status, and the recently widowed monarch agreed to marry the Greek princess. The idea of ​​marriage may have originated in the head of Cardinal Vissarion.
Negotiations lasted three years. The Russian chronicle tells: on February 11, 1469, the Greek Yuri arrived in Moscow from Cardinal Vissarion to the Grand Duke with a sheet in which Sophia, the daughter of the Amorite despot Thomas, an “Orthodox Christian” was offered to the Grand Duke as a bride (her conversion to Catholicism was kept silent). Ivan III consulted with his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, and made a positive decision.
In 1469, Ivan Fryazin (Gian Batista della Volpe) was sent to the Roman court to woo Sophia for the Grand Duke. The Sofia Chronicle testifies that a portrait of the bride was sent back to Rus' with Ivan Fryazin, and such secular painting turned out to be an extreme surprise in Moscow - “... and the princess was written on the icon.” (This portrait has not survived, which is very unfortunate, since it was probably painted by a painter in the papal service of the generation of Perugino, Melozzo da Forli and Pedro Berruguete). The Pope received the ambassador with great honor. He asked the Grand Duke to send boyars for the bride. Fryazin went to Rome for the second time on January 16, 1472, and arrived there on May 23.

Victor Muizhel. “Ambassador Ivan Frezin presents Ivan III with a portrait of his bride Sophia Paleolog.”

On June 1, 1472, an absentee betrothal took place in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The deputy of the Grand Duke was Ivan Fryazin. The wife of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Clarice Orsini, and Queen Katarina of Bosnia were present as guests. The father, in addition to gifts, gave the bride a dowry of 6 thousand ducats.
When in 1472 Clarice Orsini and the court poet of her husband Luigi Pulci witnessed a wedding in absentia that took place in the Vatican, the poisonous wit of Pulci, in order to amuse Lorenzo the Magnificent, who remained in Florence, sent him a report about this event and the appearance of the bride:
“We entered a room where a painted doll was sitting in a chair on a high platform. She had two huge Turkish pearls on her chest, a double chin, thick cheeks, her whole face shone with fat, her eyes were open like bowls, and around her eyes there were such ridges of fat and meat, like high dams on the Po. The legs are also far from thin, and so are all the other parts of the body - I have never seen such a funny and disgusting person as this fairground cracker. All day long she chatted incessantly through an interpreter - this time it was her brother, the same thick-legged cudgel. Your wife, as if under a spell, saw a beauty in this monster in female form, and the translator’s speeches clearly gave her pleasure. One of our companions even admired the painted lips of this doll and thought that it spits amazingly gracefully. All day long, until the evening, she chatted in Greek, but we were not given food or drink in either Greek, Latin, or Italian. However, she somehow managed to explain to Donna Clarice that she was wearing a tight and bad dress, although the dress was made of rich silk and cut from at least six pieces of material, so that they could cover the dome of Santa Maria Rotunda. Since then, every night I dream of mountains of oil, grease, lard, rags and other similar disgusting things.”
According to the Bolognese chroniclers, who described the passage of her procession through the city, she was short in stature, had very beautiful eyes and amazingly white skin. They looked like she was 24 years old.
On June 24, 1472, a large convoy of Sofia Paleologus, together with Fryazin, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by Cardinal Vissarion of Nicea, who was supposed to realize the emerging opportunities for the Holy See. Legend has it that Sofia's dowry included books that would form the basis of the collection of the famous library of Ivan the Terrible.
Sophia's retinue: Yuri Trakhaniot, Dmitry Trakhaniot, Prince Constantine, Dmitry (the ambassador of her brothers), St. Cassian the Greek. And also the papal legate, the Genoese Anthony Bonumbre, Bishop of Accia (his chronicles are mistakenly called a cardinal). The nephew of diplomat Ivan Fryazin, architect Anton Fryazin, also arrived with her.

