Sofia Paleolog: Byzantine blood in the Russian state. Sophia Paleolog. How a Byzantine princess built a new empire in Russia

"Your fate is sealed,

-That's what they say when in heaven
Known choice and soul
Inevitability accepts
Like the lot she created."

Marina Gussar

Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue

“The main effect of this marriage... was that Russia became more famous in Europe, which honored the tribe of the ancient Byzantine emperors in Sofia and, so to speak, followed it with its eyes to the borders of our fatherland... Moreover, many Greeks who came to us with princess, they became useful in Russia with their knowledge of arts and languages, especially Latin, which was then necessary for external affairs of state; enriched Moscow church libraries with books saved from Turkish barbarism and contributed to the splendor of our court by imparting to it the magnificent rites of Byzantium, so that from now on the capital of Ioann could truly be called the new Constantinople, like ancient Kyiv.”

N. Karamzin

“Great Constantinople (Constantinopolis), this acropolis of the universe, the royal capital of the Romans, which by God’s permission was under the rule of the Latins,” fell on May 29, 1453.

Take Turkish troops Constantinople

The great Christian city was dying, slowly, terribly and irrevocably turning into the great Muslim Istanbul.

The struggle was merciless and bloody, the resistance of the besieged was incredibly stubborn, the assault began in the morning, the Turks failed to take the city gates, and only in the evening, breaking through the wall with a gunpowder explosion, the besiegers burst into the city, where they immediately encountered unprecedented resistance - the defenders of the most ancient Christian stronghold stood to the death - of course! - how could one chicken out or retreat when among them, like a simple warrior, the wounded and bloodied great emperor fought until his last breath Constantine XI Palaiologos, and then he did not yet know that just a few seconds later, in the dazzling last moment of his life, rapidly collapsing into darkness, he would forever go down in history as the last Byzantine emperor. Padaya whispered: “Tell Thomas - let him save his head! Where the head is - there is Byzantium, there is our Rome!” Then he wheezed, blood gushed from his throat, and he lost consciousness.

Constantine XI, Sophia's uncle. 19th century drawing

The body of Emperor Constantine was recognized by small golden double-headed eagles on purple morocco boots.

The faithful servant understood perfectly what the words of the late emperor meant: his younger brother - Thomas Paleologus, the ruler, or, as they said here, the despot of Morea, must make every effort to preserve and protect from the Turks the greatest Christian shrine that he kept - the most revered relics of the intercessor and patron of the Byzantine, Greek church by the entire Orthodox world - the head Apostle Andrew.

Saint Andrew the First-Called. St. Andrew's flag is firmly established in the Russian navy, and its meaning is also well-established: it was accepted “for the sake of the fact that Russia received holy baptism from this apostle”

Yes, that same Andrew the First-Called, the brother of St. Peter, an equally great martyr and faithful disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ himself...

Thomas took the dying request of his brother, who heroically fell in battle, very close to his heart and thought for a long time about what he should do to fulfill it properly...

The great shrine, which was kept in Patros It was necessary not only to save it from being captured by the Turks, it had to be preserved in time, moved somewhere, hidden somewhere... Otherwise, how should we understand the words of Constantine “Where the head is, there is Byzantium, there is our Rome!”? The head of the apostle is now here, with Thomas, Rome is in Italy, the Byzantine Empire - alas! - fell along with the fall of Constantinople... What did the brother mean... What does “our Rome” mean? Soon, with all the inexorability of the cruel truth, it became clear that Morea would not withstand the onslaught of the Turks. The last fragments of Byzantium, the second great Roman Empire, crumbled to dust. Peninsula, southern part of Greece, in ancient times the Peloponnese; received the name Moray in the 13th century, from the Slavic “sea”. In the 15th century in the Peloponnese there were several despotates who were formally dependent on Byzantium, but in fact obeyed only their rulers - despots, two of whom, Thomas and Michael, were the younger brothers of Emperor Constantine.

Thomas Paleologus. 11 - Despot of Morea

And suddenly Thomas had an epiphany - he suddenly understood what his brother meant - Constantine undoubtedly believed in a new revival of the empire, he believed that it would certainly arise where our main Greek shrine would be located! But where? How? In the meantime, the safety of his wife and children had to be taken care of - the Turks were approaching. In 1460, Morea was captured by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, Thomas and his family left Morea. At the despot (name highest title Byzantine nobles, corresponding to the European title "duke") Thomas Palaiologos had four children. The eldest daughter Elena had just left her father's house, having married the Serbian king, and the boys Andreas and Manuel remained with her parents, as well as youngest child- daughter Zoya, who was 3 years old at the time of the fall of Constantinople.

