Sophia paleologian reign. Sofia Paleolog

Sofya Fominichna Paleolog, aka Zoya Paleologina (born approximately 1455 - death April 7, 1503) - Grand Duchess of Moscow. Wife of Ivan III, mother of Vasily III, grandmother of Ivan IV the Terrible. Origin: Byzantine imperial dynasty of the Palaiologos. Her father, Thomas Palaiologos, was the brother of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI, and despot of the Morea. Sophia's maternal grandfather is Centurion II Zaccaria, the last Frankish prince of Achaia.

Advantageous marriage

According to legend, Sophia brought with her a “bone throne” (now known as the “throne of Ivan the Terrible”) as a gift to her husband: its wooden frame was covered with plates of ivory and walrus bone with biblical themes carved on them.

Sophia also brought several Orthodox icons, including, presumably, a rare icon of the Mother of God “Blessed Heaven”.

The meaning of the marriage of Ivan and Sophia

The marriage of the Grand Duke to the Greek princess had important consequences. There had been cases before that Russian princes married Greek princesses, but these marriages did not have the same significance as the marriage of Ivan and Sophia. Byzantium was now enslaved by the Turks. The Byzantine emperor was previously considered the main defender of all Eastern Christianity; now the Moscow sovereign became such a defender; with the hand of Sophia, he seemed to inherit the rights of the Palaiologos, even adopting the coat of arms of the Eastern Roman Empire - the double-headed eagle; on the seals that were attached to the letters, they began to depict a double-headed eagle on one side, and on the other, the former Moscow coat of arms, St. George the Victorious, slaying the dragon.

The Byzantine order began to have a stronger and stronger effect in Moscow. Although the last Byzantine emperors were not powerful at all, they held themselves very highly in the eyes of everyone around them. Access to them was very difficult; many different court ranks filled the magnificent palace. The splendor of palace customs, luxurious royal clothing, shining with gold and precious stones, the unusually rich decoration of the royal palace - all this greatly elevated the sovereign’s personality in the eyes of the people. Everything bowed before him as before an earthly deity.

It was not the same in Moscow. The Grand Duke was already a powerful sovereign, and lived a little wider and richer than the boyars. They treated him respectfully, but simply: some of them were from appanage princes and, like the Grand Duke, traced their origins back to. The simple life of the tsar and the simple treatment of the boyars could not please Sophia, who knew about the royal greatness of the Byzantine autocrats and had seen the court life of the popes in Rome. From his wife and especially from the people who came with her, Ivan III could hear a lot about the court life of the Byzantine kings. He, who wanted to be a real autocrat, must have really liked many of the Byzantine court practices.

And little by little, new customs began to appear in Moscow: Ivan Vasilyevich began to behave majestically, in relations with foreigners he was titled “tsar,” he began to receive ambassadors with magnificent solemnity, and established the ritual of kissing the royal hand as a sign of special favor. Then the court ranks appeared (nurser, stablemaster, bedkeeper). The Grand Duke began to reward the boyars for their merits. In addition to the boyar's son, at this time another lower rank appears - the okolnichy.

The boyars, who had previously been advisers, Duma princes, with whom the sovereign, according to custom, consulted on every important matter, as with comrades, now turned into his obedient servants. The mercy of the sovereign can exalt them, anger can destroy them.

At the end of his reign, Ivan III became a real autocrat. Many boyars did not like these changes, but no one dared to express this: the Grand Duke was very harsh and punished cruelly.

Innovations. Sophia's influence

Since the arrival of Sofia Paleologus in Moscow, relations have begun with the West, especially with Italy.

An attentive observer of Moscow life, Baron Herberstein, who came to Moscow twice as the ambassador of the German Emperor under Ivan's successor, having listened to enough boyar talk, notes about Sophia in his notes that she was an unusually cunning woman who had great influence on the Grand Duke, who, at her suggestion, did a lot . Even Ivan III’s determination to throw off the Tatar yoke was attributed to her influence. In the boyars' tales and judgments about the princess, it is not easy to separate observation from suspicion or exaggeration guided by ill will.

Moscow at that time was very unsightly. Small wooden buildings, placed haphazardly, crooked, unpaved streets, dirty squares - all this made Moscow look like a large village, or, rather, a collection of many village estates.