Banner "Sermon of John the Baptist" from Oratorio San Giovanni, Urbino. Italian experts believe that Vissarion and Sofia Paleologus (3rd and 4th characters from the left) are depicted in the crowd of listeners. Gallery of the Province of Marche, Urbino.
The travel route was as follows: north from Italy through Germany, they arrived at the port of Lubeck on September 1. (They had to go around Poland, through which travelers usually followed to Muscovy by land - at that moment it was in a state of conflict with Ivan III). Cruise via the Baltic it took 11 days. The ship landed in Kolyvan (modern Tallinn), from where the motorcade in October 1472 proceeded through Yuryev (modern Tartu), Pskov and Novgorod. On November 12, 1472, Sofia entered Moscow.
Even during the bride's journey, it became obvious that the Vatican's plans to make her a conductor of Catholicism had failed, since Sophia immediately demonstrated a return to the faith of her ancestors. The papal legate Anthony was deprived of the opportunity to enter Moscow, carrying the Latin cross in front of him.
The wedding in Russia took place on November 12 (21), 1472 in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. They were married by Metropolitan Philip (according to the Sophia Vremennik - Kolomna archpriest Hosea).
Sofia's family life, apparently, was successful, as evidenced by her numerous offspring.
Special mansions and a courtyard were built for her in Moscow, but they soon burned down in 1493, and during the fire the Grand Duchess’s treasury was also destroyed.
Tatishchev reports evidence that allegedly, thanks to the intervention of Sofia, Ivan III decided to confront Khan Akhmat (Ivan III was already an ally and tributary of the Crimean Khan at that time). When Khan Akhmat’s demand for tribute was discussed at the council of the Grand Duke, and many said that it was better to pacify the wicked with gifts than to shed blood, it was as if Sophia burst into tears and with reproaches persuaded her husband not to pay tribute to the Great Horde.
Before the invasion of Akhmat in 1480, for the sake of safety, with her children, court, noblewomen and princely treasury, Sofia was sent first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero; if Akhmat crossed the Oka and took Moscow, she was told to flee further north to the sea. This gave Vissarion, the ruler of Rostov, a reason to warn the Grand Duke against constant thoughts and excessive attachment to his wife and children in his message. One of the chronicles notes that Ivan panicked: “he was horrified and wanted to run away from the shore, and sent his Grand Duchess Roman and the treasury with her to Beloozero.”
The family returned to Moscow only in winter.
Over time, the Grand Duke's second marriage became one of the sources of tension at court. Soon enough, two groups of the court nobility emerged, one of which supported the heir to the throne - Ivan Ivanovich the Young (son from his first marriage), and the second - the new Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue. In 1476, the Venetian A. Contarini noted that the heir “is in disgrace with his father, since he behaves badly with his despina” (Sophia), but already from 1477 Ivan Ivanovich was mentioned as his father’s co-ruler.
In subsequent years, the grand ducal family grew significantly: Sophia gave birth to the grand duke a total of nine children - five sons and four daughters.
Meanwhile, in January 1483, the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich the Young, also married. His wife was the daughter of the ruler of Moldova, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka, who immediately found herself at odds with her mother-in-law. On October 10, 1483, their son Dmitry was born. After the capture of Tver in 1485, Ivan the Young was appointed Prince of Tver by his father; in one of the sources of this period, Ivan III and Ivan the Young are called “autocrats”. Thus, throughout the 1480s, Ivan Ivanovich’s position as the legal heir was quite strong.
The position of the supporters of Sophia Paleologus was much less favorable. However, by 1490 new circumstances came into play. The son of the Grand Duke, heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich, fell ill with “kamchyuga in the legs” (gout). Sophia ordered a doctor from Venice - “Mistro Leon”, who arrogantly promised Ivan III to cure the heir to the throne; however, all the doctor’s efforts were fruitless, and on March 7, 1490, Ivan the Young died. The doctor was executed, and rumors spread throughout Moscow about the poisoning of the heir; a hundred years later, these rumors, now as undeniable facts, were recorded by Andrei Kurbsky. Modern historians treat the hypothesis of the poisoning of Ivan the Young as unverifiable due to a lack of sources.
On February 4, 1498, the coronation of Prince Dmitry took place in the Assumption Cathedral in an atmosphere of great pomp. Sophia and her son Vasily were not invited. However, on April 11, 1502, the dynastic battle came to its logical conclusion. According to the chronicle, Ivan III “put disgrace on his grandson, Grand Duke Dmitry, and on his mother, Grand Duchess Elena, and from that day on he did not order them to be remembered in litanies and litias, or named Grand Duke, and put them behind bailiffs.” A few days later, Vasily Ivanovich was granted a great reign; Soon Dmitry the grandson and his mother Elena Voloshanka were transferred from house arrest to captivity. Thus, the struggle within the grand ducal family ended with the victory of Prince Vasily; he became his father's co-ruler and legal heir to the Grand Duchy. The fall of Dmitry the grandson and his mother also predetermined the fate of the Moscow-Novgorod reform movement in the Orthodox Church: the Church Council of 1503 finally defeated it; many prominent and progressive figures of this movement were executed. As for the fate of those who lost the dynastic struggle themselves, it was sad: on January 18, 1505, Elena Stefanovna died in captivity, and in 1509, “in need, in prison,” Dmitry himself died. “Some believe that he died from hunger and cold, others that he suffocated from smoke,” Herberstein reported about his death. But the worst thing awaited the country ahead - the reign of the grandson of Sophia Paleologus - Ivan the Terrible.
The Byzantine princess was not popular; she was considered smart, but proud, cunning and treacherous. The hostility towards her was even reflected in the chronicles: for example, regarding her return from Beloozero, the chronicler notes: “Grand Duchess Sophia... ran from the Tatars to Beloozero, but no one chased her away; and through which countries she walked, especially the Tatars - from the boyar slaves, from the Christian bloodsuckers. Reward them, O Lord, according to their deeds and the wickedness of their undertakings.”

