Barbara Komnena () is a mythical figure, claimed to be the daughter of the Byzantine emperor

Alexios I Komnenos Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...

(reigned 1081–1118), and the wife of the

Grand Prince of Kiev The Grand Prince of Kiev (sometimes also Grand Duke) was the title of the monarch of Kievan Rus', residing in Kiev (modern Kyiv) from the 10th to 13th centuries. In the 13th century, Kiev became an appanage principality first of the grand prin ...

Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich (; 8 November 1050 – 16 April 1113) was Grand Prince of Kiev from 1093 to 1113. He was not a popular prince, and his reign was marked by incessant rivalry with his cousin Vladimir Monomakh. Early life Sviatopolk was ...

. Although she is mentioned in the works of various modern historians such as G. V. Vernadsky, most researchers regard her a fictional character. Varvara never appears among the four daughters of the emperor:

Anna Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna of East Anglia, King (died c.654) * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th c ...

Maria Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial * 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

, Eudokia and

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

.Николай Закревский. Описание Киева, Том 2. Напечатано иждивенѣм Московскаго археологическаго общества, 1868, C.541-542
/ref> She is also never mentioned lists of the members of the

Komnenos The House of Komnenos ( Komnenoi; , , ), Latinized as Comnenus ( Comneni), was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member, Isaac I Komnenos, ruled from 1057 to 1059. ...

dynasty at all. There is no mention of such a marriage in Byzantine sources. The most important text about this era is the ''

Alexiad The ''Alexiad'' () is a medieval historical and biographical text written around the year 1148, by the Byzantine princess Anna Komnene, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. It was written in a form of artificial Attic Greek. Anna described th ...

'', written by Alexios I's daughter Anna Komnene, who would have been Varvara's sister, and who does not mention her in the number of her father's children, or as a relative given in marriage to the Russian prince. Barbara appears in Russian history mainly in connection with the transfer of the relics of her holy patroness,

Saint Barbara Saint Barbara (; ; ; ), known in the Eastern Orthodox Church as the Great Martyr Barbara, was an Early Christianity, early Christian Greek saint and martyr. There is no reference to her in the authentic early Christian writings nor in the origin ...

, from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

. According to legend, the relics were given to Barbara as a dowry by her father. These relics, according to tradition, were laid by her in

St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery The St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery is a monastery in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, dedicated to Saint Michael the Archangel. It is located on the edge of the bank of the Dnipro river, to the northeast of the St Sophia Cathedral. The s ...

, and transferred, after its demolition, to St. Volodimir's Cathedral). Visiting Kiev in 1656, the

Patriarch of Antioch The Patriarch of Antioch is a traditional title held by the bishop of Antioch (modern-day Antakya, Turkey). As the traditional "overseer" (, , from which the word ''bishop'' is derived) of the first gentile Christian community, the position has ...

Macarios III Zaim Patriarch Macarius (or Makarios) III Ibn al-Za'im (; born Yousef Za'im, died 1672) was Patriarch of Antioch from 1647 to 1672. He led a period of blossoming of his Church and is also remembered for his travels in Russia and for his involvement in ...

, heard another legend about the transfer of the relics to Kiev in connection with the marriage of Princess Anna Porphyrogenita to Prince

Vladimir the Great Vladimir I Sviatoslavich or Volodymyr I Sviatoslavych (; Christian name: ''Basil''; 15 July 1015), given the epithet "the Great", was Prince of Novgorod from 970 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 978 until his death in 1015. The Eastern Orthodox ...

. However, it seems most likely that the transfer relics of Saint Barbara's relics to Kiev took place after the

Mongol invasion of Rus' The Mongol Empire invaded and conquered much of Kievan Rus' in the mid-13th century, sacking numerous cities such as Principality of Ryazan, Ryazan, Principality of Yaroslavl, Yaroslavl, Principality of Pereyaslavl, Pereyaslavl and Vladimi ...

and during the

decline of the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire experienced cycles of growth and decay over the course of nearly a thousand years, including major losses during the early Muslim conquests of the 7th century. But the Empire's final decline started in the 11th century, and e ...

. Researchers point out that the story of Princess Barbara seems to have appeared in hagiographic literature, such as ''The Lives of Saints'' by

Dimitry of Rostov Demetrius of Rostov (, , secular name Daniil Savvich Tuptalo, , or Tuptalenko, , according to some sources; 11 December 1651 28 October 1709) was a leading opponent of the Caesaropapist reform of the Russian Orthodox church promoted by Theophan ...

, and also in ''The torment of St. the Great Martyr Barbara and the story of her glorious wonders'' by .Ірина Володимирівна Жиленко. ЖИТІЄ ТА ЧУДЕСА СВЯТОЇ ВЕЛИКОМУЧЕНИЦІ ВАРВАРИ
/ref>

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Komnena, Barbara 11th-century Byzantine women 12th-century Byzantine women Fictional characters from the 12th century Family of Alexios I Komnenos Legendary Russian people Family of Vladimir the Great