Theodora Palaiologina ( bg, Теодора Палеологина, el, Θεοδώρα Παλαιολογίνα, ) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

princess who became a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n empress as wife of the emperors

Theodore Svetoslav Theodore Svetoslav ( bg, Тодор Светослав, ''Todor Svetoslav'' and also Теодор Светослав, ''Teodor Svetoslav'') ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 1300 to 1322. The date of his birth is unknown. He expanded the ter ...

from 1308 to his death in 1321, and Michael Shishman from 1324 to his fall in the

Battle of Velbazhd The Battle of Velbazhd ( bg, битка при Велбъжд, ''bitka pri Velbazhd''; sr, Битка код Велбужда, ''Bitka kod Velbužda'') is a battle which took place between Bulgarian and Serbian armies on 28 July 1330, near the t ...

on 28 July 1330. She was a daughter of the Byzantine emperor

Michael IX Palaiologos , image = 154 - Michael IX Palaiologos (Mutinensis - color).png , caption = 15th-century portrait of Michael IX (from a 15th-century codex containing a copy of the ''Extracts of History'' by Joannes Zonaras) , succession ...

(r. 1295–1320), son and co-ruler of Andronikos II Palaiologos (r. 1282–1328), and Rita of Armenia who was a daughter of the ruler of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. She was a sister of Byzantine emperor Andronikos III Palaiologos (r. 1328–1341).

Marriage with Theodore Svetoslav

Theodore Svetoslav asked to marry her in the end of 1307 in order to end the successful war against the Byzantine Empire which started when he became emperor in 1300. Andronikos II had to agree and also abandon claims on the southern

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

towns such as

Messembria Nesebar (often transcribed as Nessebar and sometimes as Nesebur, bg, Несебър, pronounced ) is an ancient city and one of the major seaside resorts on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, located in Burgas Province. It is the administrative centr ...

and Anchialus, which remained within the borders of Bulgaria. The marriage was probably concluded in spring 1308. After the death of Theodore Svetoslav, she remained in

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

. It seems that Theodora had good relations with her step-son and new emperor George II Terter (r. 1321–1322), who was a child of her predecessor

Euphrosyne Euphrosyne (; grc, Εὐφροσύνη), in ancient Greek religion and mythology, was one of the Charites, known in ancient Rome as the ''Gratiae'' (Graces). She was sometimes called Euthymia (Εὐθυμία) or Eutychia (Εὐτυχία). F ...

. She stayed in the capital after the early death of George II and the beginning of the rule of the despot of

Vidin Vidin ( bg, Видин, ; Old Romanian: Diiu) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as ...

, Michael Shishman.

Marriage with Michael Shishman

After a successful war with the Byzantines in 1324 the new emperor divorced with his first wife

Anna Neda of Serbia Ana-Neda ( Bulgarian and sr-cyr, Ана-Неда; fl. 1323–1324) was the Empress consort of Bulgaria briefly in 1323–1324 as the spouse of "Despot of Vidin" Michael Shishman who was elected as Emperor of Bulgaria in 1323. She was the daught ...

and married Theodora. With that move he legitimized his authority and made closer relations with Andronikos III. In May 1327 the alliance was renewed and the contemporaries noted that the negotiations resembled a family meeting rather than being real diplomatic negotiations as Andronikos and his mother Maria (as Rita was known at the Byzantine court) asked Michael Shishman to bring Theodora. The close relationship, however, was also an excuse for the Bulgarian emperor to invade Byzantium in 1328. After the death of Michael Shishman in the battle of Velbazhd it was impossible for Theodora to stay in Tarnovo because after the battle Anna Neda and her son and new emperor Ivan Stephen (r. 1330–1331) returned from exile.

Final years in Constantinople

After living in the country for almost a quarter of a century and being empress twice, Theodora left Bulgaria in the autumn of 1330 and moved to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

. She was very close with the mother of

John VI Kantakouzenos John VI Kantakouzenos or Cantacuzene ( el, , ''Iōánnēs Ángelos Palaiológos Kantakouzēnós''; la, Johannes Cantacuzenus; – 15 June 1383) was a Byzantine Greek nobleman, statesman, and general. He served as grand domestic under ...

(r. 1341–1354), Theodora Palaiologina Angelina. She most likely lived with her mother who was a nun at that time and after her death, Theodora herself became a nun under the

monastic name A religious name is a type of given name bestowed for a religious purposes, and which is generally used in such contexts. Christianity Catholic Church Baptismal name In baptism, Catholics are given a Christian name, which should not be "foreign ...

Theodosia. It is known that she had children by Michael Shishman and likely by Theodore Svetoslav, but their names and number is unknown.

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Palaiologina, Theodora 14th-century Byzantine women 14th-century Bulgarian nuns Bulgarian consorts Daughters of Byzantine emperors

Theodora Theodora is a given name of Greek origin, meaning "God's gift". Theodora may also refer to: Historical figures known as Theodora Byzantine empresses * Theodora (wife of Justinian I) ( 500 – 548), saint by the Orthodox Church * Theodora o ...

Shishman dynasty