The disgraced Duma man of Vasily III, Bersen Beklemishev, in a conversation with Maxim the Greek, spoke about it like this: “our land lived in silence and in peace. Just as the mother of the Grand Duke Sophia came here with your Greeks, so our land was confused and great unrest came to us, just like you did in Constantinople under your kings.” Maxim objected: “Sir, Grand Duchess Sophia was from a great family on both sides: on her father - the royal family, and on her mother - the Grand Duke of the Italian side.” Bersen replied: “Whatever it is; Yes, it has come to our discord.” This disorder, according to Bersen, was reflected in the fact that from that time “the great prince changed the old customs,” “now our Sovereign, having locked himself in the third place at his bedside, does all sorts of things.”
Prince Andrei Kurbsky is especially strict towards Sofia. He is convinced that “the devil instilled evil morals into the good family of Russian princes, especially through their evil wives and sorcerers, just as among the kings of Israel, especially those whom they stole from foreigners”; accuses Sophia of poisoning young John, the death of Elena, the imprisonment of Dmitry, Prince Andrei Uglitsky and other persons, contemptuously calls her a Greek, a Greek “sorceress”.
The Trinity-Sergius Monastery houses a silk shroud sewn by the hands of Sophia in 1498; her name is embroidered on the shroud, and she calls herself not the Grand Duchess of Moscow, but “the princess of Tsaregorod.” Apparently, she highly valued her former title if she remembers it even after 26 years of marriage.

Shroud from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra embroidered by Sophia Paleolog.

There are different versions regarding the role of Sophia Paleologus in the history of the Russian state:
Artists and architects were called from Western Europe to decorate the palace and capital. New temples and new palaces were erected. The Italian Alberti (Aristotle) ​​Fioraventi built the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals. Moscow was decorated with the Faceted Chamber, the Kremlin towers, the Terem Palace, and finally the Archangel Cathedral was built.
For the sake of the marriage of her son Vasily III, she introduced a Byzantine custom - a viewing of brides.
Considered the ancestor of the Moscow-Third Rome concept
Sophia died on April 7, 1503, two years before the death of her husband (he died on October 27, 1505).
She was buried in a massive white stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to the grave of Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III. “Sophia” is scratched on the lid of the sarcophagus with a sharp instrument.
This cathedral was destroyed in 1929, and the remains of Sophia, like other women of the reigning house, were transferred to the underground chamber of the southern extension of the Archangel Cathedral.

Transfer of the remains of the Grand Duchesses and Queens before the destruction of the Ascension Monastery, 1929.

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Sofia Paleolog: biography

Most historians agree that the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible, Grand Duchess Sophia (Zoya) Paleologus of Moscow played a huge role in the formation of the Muscovite kingdom. Many consider her the author of the concept “Moscow is the third Rome”. And together with Zoya Paleologina, a double-headed eagle appeared. At first it was the family coat of arms of her dynasty, and then migrated to the coat of arms of all the tsars and Russian emperors.

Zoe Paleologus was born (presumably) in 1455 in Morea (as the current Greek Peloponnese peninsula was called in the Middle Ages). The daughter of the despot of Morea, Thomas Palaiologos, was born at a tragic and turning point - the time of the fall of the Byzantine Empire.

Sofia Paleolog |

After the capture of Constantinople by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II and the death of Emperor Constantine, Thomas Palaiologos, along with his wife Catherine of Achaia and their children, fled to Corfu. From there he moved to Rome, where he was forced to convert to Catholicism. In May 1465, Thomas died. His death occurred shortly after the death of his wife in the same year. The children, Zoya and her brothers - 5-year-old Manuel and 7-year-old Andrey, moved to Rome after the death of their parents.

The education of orphans was undertaken by the Greek scientist, Uniate Vissarion of Nicea, who served as a cardinal under Pope Sixtus IV (it was he who commissioned the famous Sistine Chapel). In Rome, the Greek princess Zoe Palaiologos and her brothers were raised in the Catholic faith. The cardinal took care of the maintenance of the children and their education. It is known that Vissarion of Nicea, with the permission of the pope, paid for the modest court of the young Palaiologos, which included servants, a doctor, two professors of Latin and Greek, translators and priests.

Sofia Paleolog received a fairly solid education for those times.

Grand Duchess of Moscow

Sofia Paleolog (painting) http://www.russdom.ru

When Sofia reached adulthood, the Venetian Signoria became concerned about her marriage. The king of Cyprus, Jacques II de Lusignan, was first offered to take the noble girl as his wife. But he refused this marriage, fearing a conflict with the Ottoman Empire. A year later, in 1467, Cardinal Vissarion, at the request of Pope Paul II, offered the hand of a noble Byzantine beauty to the prince and Italian nobleman Caracciolo. A solemn engagement took place, but for unknown reasons the marriage was called off.

There is a version that Sophia secretly communicated with the Athonite elders and adhered to Orthodox faith. She herself made an effort to avoid marrying a non-Christian, upsetting all the marriages offered to her.

Sofia Paleolog. (Fyodor Bronnikov. “Meeting of Princess Sofia Palaeologus by Pskov mayors and boyars at the mouth of the Embakh on Lake Peipsi”)

In the turning point for the life of Sofia Palaeologus in 1467, the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III, Maria Borisovna, died. In this marriage, the only son, Ivan Molodoy, was born. Pope Paul II, counting on the spread of Catholicism to Moscow, invited the widowed sovereign of All Rus' to take his ward as his wife.

After 3 years of negotiations, Ivan III, having asked for advice from his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, decided to get married. It is noteworthy that the papal negotiators prudently kept silent about Sophia Paleologus’s conversion to Catholicism. Moreover, they reported that the proposed wife of Paleologina is an Orthodox Christian. They didn't even realize that it was so.