In 1460, the despot Thomas Palaiologos with his family and the greatest shrines of the Christian world, including the head of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called, sailed to the once Greek island Kerkyra, which since 1386 belonged to Venetian Republic and therefore was called in Italian - Corfu. The city-state of Venice, a maritime republic that was experiencing a period of greatest growth, remained the most prosperous and wealthy city in the entire Apennine Peninsula until the 16th century.

Thomas Palaiologos began to establish relations with Venice, a longtime rival of the Byzantines, almost simultaneously with the capture of Constantinople by the Turks. Thanks to the Venetians, Corfu remained the only part of Greece that did not fall under the rule Ottoman Empire. From there the exile is transported to Ancona, a port under the control of the Republic of St. Mark. There is no doubt that in 1463 Thomas Palaiologos, together with the Papal-Venetian flotilla, was going to go on a campaign against the Ottomans. His family at that time was under the guardianship of the Venetians in Corfu, they transported Zoya and her brothers to Rome, having heard about their father’s illness, but, obviously, even after that the Venetian Senate did not interrupt ties with high-born refugees.

Long before the siege of the Byzantine capital, the wise Konstantin secretly, under the guise of ordinary merchant cargo, he sent Thomas a collection of the most valuable books from the Constantinople library, accumulated over centuries. In the far corner of the large harbor of the island of Corfu there was already one ship of Thomas Palaiologos, sent here a few months earlier. In the holds of this ship were treasures of human wisdom that almost no one knew anything about.

There were a large number of volumes of rare publications in Greek, Latin and Jewish languages, ranging from unique and very ancient copies of the gospels, the main works of most ancient historians, philosophers and writers, works on mathematics, astronomy, the arts, and ending with secretly kept manuscripts of predictions of prophets and astrologers , as well as books that reveal the secrets of long-forgotten magic. Constantine once told him that the remains of the library burned by Herostratus, papyri of Egyptian priests, and sacred texts taken by Alexander the Great from Persia are kept there.

One day, Thomas brought ten-year-old Zoya to this ship, showed her the holds and said:

- “This is your dowry, Zoya. The knowledge of great people of the past is hidden here, and their books contain the key to the future. Some of them I will later give you to read. The rest will wait for you to come of age and marry.”

So they settled on the island Corfu, where they lived for almost five years.

However, Zoya hardly saw her father during these years.

Having hired the best mentors for the children, he left them in the care of their mother, his beloved wife Catherine, and, taking with him the sacred relic, he went to Rome in 1460 in order to solemnly present it to Pope Paul II, hoping in return to receive confirmation of his rights to the Constantinople throne and military support in the fight for his return - by this time Thomas Palaiologos remained the only legal heir fallen Emperor Constantine.

Dying Byzantium, hoping to receive military assistance from Europe in the fight against the Turks, signed a 1439 year Union of Florence for the unification of Churches, and now its rulers could seek refuge with the papal throne.

On March 7, 1461, in Rome, the Morean despot was greeted with worthy honors, the head Apostle Andrew during a magnificent and majestic service with a huge crowd of people placed in the cathedral St. Peter's, and Foma was assigned a very high salary for those times - 6,500 ducats per year. The Pope awarded him the Order of the Golden Rose. Thomas remained to live in Italy.

However, over time, he began to gradually understand that his hopes were unlikely to ever be realized and that, most likely, he would remain a respected but useless exile.

His only consolation was his friendship with the cardinal Vissarion, which began and strengthened in the process of his efforts to receive support from Rome.

Vissarion of Nicaea

This unusually talented man was known as the leader of the Byzantine Latinophiles. Literary gift, erudition, ambition and ability to flatter strong of the world This, and, of course, his commitment to the union contributed to his successful career. He studied in Constantinople, then took monastic vows in one of the monasteries of the Peloponnese, and in the capital of the Morea, Mystras, he asceticised at the philosophical school of Gemistos Pletho. In 1437, at the age of 35, he was elected Metropolitan of Nicaea. However, Nicaea had long been conquered by the Turks, and this magnificent title was needed to give additional weight to the supporters of the union at the meetings of the upcoming council. For the same reasons, another Latinophile, Isidore, was ordained metropolitan of Moscow by the Patriarch of Constantinople without the consent of the Russians.

Catholic Cardinal Bessarion of Nicea, a Greek and a favorite of the pope, advocated the unification of Christian churches in the face of the Turkish threat. Coming every few months to Corfu, Thomas would talk for a long time with the children, sitting in his black throne-chair, inlaid with gold and ivory, with a large double-headed Byzantine eagle above the head.