After the wedding, Ivan Vasilyevich himself felt the need to rebuild the Kremlin into a powerful and impregnable citadel. It all started with 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”. While the reasons for the collapse were being clarified, Sophia advised her husband to invite architects from Italy, who were then the best craftsmen in Europe. Their creations could make Moscow equal in beauty and majesty to European capitals and support the prestige of the Moscow sovereign, as well as emphasize the continuity of Moscow not only with the Second, but also with the First Rome.

One of the best Italian builders of that time, Aristotle Fioravanti, agreed to go to Moscow for a salary of 10 rubles per month (a decent amount of money at that time). In 4 years he built a temple that was magnificent at that time - the Assumption Cathedral, consecrated in 1479. This building is still preserved in the Moscow Kremlin.

Then they began to build other stone churches: in 1489, the Annunciation Cathedral was erected, which had the significance of the tsar’s house church, and shortly before the death of Ivan III, the Archangel Cathedral was built again instead of the previous dilapidated church. The sovereign decided to build a stone chamber for ceremonial meetings and receptions of foreign ambassadors.

This building, built by Italian architects, known as the Chamber of Facets, has survived to this day. The Kremlin was again surrounded by a stone wall and decorated with beautiful gates and towers. The Grand Duke ordered the construction of a new stone palace for himself. Following the Grand Duke, the Metropolitan began to build brick chambers for himself. Three boyars also built themselves stone houses in the Kremlin. Thus, Moscow began to gradually be built with stone buildings; but these buildings did not become a custom for a long time after that.

Birth of children. State affairs

Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue

1474, April 18 - Sophia gave birth to her first daughter Anna (who died quickly), then another daughter (who also died so quickly that they did not have time to baptize her). Disappointments in family life were compensated by activity in government affairs. The Grand Duke consulted with her in making government decisions (in 1474 he bought half of the Rostov principality and entered into a friendly alliance with the Crimean Khan Mengli-Girey).

Sofia Paleologue took an active part in diplomatic receptions (Venetian envoy Cantarini noted that the reception she organized was “very stately and affectionate”). According to the legend cited not only by Russian chronicles, but also by the English poet John Milton, in 1477 Sophia was able to outwit the Tatar khan by declaring that she had a sign from above about the construction of a temple to St. Nicholas on the spot in the Kremlin where the house of the khan’s governors stood, who controlled the yasak collections. and the actions of the Kremlin. This legend represents Sophia as a decisive person (“she kicked them out of the Kremlin, demolished the house, although she did not build a temple”).

1478 - Rus' actually stopped paying tribute to the Horde; There are 2 years left until the complete overthrow of the yoke.

In 1480, again on the “advice” of his wife, Ivan Vasilyevich went with the militia to the Ugra River (near Kaluga), where the army of the Tatar Khan Akhmat was stationed. The “stand on the Ugra” did not end with the battle. The onset of frost and lack of food forced the khan and his army to leave. These events put an end to the Horde yoke.

The main obstacle to strengthening the grand-ducal power collapsed and, relying on his dynastic connection with “Orthodox Rome” (Constantinople) through his wife Sophia, the sovereign proclaimed himself the successor to the sovereign rights of the Byzantine emperors. The Moscow coat of arms with St. George the Victorious was combined with a double-headed eagle - the ancient coat of arms of Byzantium. This emphasized that Moscow is the heir of the Byzantine Empire, Ivan III is “the king of all Orthodoxy,” and the Russian Church is the successor of the Greek Church. Under the influence of Sophia, the ceremony of the Grand Duke's court acquired unprecedented pomp, similar to the Byzantine-Roman one.

Rights to the Moscow throne

Sophia began a stubborn struggle to justify the right to the Moscow throne for her son Vasily. When he was eight years old, she even tried to organize a conspiracy against her husband (1497), but it was discovered, and Sophia herself was condemned on suspicion of magic and connection with a “witch woman” (1498) and, together with Tsarevich Vasily, was subjected to disgraced.