Sofia Palaeologus: wedding with John III. 19th century engraving | AiF

In June 1472, in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, the betrothal in absentia of Ivan III and Sophia Palaeologus took place. After this, the bride's convoy left Rome for Moscow. The same Cardinal Vissarion accompanied the bride.

Bolognese chroniclers described Sofia as a rather attractive person. She looked 24 years old, had snow-white skin and incredibly beautiful and expressive eyes. Her height was no higher than 160 cm. The future wife of the Russian sovereign had a dense physique.

There is a version that in the dowry of Sofia Paleolog, in addition to clothes and jewelry, there were many valuable books, which later formed the basis of the mysteriously disappeared library of Ivan the Terrible. Among them were treatises by Plato and Aristotle, unknown poems by Homer.

At the end of a long route that ran through Germany and Poland, the Roman guides of Sophia Palaeologus realized that their desire to spread (or at least bring closer) Catholicism to Orthodoxy through the marriage of Ivan III to Palaeologus had been defeated. Zoya, as soon as she left Rome, demonstrated her firm intention to return to the faith of her ancestors - Christianity.

The main achievement of Sofia Paleolog, which turned into a huge benefit for Russia, is considered to be her influence on her husband’s decision to refuse to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Thanks to his wife, Ivan the Third finally dared to throw off the centuries-old Tatar-Mongol yoke, although the local princes and elite offered to continue paying the quitrent in order to avoid bloodshed.

Personal life

Evgeny Tsyganov and Maria Andreichenko in the film “Sofia Paleolog”

Apparently, Sofia Paleologue’s personal life with Grand Duke Ivan III was successful. This marriage produced a significant number of offspring - 5 sons and 4 daughters. But it’s difficult to call the existence of the new Grand Duchess Sofia in Moscow cloudless. The boyars saw the enormous influence that the wife had on her husband. Many people didn't like it. Rumor has it that the princess had a bad relationship with the heir born in the previous marriage of Ivan III, Ivan the Young. Moreover, there is a version that Sofia was involved in the poisoning of Ivan the Young and the further removal from power of his wife Elena Voloshanka and son Dmitry.

Evgeny Tsyganov and Maria Andreichenko in the film “Sofia Paleolog” | Region.Moscow

Be that as it may, Sofia Paleologus had a huge influence on the entire subsequent history of Rus', on its culture and architecture. She was the mother of the heir to the throne, Vasily III, and the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible. According to some reports, the grandson bore considerable resemblance to his wise Byzantine grandmother.

Maria Andreichenko in the film “Sofia Paleolog”

Death

Sophia Palaeologus, Grand Duchess of Moscow, died on April 7, 1503. The husband, Ivan III, survived his wife by only 2 years.

Sofia was buried next to the previous wife of Ivan III in the sarcophagus of the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral. The cathedral was destroyed in 1929. But the remains of the women of the royal house were preserved - they were transferred to the underground chamber of the Archangel Cathedral.

According to one version, they were hereditary traders of old books - the Ancient Words, according to another - the Ancient Ones, who were related to the imperial dynasties of the Komnenos and Angels. The ancient Egyptians revered the Thracians as the most ancient people on earth, so the Ancient Ones could have a reference to the First Man.

Biography of Sofia

1449, born in Mystras, near Sparta (like Helen of Troy), from the despot of Morea (Peloponnese) - Thomas Palaiologos, brother of the childless Emperor Constantine XI , to whom she was a niece. Birth name - Zoya

1453, fall of Constantinople, Emperor Constantine XI killed. George of Trebizond “the history of the World has come to its end”, Byzantine historian Ducas “We have reached the end of times, we saw a terrible, monstrous thunderstorm breaking out over our heads.” Zoya is four years old, the birth of her brother Andrei

1455, birth of Manuel, Zoya's brother

1460, Morea is captured by the Turks and Zoe, together with her father Thomas, titular emperor of Byzantium, moves to Corfu (Kerkyra). Thomas sends his envoy, George Ralis, to the Pope. In the main church of Kirkira, at the relics of St. Spyridon, the girl Zoya prays for the revival of Byzantium. And these days, the clergy of the temple often changes Spiridon’s shoes, which miraculously wear out, as Spiridon visits all those in need and prays for the Byzantine miracle. During the plague, the Palaiologos family moves to the mountain village of Chlomos

November 1460, Thomas leaves for Rome, he brings the Pope the head of the Apostle Andrew and his cross. The head of the apostle is placed in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

1462, death of mother in Corfu, arrival of Thomas in Rome. Zoe's mother is buried in Kerkyra in the monastery of the Holy Apostles Jason and Sosipater

1464, Thomas, together with Pope Pius II, blesses the Venetian war galleys against the Turks. The campaign was unsuccessful, but brought to Rimini the remains of the Byzantine philosopher Plitho, following the example of whose academy the Florentine Ficino Academy was created

1465, Thomas summons his sons to Rome and dies in the arms of Cardinal Bessarion. Thomas's body was buried in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica; during the reconstruction of the cathedral in the 16th century, Thomas's tomb was lost. Zoe and her brothers arrive in Ancona. Andrei Paleolog becomes the heir of Byzantium

