Irene Palaiologina (; 1327 – 1376/77) was a

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

princess Princess is a title used by a female member of a regnant monarch's family or by a female ruler of a principality. The male equivalent is a prince (from Latin '' princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for ...

and Bulgarian empress consort.Georgios Phrantzes Liber I, 8, p. 39. She was also known as Maria Palaiologina (Μαρία Παλαιολογίνα). Her parents were

Andronikos III Palaiologos Andronikos III Palaiologos (; 25 March 1297 – 15 June 1341), commonly Latinized as Andronicus III Palaeologus, was the Byzantine emperor from 1328 to 1341. He was the son of Michael IX Palaiologos and Rita of Armenia. He was proclaimed c ...

and

Anna of Savoy Anna of Savoy, born Giovanna (1306–1365), was a Byzantine Empress consort, as the second spouse of Andronikos III Palaiologos. She served as regent, with the titles '' augusta'' and '' autokratorissa'', during the minority of her son John V Pal ...

, whilst her siblings were

John V Palaiologos John V Palaiologos or Palaeologus (; 18 June 1332 – 16 February 1391) was Byzantine emperor from 1341 to 1391, with interruptions. His long reign was marked by constant civil war, the spread of the Black Death and several military defea ...

and Michael Palaiologos. She married in 1336

Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...

Michael Asen IV of Bulgaria Michail Asen () (–1355) was the eldest son of Ivan Alexander of Bulgaria from his marriage with Theodora of Wallachia. After his father acceded to the throne in 1331, the young prince was proclaimed co-Emperor. He was to succeed his father unde ...

. In 1355, her husband was killed in battle with the Ottoman Turks near

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. By 1356 she was married to Francesco I Gattilusio. They had: *Andronico Gattilusio (c. 1356 – 6 August 1384). *Domenico Gattilusio (c. 1358 – 6 August 1384). * Francesco II Gattilusio (c. 1365 – 26 October 1404) She died around 1376/77, and was buried in Mesembria. Nothing else is known about her, except that she was an Orthodox Christian.

References

Sources

* * * {{Palaiologoi Palaiologos dynasty Sratsimir dynasty Bulgarian consorts 14th-century Eastern Orthodox Christians Daughters of Byzantine emperors 14th-century Bulgarian women 14th-century Bulgarian people 14th-century Byzantine women