He prepared the young men Andreas and Manuel for the humiliating future of princes without a kingdom, poor petitioners, seekers of rich brides - he tried to teach them how to maintain dignity in this situation and arrange their lives tolerably, not forgetting belonging to their ancient, proud and once powerful family . But he also knew that without wealth and lands they had no chance of reviving their former glory. Great Empire. And therefore he pinned his hopes on Zoya.

His beloved daughter Zoya grew up as a very smart girl, but from the age of four she knew how to read and write in Greek and Latin, was very capable of languages, and now, by the age of thirteen, she already knew ancient and modern history perfectly well, mastered the basics mathematics and astronomy, recited entire chapters from Homer from memory, and most importantly, she loved to study, a spark of thirst for knowledge of the secrets of the world that was opening up before her sparkled in her eyes, moreover, she already seemed to guess that her life in this world would be not at all simple, but this did not frighten her, did not stop her, on the contrary, she strove to learn as much as possible, as if she were preparing with passion and ecstasy for a long, dangerous, but unusually exciting game.

The twinkle in Zoya’s eyes inspired great hope in her father’s heart, and he began to gradually and gradually prepare his daughter for the great mission that he was going to entrust to her.

When Zoya was fifteen years old, a hurricane of misfortunes hit the girl. At the beginning of 1465, Catherine Zaccaria's mother suddenly died. Her death shocked everyone - children, relatives, servants, but she simply struck down Foma. He lost interest in everything, was sad, lost weight, seemed to be decreasing in size, and it soon became clear that he was fading away.

However, suddenly the day came when it seemed to everyone that Thomas seemed to come to life: he came to the children, asked Zoya to accompany him to the port, and there they climbed onto the deck of the very ship where Zoya’s dowry was kept, and sailed with their daughter and sons to Rome .

Rome. Eternal City

However, they did not live together in Rome for long; soon, on May 12, 1465, Thomas died at the age of 56. The sense of self-worth and beauty that Thomas managed to preserve into old age made a great impression on the Italians. He also pleased them by officially converting to Catholicism.

Took over the education of the royal orphans Vatican, entrusting them to the cardinal Vissarion of Nicea. A Greek from Trebizond, he was equally at home in both Greek and Latin cultural circles. He managed to combine the views of Plato and Aristotle, the Greek and Roman forms of Christianity.

However, when Zoya Palelog found herself in Vissarion’s care, his star had already set. Paul II, who donned the papal tiara in 1464, and his successor Sixtus IV did not like Vissarion, who supported the idea of ​​​​limiting papal power. The cardinal went into the shadows, and once he even had to retire to the monastery of Grota Feratta.

Nevertheless, he raised Zoe Paleologus in European Catholic traditions and especially taught her to humbly follow the principles of Catholicism in everything, calling her “the beloved daughter of the Roman Church.” Only in this case, he inspired the pupil, will fate give you everything. “You will have everything if you imitate the Latins; otherwise you will get nothing.”

Zoya (Sofia) Paleolog

Zoya has grown over the years into an attractive girl with dark, sparkling eyes and soft white skin. She was distinguished by a subtle mind and prudence in behavior. According to the unanimous assessment of her contemporaries, Zoya was charming, and her intelligence, education and manners were impeccable. Bolognese chroniclers wrote enthusiastically about Zoe in 1472: “Truly she... is charming and beautiful... She was short, she seemed about 24 years old; the eastern flame sparkled in her eyes, the whiteness of her skin spoke of the nobility of her family.” The Italian princess Clarissa Orsini, who came from a noble Roman family closely associated with the papal throne, the wife of Lorenzo the Magnificent, who visited Zoe in Rome in 1472, found her beautiful, and this news has been preserved for centuries.

Pope Paul II allocated 3,600 ecus per year for the maintenance of orphans (200 ecus per month for children, their clothes, horses and servants; plus it was necessary to save for a rainy day, and spend 100 ecus on the maintenance of a modest courtyard). The court included a doctor, a professor of Latin, a professor of Greek, a translator and 1-2 priests.

It was then that Cardinal Vissarion very carefully and delicately hinted to the Byzantine princess about the possibility of marriage with one of the richest young men in Italy, Federico Gonzago, the eldest son of Louis Gonzago, ruler of the richest Italian city of Mantua.

Banner "Sermon of John the Baptist" from Oratorio San Giovanni, Urbino. Italian experts believe that Vissarion and Sofia Paleologus (3rd and 4th characters from the left) are depicted in the crowd of listeners. Gallery of the Province of Marche, Urbino

However, as soon as the cardinal began to take these actions, it suddenly turned out that the father of the possible groom had heard from nowhere about the extreme poverty of the bride and lost all interest in her as his son’s prospective bride.

