Irene Palaiologina

Type Figure Region Byzantine Empire Time c. 1240–1303 Also known as Irene Palaiologina、Eirene Palaiologina、Εἰρήνη Παλαιολογίνα

Irene Palaiologina (c. 1240–c. 1303), sister of Michael VIII Palaiologos, was an important female political figure of the 13th-century Byzantine impe…

Timeline

c. 1240–1261Nicaea · Empire of NicaeaBorn at the Nicaean court-in-exile, she was a member of the Palaiologos family and sister of Michael VIII; she grew up at court before 1261, and her status was an important asset for dynastic marriage and diplomatic maneuvering.
1261–1270Constantinople · Byzantine EmpireAfter the recovery of the imperial capital in 1261, she joined her brother at the court in Constantinople, taking part in imperial social and diplomatic occasions; her marriage was incorporated into Michael VIII's overall Balkan strategy.
1278–1303Bulgaria · BulgariaAround 1278, on her brother's orders, she married the Bulgarian tsar Ivan Asen III, using the marriage to consolidate the Byzantine–Bulgarian alliance against Serbian expansion and northern threats.

Sources

The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium — Alexander Kazhdan et al. (1991)
Irene Palaiologina, Empress of Bulgaria https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Palaiologina,_Empress_of_Bulgaria