The Grand Duchess of Moscow Sophia (Zoya) Palaiologos played a huge role in the development of the Muscovite kingdom. Many consider her the author of the concept "Moscow - the third Rome". And together with Zoya Palaiolognea, a double-headed eagle appeared. At first, it was the family coat of arms of her dynasty, and then migrated to the coat of arms of all the tsars and Russian emperors.
Childhood and youth
Zoya Palaiologos was born (presumably) in 1455 in Mistra. The daughter of the Despot of Morea, Thomas Palaiologos, was born in a tragic and critical time - the time of the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
After the capture of Constantinople by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II and the death of Emperor Constantine, Thomas Palaiologos fled to Corfu with his wife Catherine of Achaia and their children. From there he moved to Rome, where he was forced to convert to Catholicism. Thomas died in May 1465. His death happened shortly after the death of his wife in the same year. Children, Zoya and her brothers - 5-year-old Manuel and 7-year-old Andrei, moved to Rome after the death of their parents.
The education of orphans was taken up by the Greek scientist, Uniate Vissarion of Nicaea, who served as a cardinal under Pope Sixtus IV (it was he who became the customer of the famous Sistine Chapel). In Rome, the Greek princess Zoe Palaiologos and her brothers were brought up in the Catholic faith. The cardinal took care of the maintenance of the children and their education.
It is known that Bessarion of Nicaea, with the permission of the pope, paid for the modest court of the young Palaiologos, which included servants, a doctor, two professors of Latin and Greek, translators and priests. Sophia Paleolog received a fairly solid education for those times.
Grand Duchess of Moscow
When Sophia came of age, the Venetian Signoria took care of her marriage. To take a noble girl as a wife was first offered to the King of Cyprus, Jacques II de Lusignan. But he refused this marriage, fearing a conflict with the Ottoman Empire. A year later, in 1467, Cardinal Vissarion, at the request of Pope Paul II, offered the hand of a noble Byzantine beauty to the prince and Italian nobleman Caracciolo. A solemn betrothal took place, but for unknown reasons, the marriage was canceled.
There is a version that Sophia secretly communicated with the Athonite elders and adhered to the Orthodox faith. She herself made efforts not to marry a non-Christian, frustrating all marriages offered to her.
In the turning point for the life of Sophia Paleolog in 1467, the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow, Maria Borisovna, died. In this marriage, the only son was born. Pope Paul II, counting on the spread of Catholicism to Moscow, offered the widowed sovereign of all Rus' to marry his ward.
After 3 years of negotiations, Ivan III, having asked for advice from his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, decided to marry. It is noteworthy that the papal negotiators prudently kept silent about the transition of Sophia Paleolog to Catholicism. Moreover, they reported that the proposed wife of Paleologne is an Orthodox Christian. They didn't even know it was true.
In June 1472, in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, Ivan III and Sophia Palaiologos were betrothed in absentia. After that, the convoy of the bride left Rome for Moscow. The bride was accompanied by the same Cardinal Wisssarion.
Bologna chroniclers described Sophia as a rather attractive person. She looked 24 years old, she had snow-white skin and incredibly beautiful and expressive eyes. Her height was no higher than 160 cm. The future wife of the Russian sovereign had a dense physique.
There is a version that in the dowry of Sophia Paleolog, in addition to clothes and jewelry, there were many valuable books that later formed the basis of the mysteriously disappeared library of Ivan the Terrible. Among them were treatises and unknown poems.
Meeting of Princess Sophia Paleolog on Lake Peipsi At the end of a long route that ran through Germany and Poland, the Roman escorts of Sophia Palaiologos realized that their desire, through the marriage of Ivan III to Palaiologos, to spread (or at least bring closer) Catholicism to Orthodoxy was defeated. Zoya, who had barely left Rome, showed her firm intention to return to the faith of her ancestors - Christianity. The wedding took place in Moscow on November 12, 1472. The ceremony took place in the Assumption Cathedral.
The main achievement of Sophia Paleolog, which turned into a huge boon for Russia, is considered to be her influence on her husband's decision to refuse to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Thanks to his wife, Ivan the Third finally dared to throw off the centuries-old Tatar-Mongol yoke, although the local princes and the elite offered to continue paying dues in order to avoid bloodshed.
Personal life
Apparently, the personal life of Sophia Paleolog with Grand Duke Ivan III was successful. In this marriage, considerable offspring were born - 5 sons and 4 daughters. But it is difficult to call the existence of the new Grand Duchess Sophia in Moscow cloudless. The boyars saw the enormous influence that the wife had on her husband. Many people didn't like it.
Basil III, son of Sophia Paleolog Rumor has it that the princess had a bad relationship with the heir, born in the previous marriage of Ivan III, Ivan the Young. Moreover, there is a version that Sophia was involved in the poisoning of Ivan Molodoy and the further removal of his wife Elena Voloshanka and son Dmitry from power.
Be that as it may, Sophia Paleolog had a huge impact on the entire subsequent history of Rus', on its culture and architecture. She was the mother of the heir to the throne and grandmother of Ivan the Terrible. According to some reports, the grandson had a considerable resemblance to his wise Byzantine grandmother.
Death
Sophia Paleolog, Grand Duchess of Moscow, died on April 7, 1503. Husband, Ivan III, survived his wife only 2 years.
Destruction of the grave of Sophia Paleolog in 1929 Sophia was buried next to the previous wife of Ivan III in the sarcophagus of the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral. The cathedral was destroyed in 1929. But the remains of the women of the royal house survived - they were transferred to the underground chamber of the Archangel Cathedral.
Sophia Paleolog was one of the most significant figures on the Russian throne both in her origin and in personal qualities, and also because of the people she attracted to the service of the Moscow rulers. This woman had the talent of a statesman, she knew how to set goals and achieve results.
Family and lineage
The Byzantine imperial dynasty of Palaiologos ruled for two centuries, from the expulsion of the crusaders in 1261 to the capture of Constantinople by the Turks in 1453.
Sophia's uncle Constantine XI is known as the last emperor of Byzantium. He died during the capture of the city by the Turks. Of the hundreds of thousands of inhabitants, only 5,000 went on the defensive, foreign sailors and mercenaries, led by the emperor himself, fought with the invaders. Seeing that the enemies were winning, Constantine exclaimed in despair: “The city has fallen, but I am still alive,” after which, having torn off the signs of imperial dignity, he rushed into battle and was killed.
Sophia's father, Thomas Palaiologos, was the ruler of the Despotate of Morea on the Peloponnese peninsula. By her mother, Catherine of Akhai, the girl came from a noble Genoese family of Centurione.
The exact date of Sophia's birth is unknown, but her older sister Elena was born in 1431, and her brothers in 1453 and 1455. Therefore, most likely, those researchers who claim that at the time of her marriage to Ivan III in 1472, she was, according to the concepts of that time, already quite a few years old are right.