A year later, the cardinal hinted at Prince Carracciolo, who also belonged to one of the richest families in Italy, but as soon as the matter began to move forward, some pitfalls were again revealed.

Cardinal Vissarion was a wise and experienced man - he knew very well that nothing happens on its own.

Having conducted a secret investigation, the cardinal definitely found out that with the help of complex and subtle intrigues, deftly woven by Zoya herself using her maids and chambermaids, in both cases she tried to upset the matter, but in such a way that the refusal in no case came from her, poor orphan, who should not neglect such suitors.

After thinking a little, the cardinal decided that it was a matter of religion and that Zoya must want a husband who belonged to the Orthodox Church.

To check this, he soon offered his pupil an Orthodox Greek - James Lusignian, the illegitimate son of the Cypriot king John II, who, having forcibly taken the crown from his sister, usurped his father's throne. And then the cardinal became convinced that he was right.

Zoya really liked this proposal, she carefully examined it from all sides, hesitated for some time, it even came to an engagement, but at the last minute Zoya changed her mind and refused the groom, but then the cardinal knew exactly why and began to understand something. Zoya correctly calculated that the throne under Jacob was shaking, that he did not have a confident future, and then in general - well, what kind of kingdom is this, after all - some kind of pitiful Cyprus island! Zoya made it clear to her teacher that she was a Byzantine princess, and not a simple prince’s daughter, and the cardinal temporarily stopped his attempts. And it was then that good old Pope Paul II unexpectedly fulfilled his promise to the orphan princess so dear to his heart. Not only did he find her a worthy groom, he also solved a number of political problems.

Destiny's sought-after gift awaits cutting

In those years, the Vatican was looking for allies to organize a new crusade against the Turks, intending to involve all European sovereigns in it. Then, on the advice of Cardinal Vissarion, the pope decided to marry Zoya to the Moscow sovereign Ivan III, knowing about his desire to become the heir of the Byzantine basileus.

The marriage of Princess Zoe, renamed Sophia in Russian Orthodox fashion, with the recently widowed young Grand Duke of the distant, mysterious, but, according to some reports, incredibly rich and powerful Moscow principality, was extremely desirable for the papal throne for several reasons.

Firstly, through a Catholic wife it would be possible to positively influence the Grand Duke, and through him the Orthodox Russian Church in the implementation of decisions Union of Florence- and the pope had no doubt that Sophia was a devoted Catholic, for she, one might say, grew up on the steps of his throne.

Secondly, it would be a huge political victory to gain Moscow's support against the Turks.

And finally, thirdly, in itself, strengthening ties with distant Russian principalities is of great importance for all European politics.

So, by the irony of history, this fateful marriage for Russia was inspired by the Vatican. All that remained was to obtain Moscow's consent.

In February 1469 In the same year, the ambassador of Cardinal Vissarion arrived in Moscow with a letter to the Grand Duke, in which he was invited to legally marry the daughter of the Despot of Morea.

According to the ideas of that time, Sophia was considered a middle-aged woman, but she was very attractive, with amazingly beautiful, expressive eyes and gentle matte skin, which in Rus' was considered a sign of excellent health. And most importantly, she was distinguished by a sharp mind and an article worthy of a Byzantine princess.

The Moscow sovereign accepted the offer. He sent his ambassador, the Italian Gian Battista della Volpe (he was nicknamed Ivan Fryazin in Moscow), to Rome to make a match. This nobleman from Vicenza, a city ruled by Venice since 1404, originally lived in the Golden Horde, in 1459 he entered the service of Moscow as a coin master and became known as Ivan Fryazin. He ended up in both the Horde and Moscow, probably at the behest of his Venetian patrons.

The ambassador returned a few months later, in November, bringing with him a portrait of the bride. This portrait, which seems to have begun the era of Sophia Paleologus in Moscow, is considered the first in Rus' secular image. At least, they were so amazed by it that the chronicler called the portrait an “icon,” without finding another word: “And bring the princess on the icon.” By the way, the word “icon” originally meant “drawing”, “image”, “image” in Greek.

V. Muizhel. “Ambassador Ivan Frezin presents Ivan III portrait of his bride Sophia Paleolog"

However, the matchmaking dragged on because Moscow Metropolitan Philip for a long time objected to the sovereign’s marriage to a Uniate woman, who was also a pupil of the papal throne, fearing the spread of Catholic influence in Rus'. Only in January 1472, having received the consent of the hierarch, Ivan III sent an embassy to Rome for the bride, since a compromise was found: in Moscow, secular and church authorities agreed that before the wedding Zoya would be baptized according to the Orthodox rite.

