Marriage of Ivan III and Sophia Palaiologina

Timeline

1. 1469–1472Rome · RomeAfter the fall of Constantinople, the papacy and Cardinal Bessarion arranged a marriage between Zoe Palaiologina and the widowed Ivan III, hoping Moscow would turn toward Rome. In summer 1472, Zoe held a proxy wedding in Rome with Moscow's envoys and immediately set off northward.
2. 1472Moscow · MoscowZoe's party traveled through northern Germany and along the Baltic coast into Rus', arriving in Moscow in November 1472 via Pskov and other places. Upon entering the city she took the baptismal name Sophia, and her retinue brought objects and ceremonies of the Italian and Roman courts into the grand princely palace.
3. 1472Cathedral of the Dormition · KremlinOn November 12, 1472, Ivan III and Sophia were married in the Kremlin's Cathedral of the Dormition. Thereafter Moscow's court ceremonial became more imperial in character, the double-headed eagle was gradually used on grand princely seals, and the Byzantine legacy became an important symbolic resource for Moscow's claim to be the Third Rome.