Life in Rome
In 1453, the Turks captured Constantinople, and in 1460 they invaded the Peloponnese. Thomas managed to escape with his family to the island of Corfu, and then to Rome. To guarantee the location of the Vatican, Thomas converted to Catholicism.
Thomas and his wife died almost simultaneously in 1465. Sophia and her brothers were under the patronage of Pope Paul II. The training of young Palaiologos was entrusted to the Greek philosopher Bessarion of Nicaea, the author of the project for the union of the Orthodox and Catholic churches. By the way, Byzantium agreed to the above alliance in 1439, counting on support in the war against the Turks, but did not wait for any help from European rulers.
The eldest son of Thomas, Andrew, was the legitimate heir of the Palaiologoi. Subsequently, he managed to get two million ducats from Sixtus IV for a military expedition, but spent them on other purposes. After that, he wandered around European courtyards in the hope of finding allies.
Andrew's brother Manuel returned to Constantinople and ceded his rights to the throne to Sultan Bayezid II in exchange for maintenance.
Marriage with Grand Duke Ivan III
Pope Paul II hoped to marry Sophia Palaiologos for his own benefit, in order to expand his influence with her assistance. But although the pope gave her a dowry of 6,000 ducats, she had no land or military force behind her. She had a famous name, which only scared away the Greek rulers who did not want to quarrel with the Ottoman Empire, and Sophia refused marriages with Catholics.
The Greek ambassador proposed to Ivan III a marriage proposal to a Byzantine princess two years after the Grand Duke of Moscow had been widowed in 1467. He was presented with a miniature portrait of Sophia. Ivan III agreed to the marriage.
However, Sophia was brought up in Rome and was educated in the spirit of Uniatism. And the Rome of the Renaissance was the place of concentration of all the vices of mankind, and this moral decay was headed by the pontiffs of the Catholic Church. Petrarch wrote about this city: "It is enough to see Rome to lose faith." All this was well known in Moscow. And despite the fact that the bride unequivocally demonstrated her commitment to Orthodoxy while on the road, Metropolitan Philip disapproved of this marriage and avoided the wedding of the royal couple. The rite was performed by Archpriest Hosea of Kolomna. The wedding took place immediately on the day of the bride's arrival - November 12, 1472. Such a rush was explained by the fact that it was a holiday: the day of memory of John Chrysostom - the patron saint of the Grand Duke.
Despite the fears of the zealots of Orthodoxy, Sophia never tried to create the basis for religious conflicts. According to legend, she brought with her several Orthodox shrines, including the Byzantine miraculous icon of the Mother of God “Blessed Sky”.
The role of Sophia in the development of Russian art
In Rus', Sophia faced the problem of the lack of sufficiently experienced architects of large buildings. There were good Pskov craftsmen, but they had experience in building mainly on a limestone foundation, while Moscow stands on fragile clay, sand and peat bogs. So, in 1474, the almost completed Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin collapsed.
Sophia Paleolog knew which of the Italian specialists was capable of solving this problem. One of the first invited by her was Aristotle Fioravanti, a talented engineer and architect from Bologna. In addition to many buildings in Italy, he also designed bridges across the Danube at the court of the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus.
Maybe Fioravanti would not have agreed to come, but shortly before that he was falsely accused of selling counterfeit money, moreover, under Sixtus IV, the Inquisition began to gain momentum, and the architect considered it good to leave for Rus', taking his son with him.
For the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, Fioravanti set up a brick factory and identified as suitable deposits of white stone in Myachkovo, from where they took building material a hundred years before for the first stone Kremlin. The temple looks like the ancient Assumption Cathedral of Vladimir, but inside it is not divided into small rooms, but is one large hall.
In 1478, Fioravanti, as chief of artillery, went with Ivan III on a campaign against Novgorod and built a pontoon bridge across the Volkhov River. Later, Fioravanti participated in campaigns against Kazan and Tver.
Italian architects rebuilt the Kremlin, giving it a modern look, erected dozens of churches and monasteries. They took into account Russian traditions, harmoniously combining them with their new products. In 1505-1508, under the guidance of the Italian architect Aleviz the New, the Kremlin Cathedral of Michael the Archangel was erected, during the construction of which the architect made the zakomaras not smooth, as before, but in the form of shells. Everyone liked this idea so much that it was subsequently used everywhere.
Sophia's involvement in the conflict with the Horde
Historian V.N. Tatishchev in his writings cites evidence that, under the influence of his wife, Ivan III went into conflict with the Golden Horde Khan Akhmat, refusing to pay tribute to him, since Sophia was very oppressed by the dependent position of the Russian state. If this is true, then Sophia acted under the influence of European politicians. The events unfolded as follows: in 1472, the Tatar raid was repulsed, but in 1480 Akhmat went to Moscow, concluding an alliance with the king of Lithuania and Poland, Casimir. Ivan III was not at all sure of the outcome of the battle and sent his wife with the treasury to Beloozero. In one of the chronicles, it is even noted that the Grand Duke panicked: “Horror found me on the river, and I wanted to run away from the shore, and I sent my Grand Duchess Roman and the treasury with her to Beloozero.”
The Venetian Republic was actively looking for an ally who would help stop the advance of the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II. The mediator in the negotiations was the adventurer and merchant Jean-Battista della Volpe, who had estates in Moscow and was known to us as Ivan Fryazin, it was he who was the ambassador and head of the wedding procession of Sophia Paleolog. According to Russian sources, Sophia kindly received members of the Venetian embassy. From all of the above, it follows that the Venetians were playing a double game and made an attempt, through the Grand Duchess, to plunge Rus' into a difficult conflict with a bad prospect.
However, Moscow diplomacy also did not waste time: the Crimean Khanate of Girey agreed to interact with the Russians. Akhmat's campaign ended with "Standing on the Ugra", as a result of which the khan retreated without a general battle. Akhmat did not receive the promised help from Casimir because of the attack on his lands by Ivan III's allied Mengli Giray.
Difficulties in family relationships
The first two children (girls) of Sophia and Ivan died in infancy. There is a legend that the young princess had a vision of St. Sergius of Radonezh, the patron saint of the Moscow state, and after this sign from above, she gave birth to a son, the future Vasily III. In total, 12 children were born in the marriage, of which four died in infancy.
From his first marriage with a Tver princess, Ivan III had a son, Ivan Mladoy, heir to the throne, but in 1490 he fell ill with gout. From Venice, the doctor Mister Leon was discharged, who vouched for his recovery with his head. The treatment was carried out by such methods that completely ruined the prince's health, and at the age of 32 Ivan Mladoy died in terrible agony. The doctor was publicly executed, and two warring parties formed at the court: one supported the young Grand Duchess and her son, the other supported Dmitry, the infant son of Ivan the Younger.
For several years, Ivan III hesitated over who to give preference to. In 1498, the Grand Duke crowned Dmitry's grandson, but a year later he changed his mind and gave preference to Vasily, Sophia's son. In 1502, he ordered Dmitry and his mother to be imprisoned. A year later, Sophia Paleolog died. For Ivan, this was a heavy blow. In mourning, the Grand Duke made a number of pilgrimages to monasteries, where he diligently indulged in prayers. He died two years later at the age of 65.
