Irene Lekapene (born Maria; , , died ) was the

Empress consort A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king, and usually shares her spouse's social rank and status. She holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles and may be crowned and anointed, but historically she does not formally ...

Peter I of Bulgaria Peter I (; ; died 30 January 970) was the emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 27 May 927 to 969. Facing Bogomilism and rebellions by his brothers and also by Časlav Klonimirović early on in his reign, Peter secured more success later in life; he ...

. She was а daughter of

Christopher Lekapenos Christopher Lekapenos or Lecapenus (; died August 931) was the eldest son of Emperor Romanos I Lekapenos () and co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire from 921 until his death in 931. Christopher was given the position of (commander of the palace g ...

, son and co-emperor of

Romanos I Lekapenos Romanos I Lakapenos or Lekapenos (; 870 – 15 June 948), Latinisation of names, Latinized as Romanus I Lacapenus or Romanus I Lecapenus, was Byzantine emperor from 920 until his deposition in 944, serving as regent for and senior co-ruler of ...

, and his wife ''Augusta'' Sophia.

Charles William Previté-Orton Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

(1975
Cambridge Medieval History, Shorter: Volume 1, The Later Roman Empire to the Twelfth Century. Volume 1 of The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History
p. 256 To prove himself a worthy successor to his father both at home and in the eyes of foreign governments, Bulgaria's new emperor Peter I made a show of force by invading Byzantine Thrace in May 927, but showed himself ready to negotiate for a more permanent peace. Romanos seized the occasion and proposed a marriage alliance between the imperial houses of Byzantium and Bulgaria to end the War of 913–927. Romanos arranged for a diplomatic marriage between his granddaughter Maria and the Bulgarian monarch.Milan Loos (1974). ''Dualist Heresy in the Middle Ages''. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 382. For the first time in Byzantine history, a Byzantine princess was to be married to a foreign ruler; decades later, Romanos' son-in-law and co-ruler

Constantine VII Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Karbonopsina, an ...

criticized Romanos for this concession. In October 927 Peter arrived near

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 ...

to meet Romanos and signed the peace treaty, marrying Maria on November 8. To signify the new era in Bulgaro-Byzantine relations, Maria was renamed

Irene Irene is a name derived from εἰρήνη (eirēnē), Greek for "peace". Irene, and related names, may refer to: * Irene (given name) Places * Irene, Gauteng, South Africa * Irene, South Dakota, United States * Irene, Texas, United States ...

("peace").

Family

Irene and Peter I of Bulgaria had several children, including: *

Plenimir Plenimir is a village in General Toshevo Municipality, Dobrich Province, in northeastern Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans direc ...

Boris II Boris II (; ; c. 931 – 977) was the emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria from 969 to 977 (in Byzantine captivity from 971). Boris II was the eldest surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria and Maria (renamed Eirene) Lekapena, a granddaughter of Emp ...

, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria in 969 *

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, who succeeded as emperor of Bulgaria in 977

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakapena, Eirene Bulgarian consorts

10th-century births 10th-century deaths 10th-century Byzantine people Daughters of Byzantine emperors 10th-century Byzantine women 10th-century Bulgarian women 10th-century Bulgarian people Mothers of Bulgarian emperors Byzantine people of Armenian descent