But fate was merciful to her (over the years of her 30-year marriage, Sophia gave birth to 5 sons and 4 daughters). The death of Ivan III's eldest son, Ivan the Young, forced Sophia's husband to change his anger to mercy and return those exiled to Moscow.

Death of Sophia Paleolog

Sophia died on April 7, 1503. 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.

After death

This circumstance, as well as the good preservation of Sophia Paleologue’s skeleton, made it possible for experts to recreate her appearance. The work was carried out at the Moscow Bureau of Forensic Medicine. Apparently, there is no need to describe the recovery process in detail. We only note that the portrait was reproduced using all scientific techniques.

A study of the remains of Sophia Paleolog showed that she was short - about 160 cm. The skull and every bone were carefully studied, and as a result it was established that the death of the Grand Duchess occurred at the age of 55-60 years. As a result of studies of the remains, it was established that Sophia was a plump woman, with strong-willed facial features and had a mustache that did not spoil her at all.

When the appearance of this woman appeared before the researchers, it once again became clear that nothing happens by chance in nature. We are talking about the amazing similarity between Sophia Paleolog and her grandson, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, whose true appearance is well known to us from the work of the famous Soviet anthropologist M.M. Gerasimov. The scientist, working on the portrait of Ivan Vasilyevich, noted the features of the Mediterranean type in his appearance, linking this precisely with the influence of the blood of his grandmother, Sophia Paleolog.

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Books

Russia and the East. Royal wedding in the Vatican. Ivan III and Sofia Paleologus. , Pearling P.. This book will be produced in accordance with your order using Print-on-Demand technology. The book is a reprint of 1892. Despite the fact that a serious…
Sofia. Ivan III and Sofia Paleologus. Wisdom and loyalty. The Story of Royal Love, Pirling P.. Sophia, the daughter of the Byzantine despot Thomas Palaiologos, had several suitors for her hand. But when the wife of Ivan III died in 1467, Pope Paul II proposed to the sovereign of all Rus'...

In fact, the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI Palaiologos, was named Zoe. She received a new name - Sofia - on Russian soil, where strange circumstances and unusual twists of fate brought her. Until now, her name is shrouded in legends and speculation, although almost all historians agree that this woman had an undeniable influence on the formation of the Russian state during the times of Ivan III.

Uncle's prophecy

Thomas Paleologus, father of Sophia Paleologus

It seemed only Zoya always knew in her soul what her uncle’s dying words said to the servant meant: “Tell Foma to save his head!” Where the head is, there is Byzantium, there is our Rome!”

Zoya's father, Thomas, took them literally, trying to preserve the main relic of the Orthodox world - the head of the Apostle Andrew. Eventually, this shrine found its place in Rome, in St. Peter's Basilica. But this did not change anything and did not in any way affect the revival of Byzantium.

Thomas himself, as well as his sons, remained titled exiles without their land. And then the father placed all his hopes on his smart daughter Zoya. It is unknown what thoughts he put into her smart head, what far-reaching plans he voiced during their long conversations. Unfortunately, after some time, the girl was left an orphan and found herself in the care of the Vatican, and specifically of Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea, who sought to instill in her Catholic values.

Groom's choice

If we compare various sources, then the Byzantine princess, although she was pleasant in appearance, did not shine with particular beauty. Nevertheless, she, of course, had suitors. True, she herself secretly upset the proposed marriages. As they will later say, because the suitors for her hand were Catholics. But that comes later.

At that moment, when the Vatican wanted to place Zoya, no one could have thought that she was waiting for a groom of the Orthodox faith.

Sofia Paleolog is married to Ivan III Vasilyevich. Zoe Palaeologus, niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI, after the fall of Byzantium by the sword.

Moreover, prophesying that the widowed Moscow sovereign Ivan III would be her future husband, the Vatican made far-reaching plans - not only to enlist Moscow's support for a new campaign against the Turks, but also to promote the spread of Catholicism.

Subsequent events showed that Zoya, who in the past communicated with the Athonite elders, opponents of the Florentine Union, skillfully hid her true faith from her Roman patrons. As soon as she set foot on Russian soil, it became obvious and clear to everyone. Here she also changed her name to the Byzantine name Sophia.