Pope Sixtus IV

On May 21, a ceremonial reception of Russian ambassadors took place at Pope Sixtus IV, which was attended by representatives of Venice, Milan, Florence, and the Duke of Ferrara.

Reception at Sixtus IV. Melozzo da Forli

Already on June 1, at the insistence of Cardinal Vissarion, a symbolic betrothal took place in Rome - the engagement of Princess Sophia and the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan, who was represented by the Russian ambassador Ivan Fryazin.

Pope Sixtus IV treated the orphan with paternal concern: he gave Zoe as a dowry, in addition to gifts, about 6,000 ducats and sent letters in advance to the cities in which, in the name of respect due to the apostolic see, he asked to accept Zoe with goodwill and kindness. Vissarion was also concerned about the same thing; he wrote to the Sienese in case the bride passed through their city: “We earnestly ask you to mark her arrival with some kind of celebration and take care of a dignified reception.” Not surprisingly, Zoe's journey was something of a triumph.

On June 24, having said goodbye to the pope in the Vatican gardens, Zoya headed to the far north. On the way to Moscow, the bride of the “white emperor,” as the Duke of Milan Francesco Sforza called Ivan III in his message, was accompanied by a retinue of Greeks, Italians and Russians, including Yuri Trachaniot, Prince Constantine, Dmitry - the ambassador of the Zoe brothers, and the Genoese Anton Bonumbre , Bishop of Accia (our chronicles mistakenly call him a cardinal), papal legate, whose mission should act in favor of the subordination of the Russian Church.

Many cities in Italy and Germany (according to surviving news: Sienna, Bologna, Vicenza (Volpe’s hometown), Nuremberg, Lubeck) met and saw off her with royal honor, and held festivities in honor of the princess.

Almost the Kremlin wall in Vicenza. Italy

So, in Bologna, Zoya was received in his palace by one of the main local lords. The princess repeatedly showed herself to the crowd and aroused general surprise with her beauty and richness of attire. The relics of St. were visited with extraordinary pomp. Dominica, she was accompanied by the most distinguished young people. Bolognese chroniclers talk about Zoya with delight.

Saint Domenic. Founder of the Dominican Order

On the 4th month of the journey, Zoya finally set foot on Russian soil. On October 1st she left Kolyvani(Tallinn), was soon in Dorpat, where the messengers of the Grand Duke came to meet their future empress, and then went to Pskov.

N.K. Roerich. Old Pskov. 1904

On October 1, a messenger galloped to Pskov and announced at the assembly: “The princess crossed the sea, the daughter of Thomas, the Tsar of Constantinople, is going to Moscow, her name is Sophia, she will be your empress, and the wife of Grand Duke Ivan Vasilyevich. And you would meet her and accept her honestly.” The messenger galloped further, to Novgorod, to Moscow, and the Pskovites, as the chronicle reports “... the mayors and boyars went to meet the princess in Izborsk, lived here for a whole week, when a messenger arrived from Dorpat (Tartu) with an order to go meet her on the German coast.”

The Pskovites began to feed the honey and collect food, and sent six large decorated ships, posadniks and boyars in advance to “honorably” meet the princess. On October 11, near the mouth of the Embakh, the mayors and boyars met the princess and beat her with cups and golden horns filled with honey and wine. On the 13th, the princess arrived in Pskov and stayed for exactly 5 days. The Pskov authorities and nobles presented her and her retinue with gifts and gave her 50 rubles. The affectionate reception touched the princess, and she promised the Pskovites her intercession before her future husband. The legate Accia, who accompanied her, had to obey: follow her to the church, and there venerate the holy icons and venerate the image of the Mother of God on the orders of the despina.

F. A. Bronnikov. Meeting the princess. 1883

Probably, the Pope would never have believed it if he had known that the future Grand Duchess of Moscow, as soon as she found herself on Russian soil, while still on her way to the wedding in Moscow, insidiously betrayed all his quiet hopes, immediately forgetting all her Catholic upbringing . Sophia, who apparently met in childhood with Athonite elders who were opponents of the Union of Florence, was deeply Orthodox at heart. She skillfully hid her faith from the powerful Roman “patrons”, who did not help her homeland, betraying it to the Gentiles for ruin and death.

She immediately openly, brightly and demonstratively showed her devotion to Orthodoxy, to the delight of the Russians, venerating all the icons in all churches, impeccably behaving Orthodox service, being baptized like an Orthodox Christian.

But even before that, while on board the ship carrying Princess Sophia for eleven days from Lübeck to Revel, from where the cortege would head further to Moscow by land, she remembered her father.