What was the appearance of Sophia Paleolog
In 1994, the remains of the princess were removed and studied. Criminalist Sergei Nikitin restored her appearance. She was short in stature - 160 cm, full build. This was confirmed by the Italian chronicle, which sarcastically called Sophia fat. In Rus', there were other canons of beauty, which the princess fully corresponded to: fullness, beautiful, expressive eyes and beautiful skin. Scientists have determined that the princess died at the age of 50-60 years.
On the radio "Echo of Moscow" I heard an exciting conversation with the head of the archaeological department of the Kremlin Museums Tatiana Dmitrievna Panova and expert anthropologist Sergei Alekseevich Nikitin. They spoke in detail about their latest work. Sergei Alekseevich Nikitin very competently described Zoya (Sofya) Fominichna Paleolog, who arrived in Moscow on November 12, 1473 from Rome from the most prominent Orthodox authority and then a cardinal under Pope Vissarion of Nicaea to marry the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan Vasilyevich III. About Zoya (Sofya) Paleolog as the bearer of the exploded Western European subjectivity and about her role in the history of Russia, see my previous notes. Interesting new details.
Tatyana Dmitrievna, Doctor of Historical Sciences, admits that during her first visit to the Kremlin Museum she experienced a strong shock from the image of Sophia Paleolog reconstructed from the skull. She could not move away from the appearance that struck her. Something in Sophia's face attracted her - interestingness and harshness, a certain zest.
On September 18, 2004, Tatyana Panova spoke about research in the Kremlin necropolis. “We open every sarcophagus, remove the remains and remains of burial clothes. I must say that, for example, anthropologists work for us, of course, they make a lot of interesting observations on the remains of these women, since the physical appearance of people of the Middle Ages is also interesting, we, in general "we don't know much about him, and what diseases people had then. But in general, there are a lot of interesting questions. But in particular, one of such interesting areas is the reconstruction of skulls of portraits of sculptural people of that time. But you yourself know that we have a secular painting appears very late, only at the end of the 17th century, and here we have already reconstructed 5 portraits today.We can see the faces of Evdokia Donskaya, Sophia Paleolog - this is the second wife of Ivan III, Elena Glinskaya - the mother of Ivan the Terrible. Sophia Paleolog - Ivan's grandmother Ivan the Terrible, and Elena Glinskaya - his mother. Then now we have a portrait of Irina Godunova, for example, we also succeeded because the skull was preserved. And the last work is the third wife of Ivan the Terrible - Marfa Sobakina. Still a very young woman" (http://echo.msk.ru/programs/kremlin/27010/).
Then, as now, there was a turning point - Russia had to respond to the challenge of subjectivization, or the challenge of breaking through capitalism. The heresy of the Judaizers could well have prevailed. A serious struggle flared up at the top and, as in the West, took the form of a struggle for succession to the throne, for the victory of one party or another.
So, Elena Glinskaya died at the age of 30 and, as it turned out from the studies of her hair, a spectral analysis was carried out - she was poisoned with mercury salts. The same thing - the first wife of Ivan the Terrible, Anastasia Romanova, also turned out to have a huge amount of mercury salts.
Since Sophia Paleolog was a pupil of the Greek and Renaissance culture, she gave Rus' a powerful impulse of subjectivity. The biography of Zoe (she was nicknamed Sophia in Rus') Paleolog managed to recreate, collecting information bit by bit. But even today, even the exact date of her birth is unknown (somewhere between 1443 and 1449). She is the daughter of the Despot of Morea Thomas, whose possessions occupied the southwestern part of the Peloponnese peninsula, where Sparta once flourished, and in the first half of the 15th century in Mistra, under the auspices of the famous herald of the Right Faith, Gemistus Plethon, there was the spiritual center of Orthodoxy. Zoya Fominichna was the niece of the last Byzantine Emperor Constantine XI, who died in 1453 on the walls of Constantinople while defending the city from the Turks. She grew up, figuratively speaking, in the hands of Gemist Plethon and his faithful disciple Vissarion of Nicaea.
Under the blows of the Sultan's army, Morea also fell, and Thomas moved first to the island of Corfu, then to Rome, where he soon died. Here, at the court of the head of the Catholic Church, where Bessarion of Nicaea firmly established himself after the Union of Florence in 1438, the children of Thomas, Zoya and her two brothers, Andreas and Manuel, were brought up.
The fate of the representatives of the once powerful Palaiologos dynasty was tragic. Converted to Islam, Manuel died in poverty in Constantinople. Andreas, who dreamed of returning the former possessions of the family, never reached the goal. Zoya's older sister, Elena, the Serbian queen, deprived of the throne by the Turkish conquerors, ended her days in one of the Greek monasteries. Against this background, the fate of Zoya Paleolog looks prosperous.
The strategically thinking Bessarion of Nicaea, who plays a leading role in the Vatican, after the fall of the Second Rome (Constantinople), turned his eyes to the northern stronghold of Orthodoxy, to Moscow Rus', which, although it was under the Tatar yoke, was clearly gaining strength and could soon appear as a new world power . And he led a complex intrigue in order to marry the heiress of the Byzantine emperors of the Palaiologos to marry shortly before (in 1467) the widowed Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III. The negotiations dragged on for three years because of the resistance of the Metropolitan of Moscow, but the will of the prince prevailed, and on June 24, 1472, a large convoy of Zoe Palaiologos left Rome.
The Greek princess crossed the whole of Europe: from Italy to the north of Germany, to Lübeck, where the motorcade arrived on September 1. Further sailing in the Baltic Sea proved to be difficult and lasted 11 days. From Kolyvan (as Tallinn was then called in Russian sources) in October 1472, the procession headed through Yuryev (now Tartu), Pskov and Novgorod to Moscow. Such a long journey had to be made because of bad relations with the Kingdom of Poland - a convenient overland road to Rus' was closed.
Only on November 12, 1472, Sophia entered Moscow, where on the same day she met and married Ivan III. Thus began the "Russian" period in her life.
She brought with her devoted Greek helpers, including Kerbush, from whom the Kashkin princes descended. She also brought a number of Italian things. Embroideries also came from her, setting patterns for future "Kremlin wives". Having become the mistress of the Kremlin, she tried in many ways to copy the images and orders of her native Italy, which in those years was experiencing a monstrously powerful explosion of subjectivity.
Bessarion of Nicaea sent a portrait of Zoe Paleologus to Moscow earlier, which impressed the Moscow elite as a bombshell. After all, a secular portrait, like a still life, is a symptom of subjectivity. In those years, every second family in the same most advanced "capital of the world" Florence had portraits of their owners, and in Rus' they were closer to subjectivity in "Judaizing" Novgorod than in more mossy Moscow. The appearance of a painting in Rus', unfamiliar with secular art, shocked people. From the Sophia Chronicle, we know that the chronicler, who first encountered such a phenomenon, could not renounce the church tradition and called the portrait an icon: "... and bring the princess written on the icon." The fate of the painting is unknown. Most likely, she died in one of the numerous fires of the Kremlin. No images of Sophia have survived in Rome either, although the Greek woman spent about ten years at the papal court. So we probably will never know what she was like in her youth.