As the chronicles testify, the bride and groom liked each other, although at that time the bride was not young, she was almost 30 years old. Considering that in those days people got married at the age of 14-15, then even her youthfulness (according to some evidence, she looked 24 years old) did not save the situation. Probably, her belonging to the Byzantine family played a big role, which left an imprint on the very perception of this undoubtedly intelligent, diplomatic, educated woman who knew how to present herself with dignity.

Karamzin wrote about this marriage like this:

“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 the 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 Kiev.”

At the origins of the “Third Rome”

Different sources have different assessments of the role of Sofia in the formation of the Russian state. Sometimes her name is mentioned in passing during this historical period, and sometimes she is spoken of as the person “who literally began to write the history of the modern superpower.”

Indeed, the heiress of Byzantium brought to Russia not only a rich spiritual heritage.

First of all ancient library of Liberia, better known now as the “library of Ivan the Terrible” (it has not been found to this day), but also their ideas about what the capital of a powerful state should be like and what the government should become. The library included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, among which were unknown poems by Homer, works by Aristotle and Plato, and even surviving books from the famous Library of Alexandria.
After the wedding, Ivan III accepted coat of arms Byzantine double headed eagle- a symbol of royal power, placing it on its seal.

According to legend, she brought with her as a gift to her husband "bone throne" now known as "throne of Ivan the Terrible". Its wooden frame was entirely covered with plates of ivory and walrus ivory with biblical scenes carved on them.
Sofia brought with her several Orthodox icons, including, as suggested, a rare icon of the Mother of God “Blessed Heaven”.

A. Vasnetsov. Moscow Kremlin under Ivan III

During Sofia's lifetime, Moscow, which looked more like several united villages, acquired a completely different look. Much of what has survived in the Kremlin was built during this period. Ivan III himself liked the transformation of Moscow, so he actively invited Italian architects and craftsmen to the capital.

At the same time, historians believe that Ivan III, who soon began to call himself Tsar, hardly had any claims to the Byzantine throne. In any case, there is no such evidence.

Yes, in the Archangel Cathedral after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of Michael III, the Byzantine emperor who was the founder of the Palaeologus dynasty, appeared. Thus, it was allegedly shown that Moscow is the successor to the Byzantine Empire, and the sovereigns of Rus' are the heirs of the Byzantine emperors. In addition, a symbol of autocracy appeared - the Byzantine double-headed eagle.

However, the reality of those years is far from modern speculation. If Ivan III really dreamed of Byzantium, he would have intended his son, Vasily, to be his heir, and not his son from his first marriage, Ivan, and then his grandson Dmitry. And about the double-headed eagle, not everything is so simple - modern researchers claim that it appeared in the state practice of Rus' almost two decades after the marriage of Ivan III and Sofia.

All life is an intrigue

In fact, Sofia’s entire life after the birth of her long-awaited heirs turned into a struggle for their place in the sun.

Due to intrigues, she fell into disgrace several times, but then returned to the court again and strengthened her position by all means. In the end, Ivan III's beloved son, Ivan the Younger, died due to improper treatment. At that time, there was no evidence that Sofia was involved in this, although many wanted it. But she carefully collected “compromising evidence” on everyone who could harm her. In particular, the wife of the deceased stepson and her son Dmitry, who was aiming for the throne.

Soon, including with the help of the papers she collected, the king realized that his daughter-in-law turned out to be a cunning and malicious woman who humiliated and belittled his own family and children and was practically preparing a conspiracy against him. He sent his once beloved daughter-in-law and his grandson to prison, and executed their supporters. The common son of Ivan III, Vasily, was blessed and placed in the great reign of Vladimir, Moscow and All Rus' by the autocrat.

Sofia's last refuge

Finally, Sofia could breathe a sigh of relief. But it didn’t take long to rejoice that everything worked out so well. Soon she became seriously ill and died, finally begging forgiveness from her husband for her former daughter-in-law, who was returned from prison to her homeland, Moldova.

Sofia died on August 7, 1503, she was buried in the Moscow Ascension Convent of the Kremlin in a massive sarcophagus, on the lid of which the word “Sofia” was scratched.

This cathedral was destroyed in 1929, and the remains of Sophia were transferred to the underground chamber of the southern annex of the Archangel Cathedral.