Sophia sat thoughtfully on the deck, looking somewhere into the distance beyond the horizon, not paying attention to the persons accompanying her - Italians and Russians - standing respectfully at a distance, and it seemed to her as if she saw a light radiance that came from somewhere above, permeating everything the body is carried away into the heavenly heights, there, far, far away, where all souls are carried away and where the soul of her father is now...

Sophia peered into the distant invisible land and thought only about one thing - whether she did the right thing; Did you make a mistake in your choice? Will she be able to serve the birth of the Third Rome where her tight sails are now carrying her? And then it seemed to her that an invisible light warmed her, gave her strength and confidence that everything would succeed - and how could it be otherwise - after all, from now on, where she, Sophia, is, there is now Byzantium, there is the Third Rome, in her new homeland - Muscovy.

Kremlin despina

In the early morning of November 12, 1472, Sophia Paleologus arrived in Moscow, where her first meeting with Ivan and the throne city took place. Everything was ready for the wedding celebration, timed to coincide with the name day of the Grand Duke - the day of remembrance of St. John Chrysostom. The betrothal took place in the house of the Grand Duke's mother. On the same day, in the Kremlin, in a temporary wooden church, erected near the Assumption Cathedral under construction, so as not to stop services, the sovereign married her. The Byzantine princess saw her husband for the first time. The Grand Duke was young - only 32 years old, handsome, tall and stately. His eyes were especially remarkable, “formidable eyes.”

Ivan III Vasilievich

And before, Ivan Vasilyevich was distinguished by a tough character, but now, having become related to the Byzantine monarchs, he turned into a formidable and powerful sovereign. This was largely due to his young wife.

The wedding of Ivan III with Sophia Paleologus in 1472. Engraving from the 19th century.

The wedding in a wooden church made a strong impression on Sophia Paleolog. One can imagine how shocked she was by the old Kremlin cathedrals dating back to the Kalitin era (the first half of the 14th century) and the dilapidated white stone walls and towers of the fortress built under Dmitry Donskoy. After Rome, with its St. Peter's Cathedral and the cities of continental Europe with their magnificent stone structures of different eras and styles, it was probably difficult for the Greek princess Sophia to reconcile with the fact that her wedding ceremony took place in a temporary wooden church that stood on the site of the dismantled Assumption Cathedral XIV century.

She brought a generous dowry to Rus'. After the wedding, Ivan III adopted the Byzantine double-headed eagle as a coat of arms - a symbol of royal power, placing it on his seal. The two heads of the eagle face the West and the East, Europe and Asia, symbolizing their unity, as well as the unity (“symphony”) of spiritual and temporal power. Actually, Sophia’s dowry was the legendary “Liberia” - a library (better known as the “library of Ivan the Terrible”). It included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, among which were unknown to us poems by Homer, works by Aristotle and Plato, and even surviving books from the famous Library of Alexandria. Seeing wooden Moscow, burned after the fire of 1470, Sophia was afraid for the fate of the treasure and for the first time hid the books in the basement of the stone Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Senya - the home church of the Moscow Grand Duchesses, built by order of St. Eudoxia, the widow of Dmitry Donskoy. And, according to Moscow custom, she put her own treasury for preservation in the underground of the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist - the very first church in Moscow, which stood until 1847.

According to legend, she brought with her a “bone throne” as a gift to her husband: its wooden frame was entirely covered with plates of ivory and walrus bone with scenes on biblical themes carved on them, and an image of a unicorn was placed on the back of the throne. This throne is known to us as the throne of Ivan the Terrible: the king is depicted on it by the sculptor M. Antokolsky. (In 1896 the throne was installed in Assumption Cathedral for the coronation of Nicholas II. But the sovereign ordered it to be staged for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (according to other sources, for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna), and he himself wished to be crowned on the throne of the first Romanov). And now the throne of Ivan the Terrible is the oldest in the Kremlin collection.

Throne of Ivan the Terrible

Sophia brought with her several Orthodox icons.

Our Lady "Hodegetria". The gold earrings with eagles attached to the Virgin Mary's necklace were undoubtedly "attached" by the Grand Duchess

Our Lady on the throne. Cameo on lapis lazuli

And even after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of the Byzantine emperor appeared in the Archangel Cathedral Michael III, the founder of the Paleolog dynasty, with which the Moscow rulers became related. Thus, the continuity of Moscow to the Byzantine Empire was established, and the Moscow sovereigns appeared as the heirs of the Byzantine emperors.