1466, the king of Cyprus, Jacques, refused to marry Zoe II de Lusignan

1467, betrothed to Prince Caracciolo, but the marriage did not take place

1469, Ivan Fryazin (Jean Baptiste della Volpe) goes to Rome to woo Zoya for Ivan III

1470, return of Ivan Fryazin to Moscow with a painting of Zoya

June 1, 1472, betrothal from Sophia to Ivan in absentia III and departure to Moscow. According to the testimony of the Bolognese people, Sophia was then about 24x years, according to our version 23. Sofia moved along the route Rome - Viterbo - Siena - Florence - Bologna - Nuremberg - Lubeck - Tallinn (11 days by ship) - Derp (Tartu) - Pskov - Veliky Novgorod - Moscow

November 12, 1472, Sophia’s wedding with Ivan III in the Kremlin, in a temporary church on the site of the Assumption Cathedral. The girl returns to Orthodoxy and from now on she is Sofia. Only Moscow sources call her by this name.

1474, birth of daughter Anna. Died in infancy

1479, birth of Vasily III

Autumn 1480, Sophia's flight, with her children, treasury and archives, from the Mongol horde to Beloozero. Sofia is responsible for the safety of money, books, documents, and shrines.

7 March 1490, heir to John III , one of the leaders of the Westernizing Party, Ivan Molodoy, died. Prince Andrei Kurbsky named the cause of death as the poisoning of the prince by the Greeks (Eurasians) of Sophia Paleologus. False libel.

1492 (7000), expected end of the world according to the Byzantine calendar

1497, the conspiracy of Vladimir Gusev is revealed. Allegedly, the Greek party wanted to kill Dmitry Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Young. Basil III and Sofia fall into disgrace. False libel.

1500, resignation of Fyodor Kuritsyn, head of intelligence and leader of the Westerners, who intrigued against Sofia

1502, Dmitry Ivanovich and his mother Elena Voloshanka fell into disgrace. Victory of the Eurasians over the Slavophiles and Westerners. Basil III - father's co-ruler

April 7, 1503, death of Sophia Palaiologos. She was buried in the grand-ducal tomb of the Ascension Convent in the Kremlin. The buildings of this monastery were dismantled in 1929, and the sarcophagi with the remains of the great duchesses and queens were transported to the basement chamber of the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin, where they remain today. This circumstance, as well as the good preservation of Sophia Paleologue’s skeleton, allowed specialists to recreate her appearance.

1594, Ivan Volk, brother of Fyodor Kuritsyn, was executed

1892, the first book about Sophia Paleolog (Pavel Pearling 1840 - 1922)

1929, transfer of the remains of Sophia Paleologus to the Archangel Cathedral

1994 , The study of the remains of Sophia Paleologus began. Her age was determined to be 50-60 years old, and her appearance was also restored; Sergei Nikitin (1950 -) worked on it."The idea of ​​the project that will be discussed, recalls Tatyana Panova, head of the Kremlin’s archaeological department, arose several years ago when I participated in the examination of human remains discovered in the basement of an old Moscow house. In the 1990s, such finds quickly became surrounded by rumors about executions allegedly taking place here by NKVD officers during Stalin’s times. But the burials turned out to be part of a destroyed cemetery of the 17th-18th centuries. The investigator was glad to close the case, and Sergei Nikitin, who worked with me from the Bureau of Forensic Medicine, suddenly discovered that he and the historian-archaeologist had a common object for research - the remains of historical figures. So, in 1994, work began in the necropolis of Russian grand duchesses and queens of the 15th - early 18th centuries, which has been preserved since the 1930s in an underground chamber next to the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin".“I,” continues Tatyana Panova, “was lucky enough to see the stages of recreating Sophia’s appearance, not yet knowing all the circumstances of her difficult fate. As the features of this woman’s face appeared, it became clear how life situations and illnesses hardened the character of the Grand Duchess. Otherwise and it could not have been - the struggle for her own survival and the fate of her son could not but leave traces. Sophia ensured that her eldest son became Grand Duke Vasily III. The death of the legal heir, Ivan the Young, at the age of 32 from gout is still in doubt in its naturalness. By the way, the Italian Leon, invited by Sophia, took care of the prince’s health. Vasily inherited from his mother not only the appearance that was captured on one of the icons of the 16th century - a unique case (the icon can be seen in the exhibition of the State Historical Museum), but also a tough character Greek blood also showed in Ivan IV the Terrible - he is very similar to his royal grandmother with a Mediterranean type of face. This is clearly visible when you look at the sculptural portrait of his mother, Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya."

2005, book by Tatyana Panova (1949 -), who participated in the work with the remains of Despina, about Sophia Paleolog

Environment

I. Family

Father - Thomas Paleologus

Mother - Ekaterina Tsakkariya of Akhai

Sister - Elena Paleolog

Brother - Andrey Paleolog

Brother - Manuel Paleologus

Husband - Ivan III

Daughter - Anna (1474) died in infancy

Daughter - Elena (1475) died in infancy

Daughter - Theodosia (1475 - ?)