Tatyana Panova in her article "Personification of the Middle Ages" http://www.vokrugsveta.ru/publishing/vs/column/?item_id=2556 notes that secular painting appeared in Rus' only at the end of the 17th century - before that it was under strict church ban. That's why we don't know what famous characters from our past looked like. "Now, thanks to the work of specialists from the Moscow Kremlin Museum-Reserve and forensic experts, we have the opportunity to see the appearance of the three legendary women of the Grand Duchesses: Evdokia Dmitrievna, Sofya Paleolog and Elena Glinskaya. And reveal the secrets of their life and death."
The wife of the Florentine ruler Lorenzo Medici - Clarissa Orsini - found the young Zoya Paleolog very pleasant: "Short in stature, the eastern flame sparkled in her eyes, the whiteness of her skin spoke of the nobility of her family." Mustache face. Height 160. Full. Ivan Vasilyevich fell in love at first sight and went with her to the marriage bed (after the wedding) on the same day, November 12, 1473, when Zoya arrived in Moscow.
The arrival of a foreign woman was a significant event for Muscovites. The chronicler noted in the retinue of the bride "blue" and "black" people - Arabs and Africans, never seen before in Russia. Sophia became a participant in a complex dynastic struggle for the succession to the Russian throne. As a result, her eldest son Vasily (1479-1533) became the Grand Duke, bypassing the legitimate heir Ivan, whose early death allegedly from gout remains a mystery to this day. Having lived in Russia for more than 30 years, having given birth to her husband 12 children, Sophia Paleolog left an indelible mark on the history of our country. Her grandson Ivan the Terrible in many ways resembled her. Anthropologists and forensic experts have helped historians learn details about this man that are not in written sources. Now it is known that the Grand Duchess was short - no more than 160 cm, suffered from osteochondrosis and had serious hormonal disorders that led to a masculine appearance and behavior. Her death occurred due to natural causes at the age of 55-60 years (the scatter of numbers is due to the fact that the exact year of her birth is unknown). But, perhaps, the most interesting were the works on recreating Sophia's appearance, since her skull is well preserved. The technique of reconstructing a sculptural portrait of a person has long been actively used in forensic and search practice, and the accuracy of its results has been repeatedly proven.
“I,” says Tatyana Panova, “was lucky to see the stages of recreating the appearance of Sophia, not yet knowing all the circumstances of her difficult fate. As the facial features of this woman appeared, it became clear how much life situations and illness hardened the character of the Grand Duchess. and it could not be - the struggle for her own survival and the fate of her son could not but leave traces. Sophia ensured that her eldest son became Grand Duke Vasily III. The death of the legitimate heir, Ivan the Young, at the age of 32 from gout is still in doubt in her naturalness. By the way, the Italian Leon, invited by Sophia, took care of the prince's health. Vasily inherited from his mother not only the appearance that was captured on one of the icons of the 16th century - a unique case (the icon can be seen in the exposition of the State Historical Museum), but also a tough character Greek blood also affected Ivan IV the Terrible - he is very similar to his royal grandmother with a Mediterranean type of face. This is clearly seen when you look at the sculptural portrait of his mother, Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya."
As the forensic expert of the Moscow Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination S.A. Nikitin and T.D. Panova write in the article "Anthropological reconstruction" (http://bio.1september.ru/article.php?ID=200301806), the creation in mid-twentieth century national school of anthropological reconstruction and the work of its founder M.M. Gerasimov performed a miracle. Today we can look into the faces of Yaroslav the Wise, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky and Timur, Tsar Ivan IV and his son Fyodor. To date, historical figures have been reconstructed: researcher of the Far North N.A. Begichev, Nestor the chronicler, the first Russian doctor Agapit, the first abbot of the Kiev-Pechersk monastery Varlaam, archimandrite Polikarp, Ilya Muromets, Sophia Paleolog and Elena Glinskaya (respectively, the grandmother and mother of Ivan the Terrible), Evdokia Donskaya (wife of Dmitry Donskoy), Irina Godunova (wife of Fyodor Ioanovich). The restoration of the face, carried out in 1986, from the skull of a pilot who died in 1941 in the battles for Moscow, made it possible to establish his name. Portraits of Vasily and Tatyana Pronchishchev, members of the Great Northern Expedition, have been restored. Developed by the school of M.M. Gerasimov, methods of anthropological restoration are also successfully used in the disclosure of criminal offenses.
And research on the remains of the Greek princess Sophia Paleologus began in December 1994. She was buried in a massive white stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to the grave of Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III. On the lid of the sarcophagus, “Sophia” was scratched with a sharp instrument.
The necropolis of the female Ascension Monastery on the territory of the Kremlin, where in the XV-XVII centuries. buried Russian Grand and specific princesses and queens, after the destruction of the monastery in 1929, it was saved by museum workers. Now the ashes of high-ranking persons rest in the basement chamber of the Archangel Cathedral. Time is merciless, and not all burials have come down to us completely, but the remains of Sophia Palaiologos are well preserved (almost a complete skeleton with the exception of individual small bones).
Modern osteologists can determine a lot by studying ancient burials - not only the sex, age and height of people, but also the illnesses they suffered during their lives and injuries. After comparing the skull, spine, sacrum, pelvic bones and lower limbs, taking into account the approximate thickness of the missing soft tissues and interosseous cartilage, it was possible to reconstruct Sophia's appearance. According to the degree of overgrowth of the sutures of the skull and wear of the teeth, the biological age of the Grand Duchess was determined at 50–60 years, which corresponds to historical data. At first, her sculptural portrait was molded from special soft plasticine, and then a plaster casting was made and tinted to look like Carrara marble.
Looking into the face of Sophia, you are convinced that such a woman could really be an active participant in the events, which are evidenced by written sources. Unfortunately, in modern historical literature there is no detailed biographical sketch dedicated to her fate.
Under the influence of Sophia Paleolog and her Greek-Italian entourage, Russian-Italian ties are activated. Grand Duke Ivan III invites qualified architects, doctors, jewelers, miners and weapon makers to Moscow. By decision of Ivan III, foreign architects were entrusted with the reconstruction of the Kremlin, and today we admire the monuments, the appearance of which in the capital is due to Aristotle Fiorovanti and Marco Ruffo, Aleviz Fryazin and Antonio Solari. It is amazing, but many buildings of the late XV - early years of the XVI century. in the ancient center of Moscow remained the same as they were during the life of Sophia Paleolog. These are the temples of the Kremlin (Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe), the Faceted Chamber - the main hall of the Grand Duke's court, the walls and towers of the fortress itself.