With the arrival in the capital of Russia of the Greek princess, the heir to the former greatness of the Palaiologans, in 1472, a fairly large group of immigrants from Greece and Italy formed at the Russian court. Over time, many of them occupied significant government positions and more than once carried out important diplomatic assignments for Ivan III. The Grand Duke sent embassies to Italy five times. But their task was not to establish connections in the field of politics or trade. They all returned to Moscow with large groups of specialists, among whom were architects, doctors, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths. Twice Sophia's brother Andreas came to the Russian capital with Russian embassies (Russian sources called him Andrey). It so happened that the Grand Duchess for some time maintained contact with one of the members of her family, which had broken up due to difficult historical events.

It should be recalled that the traditions of the Russian Middle Ages, which strictly limited the role of women to household chores, extended to the family of the Grand Duke and representatives of noble families. That is why so little information has been preserved about the lives of the great Russian princesses. Against this background, the life story of Sophia Paleolog is reflected in written sources in much more detail. However, it is worth noting that Grand Duke Ivan III treated his wife, who received a European upbringing, with great love and understanding and even allowed her to give audiences to foreign ambassadors. In the memoirs of foreigners about Rus' in the second half of the 15th century, records of such meetings with the Grand Duchess were preserved. In 1476, the Venetian envoy Contarini was introduced to the Moscow empress. This is how he recalled it, describing his trip to Persia: “The Emperor also wished me to visit Despina. I did this with due bows and appropriate words; then a long conversation followed. Despina addressed me with such kind and courteous speeches as could be said; she urgently asked that her greetings be conveyed to the Serene Signoria; and I said goodbye to her.” Sophia, according to some researchers, even had her own thought, the composition of which was determined by the Greek and Italian aristocrats who came with her and settled in Rus', in particular, the prominent diplomats of the late 15th century Trachaniotes. In 1490, Sophia Paleologus met in her part of the Kremlin palace with the Tsar's ambassador Delator. Special mansions were built for the Grand Duchess in Moscow. Under Sophia, the grand ducal court was distinguished by its splendor. The dynastic marriage of Ivan III with Sophia Paleologus owes its appearance to the royal wedding ceremony. Near 1490 year, the image of a crowned double-headed eagle first appeared on the front portal of the Chamber of Facets.

Detail of the throne of Ivan the Terrible

The Byzantine concept of the sacredness of imperial power influenced Ivan III’s introduction of “theology” (“by God’s grace”) in the title and in the preamble of state charters.

Construction of the Kremlin

The “Great Greek” brought with her her ideas about the court and the power of government, and many of the Moscow orders did not suit her heart. She didn’t like that her sovereign husband remained a tributary of the Tatar Khan, that the boyars’ entourage behaved too freely with their sovereign, so the boyars were hostile to Sophia. That the Russian capital, built entirely of wood, stands with patched fortress walls and dilapidated stone churches. That even the sovereign's mansions in the Kremlin are made of wood and that Russian women look at the world from a small window. Sophia Paleolog not only made changes at court.

Some Moscow monuments owe their appearance to her. There is no doubt that the stories of Sophia and the representatives of the Greek and Italian nobility who came with her about the beautiful examples of church and civil architecture of Italian cities, about their impregnable fortifications, about the use of everything advanced in military affairs and other branches of science and technology to strengthen the position of the country, influenced the decision of Ivan III to “open a window to Europe”, to attract foreign craftsmen to rebuild the Kremlin, especially after the disaster of 1474, when the Assumption Cathedral, built by Pskov craftsmen, collapsed. Rumors immediately spread among the people that the trouble had happened because of the “Greek woman,” who had previously been in “Latinism.” However, the great husband of the Greeks wanted to see Moscow equal in beauty and majesty to the European capitals and to maintain his own prestige, as well as to emphasize the continuity of Moscow not only to the Second, but also to the First Rome. Such Italian masters as Aristotle Fiorovanti, Pietro Antonio Solari, Marco Fryazin, Anton Fryazin, Aleviz Fryazin, Aleviz Novy took part in the reconstruction of the residence of the Moscow sovereign. Italian masters in Moscow were called common name“Fryazin” (from the word “fryag”, that is, “franc”). And the current towns of Fryazino and Fryazevo near Moscow are a kind of “Little Italy”: it was there at the end of the 15th century that Ivan III gave out estates to numerous Italian “fryags” who came to his service.

Much of what is now preserved in the Kremlin was built precisely under Grand Duchess Sophia. Several centuries passed, but she saw exactly the same as now the Assumption Cathedral and the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Faceted Chamber (named after its decoration in the Italian style - with edges), built under her. And the Kremlin itself is a fortress that guarded ancient center capital of Rus' - grew and was created before her eyes.

Faceted Chamber. 1487-1491

Interior view in the Chamber of Facets

Scientists have noticed that the Italians traveled to the unknown Muscovy without fear, because despina could give them protection and help. Whether this is true or not, only the Russian ambassador Semyon Tolbuzin, sent by Ivan III to Italy, invited Fioravanti to Moscow, because he was famous in his homeland as “new Archimedes,” and he happily agreed.