Soon her husband also died, whose work was continued by Vasily III and Ivan IV the Terrible.

In the middle of the 15th century, when Constantinople fell to the Turks, the 17-year-old Byzantine princess Sophia left Rome to transfer the spirit of the old empire to a new, still nascent state.
With her fairy-tale life and journey full of adventures - from the dimly lit passages of the papal church to the snowy Russian steppes, from the secret mission behind her betrothal to the Moscow prince, to the mysterious and still unfound collection of books she brought with her from Constantinople, - we were introduced by journalist and writer Yorgos Leonardos, author of the book “Sophia Paleologus - from Byzantium to Russia,” as well as many other historical novels.

In a conversation with a correspondent of the Athens-Macedonian Agency about the filming of a Russian film about the life of Sophia Palaiologos, Mr. Leonardos emphasized that she was a versatile person, a practical and ambitious woman. The niece of the last Palaeologus inspired her husband, Prince Ivan III of Moscow, to create a strong state, earning the respect of Stalin almost five centuries after her death.
Russian researchers highly appreciate the contribution that Sophia left in the political and cultural history of medieval Rus'.
Giorgos Leonardos describes Sophia's personality this way: “Sophia was the niece of the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI, and the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos. She was baptized in Mystras, giving her the Christian name Zoya. In 1460, when the Peloponnese was captured by the Turks, the princess, along with her parents, brothers and sister, went to the island of Kerkyra. With the participation of Vissarion of Nicaea, who by that time had already become a Catholic cardinal in Rome, Zoya and her father, brothers and sister moved to Rome. After the premature death of her parents, Vissarion took custody of three children who converted to the Catholic faith. However, Sophia's life changed when Paul II took the papal throne, who wanted her to enter into a political marriage. The princess was wooed to Moscow Prince Ivan III, hoping that Orthodox Rus' would convert to Catholicism. Sophia, who came from the Byzantine imperial family, was sent by Paul to Moscow as the heiress of Constantinople. Her first stop after Rome was the city of Pskov, where the young girl was enthusiastically received by the Russian people.”

The author of the book considers a visit to one of the Pskov churches to be a key moment in Sophia’s life: “She was impressed, and although the papal legate was next to her at the time, watching her every step, she returned to Orthodoxy, neglecting the will of the pope. On November 12, 1472, Zoya became the second wife of Moscow Prince Ivan III under the Byzantine name Sophia.”
From this moment, according to Leonardos, her brilliant path begins: “Under the influence of a deep religious feeling, Sophia convinced Ivan to throw off the burden of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, because at that time Rus' was paying tribute to the Horde. And indeed, Ivan liberated his state and united various independent principalities under his rule.”

Sophia’s contribution to the development of the state is great, since, as the author explains, “she introduced Byzantine order at the Russian court and helped create the Russian state.”
“Since Sophia was the only heir of Byzantium, Ivan believed that he had inherited the right to the imperial throne. He adopted the yellow color of the Palaiologos and the Byzantine coat of arms - the double-headed eagle, which existed until the revolution of 1917 and was returned after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and also called Moscow the Third Rome. Since the sons of the Byzantine emperors took the name of Caesar, Ivan took this title for himself, which in Russian began to sound like “tsar”. Ivan also elevated the Moscow Archbishopric to a patriarchate, making it clear that the first patriarchate was not Constantinople captured by the Turks, but Moscow.”

According to Yorgos Leonardos, “Sofia was the first to create in Rus', following the model of Constantinople, a secret service, the prototype of the Tsarist secret police and the Soviet KGB. This contribution of hers is still recognized by the Russian authorities today. Thus, the former head of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Alexei Patrushev, on Military Counterintelligence Day on December 19, 2007, said that the country honors Sophia Paleologus, since she defended Rus' from internal and external enemies.”
Moscow also “owes it a change in its appearance, since Sofia brought here Italian and Byzantine architects who built mainly stone buildings, for example, the Kremlin’s Archangel Cathedral, as well as the Kremlin walls that still exist today. Also, following the Byzantine model, secret passages were dug under the territory of the entire Kremlin.”