The strength and independence of Sophia Palaiologos were especially clearly manifested in the last decade of the life of the Grand Duchess, when in the 80s. 15th century in a dynastic dispute at the court of the Moscow sovereign, two groups of feudal nobility developed. The leader of one was the heir to the throne, Prince Ivan Molodoy, the son of Ivan III from his first marriage. The second was formed surrounded by "Greeks". Around Elena Voloshanka, the wife of Ivan the Young, a powerful and influential group of "Judeans" developed, which almost pulled Ivan III over to their side. Only the fall of Dmitry (the grandson of Ivan III from his first marriage) and his mother Elena (in 1502 they were sent to prison, where they died) put an end to this protracted conflict.
The sculptural portrait-reconstruction resurrects Sophia's appearance in the last years of her life. And today there is an amazing opportunity to compare the appearance of Sophia Paleolog and her grandson, Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich, whose sculptural portrait was recreated by M.M. Gerasimov back in the mid-1960s. It is clearly visible: the oval of the face, forehead and nose, eyes and chin of Ivan IV are almost the same as those of his grandmother. Studying the skull of the formidable king, M.M. Gerasimov singled out significant features of the Mediterranean type in it and unequivocally connected this with the origin of Sophia Paleolog.
In the arsenal of the Russian school of anthropological reconstruction, there are different methods: plastic, graphic, computer and combined. But the main thing in them is the search and proof of patterns in the shape, size and position of one or another part of the face. When recreating a portrait, various techniques are used. These are the developments of M.M. Gerasimov on the construction of the eyelids, lips, wings of the nose and the technique of G.V. Lebedinskaya concerning the reproduction of the profile drawing of the nose. The technique of modeling the general cover of soft tissues using calibrated thick ridges makes it possible to reproduce the cover more accurately and noticeably faster.
Based on the technique developed by Sergey Nikitin for comparing the appearance of the details of the face and the underlying part of the skull, specialists from the Forensic Expert Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation created a combined graphical method. The regularity of the position of the upper border of hair growth was established, a certain connection between the setting of the auricle and the degree of severity of the "supra-mastoid ridge" was revealed. In recent years, a method has been developed for determining the position of the eyeballs. The signs that allow to determine the presence and severity of the epicanthus (Mongoloid fold of the upper eyelid) are revealed.
Armed with advanced techniques, Sergei Alekseevich Nikitin and Tatyana Dmitrievna Panova revealed a number of nuances in the fate of Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya and great-granddaughter Sophia Paleolog - Maria Staritskaya.
The mother of Ivan the Terrible - Elena Glinskaya - was born around 1510. She died in 1538. She is the daughter of Vasily Glinsky, who, together with his brothers, fled from Lithuania to Russia after a failed uprising in his homeland. In 1526, Elena became the wife of Grand Duke Vasily III. His tender letters to her have been preserved. In 1533-1538, Elena was regent for her young son, the future Tsar Ivan IV the Terrible. During the years of her reign, the walls and towers of Kitay-gorod in Moscow were built, and a monetary reform was carried out (“the great prince Ivan Vasilyevich of All Rus' and his mother, Grand Duchess Elena, ordered the old money to be converted into a new coinage, for what was in the old money a lot of circumcised money and mix ... "), concluded a truce with Lithuania.
Under Glinskaya, two of her husband's brothers, Andrei and Yuri, pretenders to the Grand Duke's throne, died in prison. So the Grand Duchess tried to protect the rights of her son Ivan. The ambassador of the Holy Roman Empire, Sigmund Herberstein, wrote about Glinskaya: “After the death of the sovereign, Mikhail (the uncle of the princess) repeatedly reproached his widow for a dissolute life; for this she accused him of treason, and he unfortunately died in custody. A little later, the cruel one herself died from poison, and her lover, nicknamed Sheepskin, as they say, was torn to pieces and cut into pieces. Evidence of the poisoning of Elena Glinskaya was confirmed only at the end of the 20th century, when historians studied her remains.
“The idea of the project that will be discussed,” recalls Tatyana Panova, “arose several years ago, when I participated in the examination of human remains found in the basement of an old Moscow house. The NKVD in Stalin's times.But the burials turned out to be part of a destroyed cemetery of the 17th-18th centuries.The investigator was glad to close the case, and Sergei Nikitin, who worked with me from the Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination, suddenly discovered that he and the historian-archaeologist had a common object for research - the remains of historical figures. Thus, in 1994, work began in the necropolis of Russian Grand Duchesses and Empresses of the 15th - early 18th centuries, which has been preserved since the 1930s in an underground chamber near the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin.
And now the reconstruction of the appearance of Elena Glinskaya highlighted her Baltic type. The Glinsky brothers - Mikhail, Ivan and Vasily - moved to Moscow at the beginning of the 16th century after a failed conspiracy of the Lithuanian nobility. In 1526, Vasily's daughter, Elena, who, according to the then concepts, had already sat up in girls, became the wife of Grand Duke Vasily III Ivanovich. She died suddenly at the age of 27-28. The face of the princess was distinguished by soft features. She was quite tall for women of that time - about 165 cm and harmoniously built. Anthropologist Denis Pezhemsky discovered a very rare anomaly in her skeleton: six lumbar vertebrae instead of five.
One of Ivan the Terrible's contemporaries noted the redness of his hair. Now it is clear whose suit the tsar inherited: the remains of the hair of Elena Glinskaya, red, like red copper, were preserved in the burial. It was the hair that helped to find out the cause of the unexpected death of a young woman. This is extremely important information, because the early death of Elena undoubtedly influenced the subsequent events of Russian history, the formation of the character of her orphaned son Ivan, the future formidable tsar.
As you know, the cleansing of the human body from harmful substances occurs through the liver-kidney system, but many toxins accumulate and remain for a long time also in the hair. Therefore, in cases where soft organs are not available for research, experts do a spectral analysis of the hair. The remains of Elena Glinskaya were analyzed by forensic expert Tamara Makarenko, candidate of biological sciences. The results are stunning. In the objects of study, the expert found concentrations of mercury salts that are a thousand times higher than the norm. The body could not accumulate such quantities gradually, which means that Elena immediately received a huge dose of poison, which caused acute poisoning and caused her imminent death.
Later, Makarenko repeated the analysis, which convinced her: there was no mistake, the picture of poisoning turned out to be so vivid. The young princess was exterminated with the help of mercury salts, or sublimate, one of the most common mineral poisons in that era.
So more than 400 years later, it was possible to find out the cause of the death of the Grand Duchess. And thus confirm the rumors about the poisoning of Glinskaya, given in the notes of some foreigners who visited Moscow in the 16th-17th centuries.
Nine-year-old Maria Staritskaya was also poisoned in October 1569, along with her father Vladimir Andreevich Staritsky, cousin of Ivan IV Vasilyevich, on the way to Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, in the midst of the Oprichnina, when potential contenders for the Moscow throne were destroyed. The Mediterranean ("Greek") type, clearly seen in the appearance of Sophia Paleolog and her grandson Ivan the Terrible, also distinguishes her great-granddaughter. Humpbacked nome, plump lips, manly face. And prone to bone disease. So, Sergei Nikitin found signs of frontal hyperostosis (growth of the frontal bone) on the skull of Sophia Paleolog, which is associated with the production of excess male hormones. And the great-granddaughter Maria was diagnosed with rickets.