Daughter - Elena Ivanovna (1476 - 1513)

Son - Vasily III (1479 - 1533)

Son - Yuri Ivanovich (1480 - 1536)

Son - Dmitry Zhilka (1481 - 1521)

Daughter - Evdokia (1483 - 1513)

Daughter - Elena (1484) died in infancy

Daughter - Theodosia (1485 - 1501)

Son - Simeon Ivanovich (1487 - 1518)

Son - Andrei Staritsky (1490 - 1537)

II. Greeks who arrived in Rus'

Sofia was accompanied by at least 50 Greeks from different clans

Palaiologists

Trachaniotes

Georgy (Yuri)

Dmitriy

Ralisa (Ralevs, Larevs)

Dmitry Grek

Manuel

Laskaris (Laskerives)

Fedor

Lazarises (Lazarevs)

Constantine, Prince of Theodoro (Mangupa). Saint Cassian from the Uchem Desert

Kerbushi (Kashkiny)

Carpubus

Atalyk

Armamet

Cicerones (Chicherines)

Athanasius Cicero

Manuils (Manuylovs)

Angels (Angels)

III. Philhellenes (Grecophiles, friends of the Greeks, Eurasians)

IV. Westerners

Fyodor Kuritsyn (- 1504) intelligence chief

Elena Voloshanka (- 1505) wife of Ivan the Young

Ivan the Young (1458 - 1490) son Ivan III

Dmitry (1483 - 1509) grandson Ivan III

Semyon Ryapolovsky, voivode

Ivan Volk (- 1504) brother of Kuritsyn

Ivan Patrikeev (1419 - 1499) palace

V. Slavophiles

VI. Metropolitans of Moscow and All Rus'

Gerontius (1473 - 1489)

Zosima (1490 - 1495)

Simon (1495 - 1511)

Results of activities

1. The crown and titles of the Byzantine Empire, which were traded by Andrei Paleologus (Sophia’s brother), as well as Orthodox relics in the hands of Manuel Paleologus, the second son of Thomas, turned out to be of little significance. Sophia's library, around which the Greek party rallied, on the contrary, allowed the fragile woman to outplay the Westerners and Slavophiles, put Vasily III on the throne and launch Rus' along the Eurasian path. Moscow - Third Rome.

2. John III divided the state into the Palace, the Treasury and the Church. On the side of the Palace were Westerners and Kuritsyn's intelligence, on the side of the Church were Slavophiles and counterintelligence. Sophia, her Byzantines (Eurasians), managed to create a group of State Secret keepers around the Treasury (Library, archives..) and subjugate the opposites, seizing them like the Double-Headed Eagle, two birds with one stone, on the coat of arms of the Paleologians.

Books about Sophia Paleolog

1892, Pirling P. Russia and the East. Royal wedding, Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus

1998, Sofia Paleolog. Women of Russia (miniature edition)

2003, Irina Chizhova. Sofia Paleolog

2004, Arsenyeva E.A. Necklace of Discord. Sofia Paleologus and Grand Duke Ivan III

2005, Panova T.D. Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue

2008, Leonardos Georgis. Sofia Palaiologos, from Byzantium to Russia

2014, Gordeeva L.I. Sophia Paleolog. Chronicle of life

2016, Matasova T.A. Sophia Paleolog. ZhZL 1791

2016, Pavlishcheva N. Sofia Paleolog. The first film novel about the first Russian queen

2017, Sorotokina N.M. Sophia Paleolog. Crown of omnipotence

2017, Pearling P. Sophia. Ivan III and Sofia Paleologus. Wisdom and Faithfulness (1892 reprint)

Movie

2016, series "Sofia" (main role - Maria Andreeva)

The niece of the last ruler of Byzantium, having survived the collapse of one empire, decided to revive it in a new place.

Mother of the Third Rome

At the end of the 15th century, in the Russian lands united around Moscow, the concept began to emerge, according to which the Russian state was the legal successor of the Byzantine Empire. Several decades later, the thesis “Moscow is the Third Rome” will become a symbol of the state ideology of the Russian state.

A major role in the formation of a new ideology and in the changes that were taking place within Russia at that time was destined to be played by a woman whose name was heard by almost everyone who has ever come into contact with Russian history. Sofia Paleolog, wife of Grand Duke Ivan III, contributed to the development of Russian architecture, medicine, culture and many other areas of life.

There is another view of her, according to which she was the “Russian Catherine de Medici,” whose machinations set the development of Russia on a completely different path and brought confusion into the life of the state.

The truth, as usual, is somewhere in the middle. Sofia Palaeologus did not choose Russia - Russia chose her, a girl from the last dynasty of Byzantine emperors, as a wife for the Grand Duke of Moscow.

Byzantine orphan at the papal court

Zoya Paleologina, daughter despot (this is the title of the position) of the Morea Thomas Palaiologos, was born in a tragic time. In 1453, the Byzantine Empire, successor Ancient Rome, after a thousand years of existence, collapsed under the blows of the Ottomans. The symbol of the death of the empire was the fall of Constantinople, in which he died Emperor Constantine XI, brother of Thomas Paleologus and uncle of Zoe.

Despotate of Morea, a province of Byzantium ruled by Thomas Palaiologos, lasted until 1460. Zoe lived these years with her father and brothers in Mystras, the capital of Morea, a city located next to Ancient Sparta. After Sultan Mehmed II captured the Morea, Thomas Palaiologos went to the island of Corfu, and then to Rome, where he died.