© Sputnik. Sergey Pyatakov

“The history of the modern - tsarist - state begins in Rus' in 1472. At that time, due to the climate, they did not farm here, but only hunted. Sofia convinced the subjects of Ivan III to cultivate the fields and thus marked the beginning of the formation of agriculture in the country.”
Sofia’s personality was treated with respect even under Soviet rule: according to Leonardos, “when the Ascension Monastery, in which the remains of the queen were kept, was destroyed in the Kremlin, they were not only not disposed of, but by decree of Stalin they were placed in a tomb, which was then transferred to Arkhangelsk Cathedral".
Yorgos Leonardos said that Sofia brought from Constantinople 60 carts with books and rare treasures that were kept in the underground treasuries of the Kremlin and have not been found to this day.
“There are written sources,” says Mr. Leonardos, “indicating the existence of these books, which the West tried to buy from her grandson, Ivan the Terrible, to which he, of course, did not agree. Books continue to be searched to this day.”

Sophia Palaiologos died on April 7, 1503 at the age of 48. Her husband, Ivan III, became the first ruler in Russian history to be called the Great for his actions carried out with the support of Sophia. Their grandson, Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible, continued to strengthen the state and went down in history as one of the most influential rulers of Russia.

“Sofia transferred the spirit of Byzantium to the Russian Empire that was just beginning to emerge. It was she who built the state in Rus', giving it Byzantine features, and generally enriched the structure of the country and its society. Even today in Russia there are surnames that go back to Byzantine names, as a rule, they end in -ov,” noted Yorgos Leonardos.
Regarding the images of Sophia, Leonardos emphasized that “no portraits of her have survived, but even under communism, with the help of special technologies, scientists recreated the appearance of the queen from her remains. This is how the bust appeared, which is located near the entrance to the Historical Museum next to the Kremlin.”
“The legacy of Sofia Paleologus is Russia itself...” summed up Yorgos Leonardos.

Sophia Paleologus (?-1503), wife (from 1472) of Grand Duke Ivan III, niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Paleologus. Arrived in Moscow on November 12, 1472; on the same day, her wedding to Ivan III took place in the Assumption Cathedral. The marriage with Sophia Paleologus contributed to strengthening the prestige of the Russian state in international relations and the authority of the grand ducal power within the country. Special mansions and a courtyard were built for Sophia Paleolog in Moscow. Under Sophia Paleologus, the grand ducal court was distinguished by its special splendor. Architects were invited from Italy to Moscow to decorate the palace and the capital. The walls and towers of the Kremlin, the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals, the Faceted Chamber, and the Terem Palace were erected. Sofia Paleolog brought a rich library to Moscow. The dynastic marriage of Ivan III with Sophia Paleologus owes its appearance to the rite of royal crowning. The arrival of Sophia Paleologus is associated with the appearance of an ivory throne as part of the dynastic regalia, on the back of which was placed an image of a unicorn, which became one of the most common emblems of Russian state power. Around 1490, the image of a crowned double-headed eagle first appeared on the front portal of the Palace of Facets. The Byzantine concept of the sacredness of imperial power directly influenced Ivan III’s introduction of “theology” (“by God’s grace”) in the title and in the preamble of state charters.

KURBSKY TO GROZNY ABOUT HIS GRANDMOTHER

But the abundance of your Majesty’s malice is such that it destroys not only your friends, but, together with your guardsmen, the entire holy Russian land, a plunderer of houses and a murderer of sons! May God protect you from this and may the Lord, King of Ages, not allow this to happen! After all, even then everything is going as if on the edge of a knife, because if not your sons, then your half-brothers and close brothers by birth, you have overflowed the measure of bloodsuckers - your father and your mother and grandfather. After all, your father and mother - everyone knows how many they killed. In exactly the same way, your grandfather, with your Greek grandmother, having renounced and forgotten love and kinship, killed his wonderful son Ivan, courageous and glorified in heroic enterprises, born of his first wife, Saint Mary, Princess of Tver, as well as his divinely crowned grandson born of him Tsar Demetrius together with his mother, Saint Helena - the first by deadly poison, and the second by many years of imprisonment in prison, and then by strangulation. But he was not satisfied with this!..