As a result, the appearance of the past became close, tangible. Half a millennium - but as if yesterday.
In the middle of the 15th century, when Constantinople fell under the onslaught of the Turks, the 17-year-old Byzantine princess Sophia left Rome to transfer the spirit of the old empire to a new, still emerging state.
With her fabulous life and journey full of adventures - from the poorly lit passages of the papal church to the snowy Russian steppes, from the secret mission behind the betrothal to the Moscow prince, to the mysterious and still not found collection of books that she brought with her from Constantinople, - we were introduced by the journalist and writer Yorgos Leonardos, the author of the book "Sophia Palaiologos - from Byzantium to Russia", as well as many other historical novels.
In a conversation with an Athens-Macedonian Agency correspondent about the filming of a Russian film about the life of Sophia Palaiologos, Mr. Leonardos stressed that she was a versatile person, a practical and ambitious woman. The niece of the last Palaiologos 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'.
Yorgos Leonardos describes Sophia's personality as follows: “Sophia was the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Constantine XI, and the daughter of Thomas Palaiologos. She was baptized in Mistra, giving 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 Corfu. With the participation of Vissarion of Nicaea, who had already become a Catholic cardinal in Rome by that time, Zoya moved to Rome with her father, brothers and sister. After the premature death of her parents, Vissarion took over custody of three children who converted to the Catholic faith. However, Sophia's life changed when Paul II took the papacy, who wanted her to enter into a political marriage. The princess was betrothed to Prince Ivan III of Moscow, 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 Russian people enthusiastically accepted the young girl.
© Sputnik. Valentin Cheredintsev
The author of the book considers visiting one of the Pskov churches a key moment in Sophia’s life: “She was impressed, and although the papal legate was next to her, following her every step, she returned to Orthodoxy, defying the will of the pope. On November 12, 1472, Zoya became the second wife of the 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' paid tribute to the Horde. Indeed, Ivan liberated his state and united various independent principalities under his rule.
© Sputnik. Balabanov
Sophia's contribution to the development of the state is great, because, as the author explains, "she started the Byzantine order at the Russian court and helped create the Russian state."
“Since Sophia was the only heiress 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 lasted 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 Archbishopric of Moscow to a patriarchy, making it clear that the first patriarchy is not Constantinople captured by the Turks, but Moscow.”
© Sputnik. Alexey Filippov
According to Yorgos Leonardos, “Sofia was the first to create in Rus' on the model of Constantinople a secret service, a prototype of the tsarist secret police and the Soviet KGB. This contribution of hers is recognized by the Russian authorities today. So, the former head of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Alexei Patrushev, on the Day of Military Counterintelligence on December 19, 2007, said that the country honors Sophia Palaiologos, as she defended Rus' from internal and external enemies.
Also, Moscow “owes her a change in its appearance, since Sofia brought here Italian and Byzantine architects who built mainly stone buildings, for example, the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin, as well as the Kremlin walls that still exist. Also, according to the Byzantine model, secret passages were dug under the territory of the entire Kremlin.
© Sputnik. Sergei Pyatakov
“Since 1472, the history of the modern - tsarist - state begins in Rus'. At that time, due to the climate, they did not engage in agriculture here, but only hunted. Sophia convinced the subjects of Ivan III to cultivate the fields and thus laid the foundation for the formation of agriculture in the country.
Sophia’s personality was also respected under the Soviet regime: according to Leonardos, “when the Ascension Monastery was destroyed in the Kremlin, in which the remains of the queen were stored, not only were they not disposed of, but by Stalin’s decree they were placed in a tomb, which was then transferred to Arkhangelsk Cathedral".
Yorgos Leonardos said that Sophia brought 60 carts from Constantinople with books and rare treasures that were kept in the underground treasuries of the Kremlin and have not been found so far.
“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 the history of Russia, who was named the Great for his deeds, committed 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.
© Sputnik. Vladimir Fedorenko
“Sofia transferred the spirit of Byzantium to the Russian Empire, which had just begun to emerge. It was she who built the state in Rus', giving it Byzantine features, and on the whole 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,” said Yorgos Leonardos.
As for the images of Sophia, Leonardos emphasized that “her portraits have not been preserved, 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 placed near the entrance to the Historical Museum next to the Kremlin.”
“The legacy of Sophia Paleolog is Russia itself…” Yorgos Leonardos summed up.
Grand Duchess Sophia (1455-1503) from the Greek Palaiologos dynasty was the wife of Ivan III. She came from a family of Byzantine emperors. Marriage with the Greek princess, Ivan Vasilyevich emphasized the connection between his own power and that of Constantinople. Once Byzantium gave Rus' Christianity. The marriage of Ivan and Sofia closed this historical circle. Their son Basil III and his heirs considered themselves the successors of the Greek emperors. In order to transfer power to her own son, Sophia had to wage many years of dynastic struggle.
Origin
The exact date of birth of Sophia Palaiologos is unknown. She was born around 1455 in the Greek city of Mistra. The girl's father was Thomas Paleolog - the brother of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. He ruled the Despotate of Morea, located on the Peloponnese peninsula. Sophia's mother, Catherine of Achaia, was the daughter of the Frankish prince Achaia Centurione II (Italian by birth). The Catholic ruler was in conflict with Thomas and lost a decisive war to him, as a result of which he lost his own possessions. As a sign of victory, as well as the accession of Achaea, the Greek despot married Catherine.
The fate of Sophia Paleolog was determined by the dramatic events that happened shortly before her birth. In 1453 the Turks captured Constantinople. This event was the end of the thousand-year history of the Byzantine Empire. Constantinople was at the crossroads between Europe and Asia. Having occupied the city, the Turks opened their way to the Balkans and the Old World as a whole.
If the Ottomans defeated the emperor, then the other princes did not pose a threat to them at all. The Despotate of Morea was already captured in 1460. Thomas managed to take his family and flee from the Peloponnese. First, the Palaiologoi came to Corfu, then moved to Rome. The choice was logical. Italy became a new home for many thousands of Greeks who did not want to remain under Muslim citizenship.
The girl's parents died almost simultaneously in 1465. After their death, the story of Sophia Paleologus turned out to be closely connected with the story of her brothers Andrei and Manuel. The young Palaiologos were sheltered by Pope Sixtus IV. In order to enlist his support and ensure a peaceful future for the children, Thomas converted to Catholicism shortly before his death, abandoning the Greek Orthodox faith.
Life in Rome
Sophia was taught by the Greek scientist and humanist Vissarion of Nicaea. Most of all, he was famous for the fact that he became the author of the project for the union of the Catholic and Orthodox churches, concluded in 1439. For a successful reunion (Byzantium made this deal, being on the verge of death and hoping in vain for the help of Europeans), Bessarion received the rank of cardinal. Now he became the teacher of Sophia Palaiologos and her brothers.