Children from the royal family of the lost empire lived at the court of the Pope. Shortly before his death, Thomas Palaiologos converted to Catholicism to gain support. His children also became Catholics. After baptism according to the Roman rite, Zoya was named Sophia.

The 10-year-old girl, taken into the care of the papal court, had no opportunity to decide anything on her own. Her mentor was appointed Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea, one of the authors of the union, which was supposed to unite Catholics and Orthodox Christians under the common authority of the Pope.

They planned to arrange Sophia's fate through marriage. In 1466 she was offered as a bride to the Cypriot King Jacques II de Lusignan, but he refused. In 1467 she was offered as a wife Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. The prince expressed his consent, after which the solemn betrothal took place.

Bride on the “icon”

But Sophia was not destined to become the wife of an Italian. In Rome it became known that the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III was widowed. The Russian prince was young, only 27 years old at the time of the death of his first wife, and it was expected that he would soon look for a new wife.

Cardinal Vissarion of Nicea saw this as a chance to promote his idea of ​​Uniatism to Russian lands. From his submission in 1469 Pope Paul II sent a letter to Ivan III in which he proposed 14-year-old Sophia Paleologus as a bride. The letter referred to her as an “Orthodox Christian,” without mentioning her conversion to Catholicism.

Ivan III was not devoid of ambition, which his wife would later often play on. Having learned that the niece of the Byzantine emperor had been proposed as a bride, he agreed.

Negotiations, however, had just begun - all the details needed to be discussed. The Russian ambassador, sent to Rome, returned with a gift that shocked both the groom and his entourage. In the chronicle, this fact was reflected with the words “bring the princess on the icon.”

The fact is that at that time secular painting did not exist in Russia at all, and the portrait of Sophia sent to Ivan III was perceived in Moscow as an “icon”.

However, having figured out what was what, the Moscow prince was pleased with the appearance of the bride. In historical literature there are various descriptions Sophia Paleolog - from beauty to ugly. In the 1990s, studies were carried out on the remains of the wife of Ivan III, during which her appearance was restored. Sophia was a short woman (about 160 cm), inclined to be overweight, with strong-willed facial features that could be called, if not beautiful, then quite pretty. Be that as it may, Ivan III liked her.

Failure of Vissarion of Nicaea

The formalities were settled by the spring of 1472, when a new Russian embassy arrived in Rome, this time for the bride herself.

On June 1, 1472, an absentee betrothal took place in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The Deputy Grand Duke was Russian Ambassador Ivan Fryazin. Present as guests were wife of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Clarice Orsini And Queen Katarina of Bosnia. The father, in addition to gifts, gave the bride a dowry of 6 thousand ducats.

On June 24, 1472, Sophia Paleologus's large convoy, together with the Russian ambassador, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by a Roman retinue led by Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea.

We had to get to Moscow through Germany by Baltic Sea, and then through the Baltic states, Pskov and Novgorod. Such a difficult route was caused by the fact that Russia once again began having political problems with Poland during this period.

From time immemorial, the Byzantines were famous for their cunning and deceit. Vissarion of Nicaea learned that Sophia Palaeologus inherited these qualities in full soon after the bride’s train crossed the Russian border. The 17-year-old girl announced that from now on she would no longer perform Catholic rites, but would return to the faith of her ancestors, that is, to Orthodoxy. All the cardinal's ambitious plans collapsed. Attempts by Catholics to gain a foothold in Moscow and strengthen their influence failed.

On November 12, 1472, Sophia entered Moscow. Here, too, there were many who treated her with caution, seeing her as a “Roman agent.” According to some reports, Metropolitan Philip, dissatisfied with the bride, refused to hold the wedding ceremony, which is why the ceremony was held Kolomna archpriest Hosiya.

But, be that as it may, Sophia Paleolog became the wife of Ivan III.

How Sophia saved Russia from the yoke

Their marriage lasted 30 years, she bore her husband 12 children, of whom five sons and four daughters lived to adulthood. Judging by historical documents, the Grand Duke was attached to his wife and children, for which he even received reproaches from high-ranking church officials who believed that this was detrimental to state interests.

Sophia never forgot about her origin and behaved as, in her opinion, the emperor’s niece should behave. Under her influence, the receptions of the Grand Duke, especially the receptions of ambassadors, were furnished with a complex and colorful ceremony, similar to the Byzantine one. Thanks to her, the Byzantine double-headed eagle migrated to Russian heraldry. Thanks to her influence, Grand Duke Ivan III began to call himself the “Russian Tsar.” With the son and grandson of Sophia Paleologus, this designation of the Russian ruler will become official.

Judging by the actions and deeds of Sophia, she, having lost her native Byzantium, seriously took up the task of building it in another Orthodox country. She was helped by her husband’s ambition, on which she successfully played.

When the Horde Khan Akhmat was preparing an invasion of Russian lands and in Moscow they were discussing the issue of the amount of tribute with which one could buy off misfortune, Sophia intervened in the matter. Bursting with tears, she began to reproach her husband for the fact that the country was still forced to pay tribute and that it was time to end this shameful situation. Ivan III was not a warlike man, but his wife’s reproaches touched him to the quick. He decided to gather an army and march towards Akhmat.

At the same time, the Grand Duke sent his wife and children first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero, fearing military failure.