MARRIAGE OF IVAN III AND SOFIA PALEOLOGIST

On May 29, 1453, the legendary Constantinople, besieged by the Turkish army, fell. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, died in battle defending Constantinople. His younger brother Thomas Palaiologos, ruler of the small appanage state of Morea on the Peloponnese peninsula, fled with his family to Corfu and then to Rome. After all, Byzantium, hoping to receive military assistance from Europe in the fight against the Turks, signed the Union of Florence in 1439 on the unification of the Churches, and now its rulers could seek asylum from the papal throne. Thomas Palaiologos was able to remove the greatest shrines of the Christian world, including the head of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. In gratitude for this, he received a house in Rome and a good boarding house from the papal throne.

In 1465, Thomas died, leaving three children - sons Andrei and Manuel and the youngest daughter Zoya. The exact date of her birth is unknown. It is believed that she was born in 1443 or 1449 in her father's possessions in the Peloponnese, where she received her early education. The Vatican took upon itself the education of the royal orphans, entrusting them to Cardinal Bessarion of Nicaea. Greek by birth, former Archbishop of Nicaea, he was a zealous supporter of the signing of the Union of Florence, after which he became a cardinal in Rome. 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. However, everything turned out quite the opposite.

In February 1469, 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. The letter mentioned, among other things, that Sophia (the name Zoya was diplomatically replaced with the Orthodox Sophia) had already refused two crowned suitors who had wooed her - the French king and the Duke of Milan, not wanting to marry a Catholic ruler.

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. The messenger 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.”

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. 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. That same June, Sophia set off on her journey with an honorary retinue and the papal legate Anthony, who soon had to see firsthand the futility of the hopes Rome placed on this marriage. According to Catholic tradition, a Latin cross was carried at the front of the procession, which caused great confusion and excitement among the residents of Russia. Having learned about this, Metropolitan Philip threatened the Grand Duke: “If you allow the cross in blessed Moscow to be carried before the Latin bishop, then he will enter the only gate, and I, your father, will go out of the city differently.” Ivan III immediately sent the boyar to meet the procession with the order to remove the cross from the sleigh, and the legate had to obey with great displeasure. The princess herself behaved as befits the future ruler of Rus'. Having entered the Pskov land, the first thing she did was visit an Orthodox church, where she venerated the icons. The legate had to obey here too: follow her to the church, and there venerate the holy icons and venerate the image of the Mother of God by order of despina (from the Greek despot- “ruler”). And then Sophia promised the admiring Pskovites her protection before the Grand Duke.

Ivan III did not intend to fight for the “inheritance” with the Turks, much less accept the Union of Florence. And Sophia had no intention of Catholicizing Rus'. On the contrary, she showed herself to be an active Orthodox Christian. Some historians believe that she did not care what faith she professed. Others suggest that Sophia, apparently raised in childhood by 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. One way or another, this marriage only strengthened Muscovy, contributing to its conversion to the great Third Rome.

Early in the morning of November 12, 1472, Sophia Paleologus arrived in Moscow, where everything was ready for the wedding celebration dedicated to the name day of the Grand Duke - the day of remembrance of St. John Chrysostom. 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. The Grand Duke was young - only 32 years old, handsome, tall and stately. His eyes were especially remarkable, “formidable eyes”: when he was angry, women fainted from his terrible gaze. Previously he was distinguished by a 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 in a wooden church made a strong impression on Sophia Paleolog. The Byzantine princess, raised in Europe, differed in many ways from Russian women. Sophia 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 did not like that her sovereign husband remained a tributary of the Tatar khan, that the boyar entourage behaved too freely with their sovereign. 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.

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 allegedly brought on 70 carts (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. Eudokia, the widow. 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 ivory with scenes on biblical themes carved on them. 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 the 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 Fedorovna), 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.

Sophia brought with her several Orthodox icons, including, supposedly, a rare icon of the Mother of God “Blessed Heaven”... And even after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III, the founder of the Paleolog dynasty, with which the Moscow people became related, appeared in the Archangel Cathedral rulers. Thus, the continuity of Moscow to the Byzantine Empire was established, and the Moscow sovereigns appeared as the heirs of the Byzantine emperors.