The biography of the future Moscow Grand Duchess from an early age bore the seal of Greco-Roman duality, of which Bessarion of Nicaea was an adept. In Italy, she always had an interpreter with her. Two professors taught her Greek and Latin. Sophia Palaiologos and her brothers were supported by the Holy See. Papa gave them more than 3,000 crowns a year. Money was spent on servants, clothes, a doctor, etc.
The fate of the brothers Sophia has developed in the opposite way from each other. As the eldest son of Thomas, Andrew was considered the legal heir to the entire Palaiologos dynasty. He tried to sell his status to several European kings, hoping that they would help him regain the throne. The crusade did not happen. Andrew died in poverty. Manuel returned to his historical homeland. In Constantinople, he began to serve the Turkish Sultan Bayezid II, and according to some sources, even converted to Islam.
As a representative of the extinct imperial dynasty, Sophia Paleologus from Byzantium was one of the most enviable brides in Europe. However, none of the Catholic monarchs with whom they tried to negotiate in Rome agreed to marry the girl. Even the glory of the name of the Palaiologos could not overshadow the danger posed by the Ottomans. It is known for sure that Sophia's patrons began to marry her to the Cypriot king Jacques II, but he answered with a firm refusal. Another time, the Roman Pontiff Paul II himself offered the girl's hand to the influential Italian aristocrat Caracciolo, but this attempt to marry failed.
Embassy to Ivan III
Moscow learned about Sophia in 1469, when the Greek diplomat Yuri Trakhaniot arrived in the Russian capital. He proposed to the recently widowed, but still very young Ivan III, a project of marriage with the princess. The Roman Epistle delivered by a foreign guest was composed by Pope Paul II. The pontiff promised Ivan support if he wanted to marry Sophia.
What made Roman diplomacy turn to the Grand Duke of Moscow? In the 15th century, after a long period of political fragmentation and the Mongol yoke, Russia reunited and became the largest European power. In the Old World there were legends about the wealth and power of Ivan III. In Rome, many influential people hoped for the help of the Grand Duke in the struggle of Christians against Turkish expansion.
One way or another, but Ivan III agreed and decided to continue negotiations. His mother Maria Yaroslavna favorably reacted to the "Roman-Byzantine" candidacy. Ivan III, despite his tough temper, was afraid of his mother and always listened to her opinion. At the same time, the figure of Sophia Paleolog, whose biography was associated with the Latins, did not like the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Philip. Realizing his impotence, he did not oppose the Moscow sovereign and distanced himself from the upcoming wedding.
Wedding
The Moscow embassy arrived in Rome in May 1472. The delegation was headed by the Italian Gian Batista della Volpe, known in Russia as Ivan Fryazin. The ambassadors were met by Pope Sixtus IV, who shortly before had succeeded the deceased Paul II. As a sign of gratitude for the hospitality, the pontiff received a large amount of sable fur as a gift.
Only a week passed, and a solemn ceremony was held in the main Roman Cathedral of St. Peter, at which Sophia Palaiologos and Ivan III got engaged in absentia. Volpe was in the role of the groom. Preparing for an important event, the ambassador made a serious mistake. The Catholic rite required the use of wedding rings, but Volpe did not prepare them. The scandal was hushed up. All the influential organizers of the engagement wanted to complete it safely and turned a blind eye to the formalities.
In the summer of 1472, Sophia Paleolog, along with her own retinue, the papal legate and Moscow ambassadors, set off on a long journey. At parting, she met with the pontiff, who gave the bride his final blessing. Of several routes, Sofia's satellites chose the path through Northern Europe and the Baltic. The Greek princess crossed the entire Old World, arriving from Rome to Lübeck. Sophia Palaiologos from Byzantium adequately endured the hardships of a long journey - such trips were not the first time for her. At the insistence of the pope, all Catholic cities organized a warm welcome for the embassy. By sea, the girl reached Tallinn. This was followed by Yuriev, Pskov, followed by Novgorod. Sophia Paleolog, whose appearance was reconstructed by specialists in the 20th century, surprised Russians with her alien southern appearance and unfamiliar habits. Everywhere the future Grand Duchess was greeted with bread and salt.
On November 12, 1472, Princess Sophia Paleolog arrived in the long-awaited Moscow. The wedding ceremony with Ivan III took place on the same day. The rush had an understandable reason. The arrival of Sophia coincided with the celebration of the day of memory of John Chrysostom - the patron saint of the Grand Duke. So the Moscow sovereign gave his marriage under heavenly protection.
For the Orthodox Church, the fact that Sophia is the second wife of Ivan III was reprehensible. The priest who would crown such a marriage had to risk his reputation. In addition, the attitude towards the bride as someone else's Latina was entrenched in conservative circles from her very appearance in Moscow. That is why Metropolitan Philip shied away from the obligation to conduct a wedding. Instead of him, the ceremony was led by Archpriest Hosea of Kolomna.
Sophia Palaiologos, whose religion remained Orthodox even during her stay in Rome, nevertheless arrived with a papal legate. This messenger, traveling along Russian roads, defiantly carried a large Catholic crucifix in front of him. Under pressure from Metropolitan Philip, Ivan Vasilyevich made it clear to the legate that he was not going to tolerate such behavior, embarrassing his Orthodox subjects. The conflict was settled, but the "Roman glory" haunted Sophia until the end of her days.
Historical role
Together with Sophia, her Greek retinue arrived in Russia. Ivan III was very interested in the heritage of Byzantium. Marriage with Sophia became a signal for many other Greeks wandering in Europe. A stream of co-religionists aspired to settle in the possessions of the Grand Duke.
What did Sofia Palaiologos do for Russia? She opened it to Europeans. Not only Greeks, but also Italians went to Muscovy. Masters and learned people were especially valued. Ivan III took care of Italian architects (for example, Aristotle Fioravanti), who built a large number of masterpieces of architecture in Moscow. For Sophia herself, a separate courtyard and mansions were built. They burned down in 1493 during a terrible fire. Together with them, the treasury of the Grand Duchess was lost.
In the days of standing on the Ugra
In 1480, Ivan III went to aggravate the conflict with the Tatar Khan Akhmat. The result of this conflict is known - after the bloodless standing on the Ugra, the Horde left the borders of Russia and never again demanded tribute from it. Ivan Vasilievich managed to throw off a long-term yoke. However, before Akhmat left the possessions of the Moscow prince in disgrace, the situation seemed uncertain. Fearing an attack on the capital, Ivan III organized Sophia's departure with their children to White Lake. Together with his wife was the grand ducal treasury. If Akhmat captured Moscow, she had to run further north closer to the sea.
The decision to evacuate, which was made by Ivan 3 and Sophia Paleolog, caused outrage among the people. Muscovites with pleasure began to recall the "Roman" origin of the princess. Sarcastic descriptions of the empress' flight to the north have been preserved in some chronicles, for example, in the Rostov Vault. Nevertheless, all the reproaches of contemporaries were immediately forgotten after the news came to Moscow that Akhmat and his army decided to retreat from the Ugra and return to the steppes. Sophia from the Palaiologos family arrived in Moscow a month later.