But there was no failure - there was no battle on the Ugra River, where the troops of Akhmat and Ivan III met. After what is known as the “standing on the Ugra,” Akhmat retreated without a fight, and his dependence on the Horde ended completely.

Perestroika of the 15th century

Sophia inspired her husband that the sovereign of such a great power as he could not live in a capital with wooden churches and chambers. Under the influence of his wife, Ivan III began rebuilding the Kremlin. For the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, he was invited from Italy architect Aristotle Fioravanti. White stone was actively used at the construction site, which is why the expression “white stone Moscow”, which has survived for centuries, appeared.

Inviting foreign specialists in various fields has become a widespread phenomenon under Sophia Paleolog. The Italians and Greeks, who took up the positions of ambassadors under Ivan III, will begin to actively invite their fellow countrymen to Russia: architects, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths. Among the visitors there were a large number of professional doctors.

Sophia arrived in Moscow with a large dowry, part of which was occupied by a library, which included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, including poems Homer, essays Aristotle And Plato and even books from the Library of Alexandria.

These books formed the basis of the legendary missing library of Ivan the Terrible, which enthusiasts are trying to search for to this day. Skeptics, however, believe that such a library did not actually exist.

Speaking about the hostile and wary attitude of the Russians towards Sophia, it must be said that they were embarrassed by her independent behavior and active interference in state affairs. Such behavior was uncharacteristic for Sophia’s predecessors as grand duchesses, and simply for Russian women.

Battle of the Heirs

By the time of Ivan III’s second marriage, he already had a son from his first wife - Ivan Molodoy, who was declared heir to the throne. But with the birth of Sophia’s children, tension began to increase. The Russian nobility split into two factions, one of which supported Ivan the Young, and the second - Sophia.

The relationship between stepmother and stepson did not work out, so much so that Ivan III himself had to exhort his son to behave decently.

Ivan Molodoy was only three years younger than Sophia and had no respect for her, apparently considering his father’s new marriage a betrayal of his deceased mother.

In 1479, Sophia, who had previously given birth only to girls, gave birth to a son, named Vasily. As a true representative of the Byzantine imperial family, she was ready to ensure the throne for her son at any cost.

By this time, Ivan the Young was already mentioned in Russian documents as his father’s co-ruler. And in 1483 the heir married daughter of the ruler of Moldavia, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka.

The relationship between Sophia and Elena immediately became hostile. When in 1483 Elena gave birth to a son Dmitry, Vasily’s prospects for inheriting his father’s throne became completely illusory.

Female rivalry at the court of Ivan III was fierce. Both Elena and Sophia were eager to get rid of not only their competitor, but also her offspring.

In 1484, Ivan III decided to give his daughter-in-law a pearl dowry left over from his first wife. But then it turned out that Sophia had already given it to her relative. The Grand Duke, angry at his wife’s arbitrariness, forced her to return the gift, and the relative herself, along with her husband, had to flee from the Russian lands for fear of punishment.

The loser loses everything

In 1490, the heir to the throne, Ivan the Young, fell ill with “ache in his legs.” He was called from Venice especially for his treatment. doctor Lebi Zhidovin, but he could not help, and on March 7, 1490, the heir died. The doctor was executed by order of Ivan III, and rumors circulated in Moscow that Ivan the Young died as a result of poisoning, which was the work of Sophia Paleologue.

There is, however, no evidence of this. After the death of Ivan the Young, his son became the new heir, known in Russian historiography as Dmitry Ivanovich Vnuk.

Dmitry Vnuk was not officially declared the heir, and therefore Sophia Paleologus continued to try to achieve the throne for Vasily.

In 1497, a conspiracy by supporters of Vasily and Sophia was discovered. The angry Ivan III sent its participants to the chopping block, but did not touch his wife and son. However, they found themselves in disgrace, virtually under house arrest. On February 4, 1498, Dmitry Vnuk was officially proclaimed heir to the throne.

The fight, however, was not over. Soon, Sophia's party managed to achieve revenge - this time the supporters of Dmitry and Elena Voloshanka were handed over to the executioners. The denouement came on April 11, 1502. Ivan III considered the new charges of conspiracy against Dmitry Vnuk and his mother convincing, sending them under house arrest. A few days later, Vasily was proclaimed co-ruler of his father and heir to the throne, and Dmitry Vnuk and his mother were placed in prison.

Birth of an Empire

Sophia Paleologus, who actually elevated her son to the Russian throne, did not live to see this moment. She died on April 7, 1503 and was buried in a massive white-stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to her grave Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III.

The Grand Duke, widowed for the second time, outlived his beloved Sophia by two years, passing away in October 1505. Elena Voloshanka died in prison.

Vasily III, having ascended the throne, first of all tightened the conditions of detention for his competitor - Dmitry Vnuk was shackled in iron shackles and placed in a small cell. In 1509, a 25-year-old high-born prisoner died.

In 1514, in an agreement with Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I Vasily III was named Emperor of the Rus for the first time in the history of Rus'. This certificate is then used Peter I as proof of his rights to be coronated as emperor.

The efforts of Sophia Paleolog, a proud Byzantine, who took up the construction new empire to replace what was lost, it was not wasted.