Heir problem
Ivan and Sofia had 12 children. Half of them died in childhood or infancy. The rest of the grown children of Sophia Paleolog also left behind offspring, but the branch of the Rurikids, which began from the marriage of Ivan and the Greek princess, died out around the middle of the 17th century. The Grand Duke also had a son from his first marriage with the Tver princess. Named after his father, he is remembered as Ivan Mladoy. According to the law of seniority, it was this prince who was to become the heir to the Moscow state. Of course, Sophia did not like this scenario, who wanted power to pass to her son Vasily. A loyal group of court nobility formed around her, supporting the claims of the princess. However, for the time being, she could not influence the dynastic issue in any way.
Since 1477, Ivan Mladoy was considered the co-ruler of his father. He participated in standing on the Ugra and gradually learned the princely duties. For many years, Ivan the Younger's position as the rightful heir was undeniable. However, in 1490 he fell ill with gout. There was no cure for "aching legs". Then the Italian doctor Mister Leon was discharged from Venice. He undertook to cure the heir and vouched for the success with his own head. Leon used rather strange methods. He gave Ivan a certain potion and burned his feet with red-hot glass vessels. Treatment only made the disease worse. In 1490, Ivan the Younger died in terrible agony at the age of 32. In anger, the husband of Sophia Paleologus imprisoned the Venetian, and after a few weeks he executed him in public.
Conflict with Elena
The death of Ivan the Younger brought Sofia little closer to fulfilling her dream. The deceased heir was married to the daughter of the Moldavian sovereign, Elena Stefanovna, and had a son, Dmitry. Now Ivan III faced a difficult choice. On the one hand, he had a grandson Dmitry, and on the other, a son from Sofia, Vasily.
For several years, the Grand Duke continued to waver. The boyars split again. Some supported Elena, others - Sofia. The first supporters had much more. Many influential Russian aristocrats and nobles did not like the story of Sophia Palaiologos. Some continued to reproach her for her past with Rome. In addition, Sofia herself tried to surround herself with her native Greeks, which did not benefit her popularity.
On the side of Elena and her son Dmitry was a good memory of Ivan Mlad. Basil's supporters resisted: he was a descendant of the Byzantine emperors by his mother! Elena and Sofia were worth each other. Both of them were distinguished by ambition and cunning. Although the women observed palace decency, their mutual hatred of each other was not a secret to the princely entourage.
Opala
In 1497, Ivan III became aware of a conspiracy being prepared behind his back. Young Vasily fell under the influence of several careless boyars. Fedor Stromilov stood out among them. This clerk was able to assure Vasily that Ivan was about to officially declare Dmitry as his heir. Reckless boyars offered to get rid of a competitor or seize the sovereign's treasury in Vologda. The number of like-minded people involved in the venture continued to grow until Ivan III himself found out about the conspiracy.
As always, the Grand Duke, terrible in anger, ordered the execution of the main noble conspirators, including the deacon Stromilov. Basil escaped the dungeon, but guards were assigned to him. Sophia also fell into disgrace. Rumors reached her husband that she was bringing imaginary witches to her and was trying to get a potion to poison Elena or Dmitry. These women were found and drowned in the river. The sovereign forbade his wife to catch his eye. To top it off, Ivan really declared his fifteen-year-old grandson to be his official heir.
The fight goes on
In February 1498, celebrations were held in Moscow on the occasion of the coronation of young Dmitry. The ceremony in the Assumption Cathedral was attended by all the boyars and members of the grand ducal family, with the exception of Vasily and Sophia. The disgraced relatives of the Grand Duke were defiantly not invited to the coronation. They put on Dmitry the Cap of Monomakh, and Ivan III arranged a grand feast in honor of his grandson.
Elena's party could triumph - it was her long-awaited triumph. However, even supporters of Dmitry and his mother could not feel too confident. Ivan III has always been impulsive. Because of his tough temper, he could disgrace anyone, including his wife, but nothing guaranteed that the Grand Duke would not change his preferences.
A year has passed since Dmitry's coronation. Unexpectedly, the favor of the sovereign returned to Sophia and her eldest son. There is no evidence in the annals that speaks of the reasons that prompted Ivan to reconcile with his wife. One way or another, but the Grand Duke ordered to reconsider the case against his wife. Upon re-investigation, new circumstances of the court struggle were revealed. Some denunciations against Sophia and Vasily turned out to be false.
The sovereign accused the most influential defenders of Elena and Dmitry, princes Ivan Patrikeev and Simeon Ryapolovsky, of slander. The first of them was the chief military adviser to the Moscow ruler for more than thirty years. Ryapolovsky's father defended Ivan Vasilyevich as a child, when he was in danger from Dmitry Shemyaka during the last Russian internecine war. These great merits of the nobles and their families did not save them.
Six weeks after the boyar disgrace, Ivan, who had already returned his favor to Sophia, declared their son Vasily the Prince of Novgorod and Pskov. Dmitry was still considered the heir, but the members of the court, sensing the change in mood of the sovereign, began to leave Elena and her child. Fearing to repeat the fate of Patrikeyev and Ryapolovsky, other aristocrats began to demonstrate loyalty to Sophia and Vasily.
Triumph and death
Three more years passed, and finally, in 1502, the struggle between Sophia and Helen ended in the fall of the latter. Ivan ordered that guards be assigned to Dmitry and his mother, then he sent them to prison and officially deprived his grandson of grand ducal dignity. Then the sovereign declared Vasily his heir. Sophia was jubilant. Not a single boyar dared to contradict the decision of the Grand Duke, although many continued to sympathize with the eighteen-year-old Dmitry. Ivan was not even stopped by a quarrel with his faithful and important ally - Elena's father and the Moldavian ruler Stefan, who hated the owner of the Kremlin for the suffering of his daughter and grandson.
Sophia Paleolog, whose biography was a series of ups and downs, managed to achieve the main goal of her life shortly before her own death. She died at the age of 48 on April 7, 1503. The Grand Duchess was buried in a white stone sarcophagus placed in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral. Sophia's grave was next to the grave of Ivan's first wife, Maria Borisovna. In 1929, the Bolsheviks destroyed the Ascension Cathedral, and the remains of the Grand Duchess were transferred to the Archangel Cathedral.
For Ivan, the death of his wife was a strong blow. He was already over 60. In mourning, the Grand Duke visited several Orthodox monasteries, where he diligently indulged in prayers. The last years of their life together were overshadowed by the disgrace and mutual suspicions of the spouses. Nevertheless, Ivan III always appreciated Sophia's mind and her help in public affairs. After the loss of his wife, the Grand Duke, feeling the proximity of his own death, made a will. Basil's rights to power were confirmed. Ivan followed Sophia in 1505, dying at the age of 65.