A special, secret order awaited him in Moscow, after which at the beginning of July 1475 Fioravanti set off on a journey.

Having examined the buildings of Vladimir, Bogolyubov and Suzdal, he went further north: on behalf of the Duke of Milan, he needed to get him white gyrfalcons, which were very highly valued in Europe. Fioravanti reached the shore of the White Sea, visiting along the way Rostov, Yaroslavl, Vologda and Veliky Ustyug. In total, he walked and drove about three thousand kilometers (!) and reached the mysterious city of “Xalauoco” (as Fioravanti called it in one of his letters to Milan), which is nothing more than a distorted name Solovkov. Thus, Aristotle Fioravanti turned out to be the first European who, more than a hundred years before the Englishman Jenkinson, walked the path from Moscow to Solovki.

Arriving in Moscow, Fioravanti drew up a master plan for the new Kremlin, being built by his compatriots. Construction of the walls of the new cathedral began already in 1475. On August 15, 1479, the solemn consecration of the cathedral took place. On next year Rus' freed itself from Tatar-Mongol yoke. This era was partly reflected in the architecture of the Assumption Cathedral, which became the symbol of the Third Rome.

Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin

Its five powerful chapters, symbolizing Christ surrounded by the four evangelist apostles, are notable for their helmet-like shape. The poppy, that is, the top of the temple dome, symbolizes the flame - a burning candle and fiery heavenly forces. During the period of the Tatar yoke, the crown becomes like a military helmet. This is only a slightly different image of fire, since Russian warriors considered the heavenly army as their patrons - angelic forces led by Archangel Michael. The warrior’s helmet, on which the image of the Archangel Michael was often placed, and the poppy helmet of the Russian temple merged into a single image. Externally, the Assumption Cathedral is very close to the cathedral of the same name in Vladimir, which was taken as a model. The luxurious painting was mostly completed during the architect's lifetime. In 1482, the great architect, as the chief of artillery, took part in Ivan III’s campaign against Novgorod, and during this campaign he built a very strong pontoon bridge across the Volkhov. After this campaign, the master wanted to return to Italy, but Ivan III did not let him go, but, on the contrary, arrested him and put him in prison after trying to leave secretly. But he could not afford to keep Fioravanti in prison for a long time, since in 1485 a campaign against Tver was planned, where “Aristotle with guns” was necessary. After this campaign, the name of Aristotle Fioravanti no longer appears in the chronicles; there is no evidence of his return to his homeland. He probably died soon after.

There is a version that in the Assumption Cathedral the architect made a deep underground crypt, where they placed a priceless library. This cache was accidentally discovered by Grand Duke Vasily III many years after the death of his parents. At his invitation, Maxim the Greek came to Moscow in 1518 to translate these books, and allegedly managed to tell Ivan the Terrible, son of Vasily III, about them before his death. Where this library ended up during the time of Ivan the Terrible is still unknown. They looked for her in the Kremlin, and in Kolomenskoye, and in Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, and at the site of the Oprichnina Palace on Mokhovaya. And now there is an assumption that Liberia rests under the bottom of the Moscow River, in dungeons dug from the chambers of Malyuta Skuratov.

The construction of some Kremlin churches is also associated with the name of Sophia Paleologus. The first of them was the cathedral in the name of St. Nikolai Gostunsky, built near the bell tower of Ivan the Great. Previously, there was a Horde courtyard where the khan's governors lived, and such a neighborhood depressed the Kremlin despina. According to legend, the saint himself appeared to Sophia in a dream Nicholas the Wonderworker and ordered to build in that place Orthodox church. Sophia showed herself to be a subtle diplomat: she sent an embassy with rich gifts to the khan’s wife and, telling about the wonderful vision that had appeared to her, asked to give her land in exchange for another - outside the Kremlin. Consent was received, and in 1477 a wooden St. Nicholas Cathedral, later replaced by a stone one and stood until 1817. (Let us recall that the deacon of this church was the pioneer printer Ivan Fedorov). However, historian Ivan Zabelin believed that, on the orders of Sophia Paleologus, another church was built in the Kremlin, consecrated in the name of Saints Cosmas and Damian, which did not survive to this day.

A. Vasnetsov. In the Moscow Kremlin. Watercolor

Legends call Sophia Paleologus the founder Spassky Cathedral, which, however, was rebuilt during the construction of the Terem Palace in the 17th century and began to be called Verkhospassky at the same time - because of its location. Another legend says that Sophia Paleologus brought the temple image of the Savior Not Made by Hands of this cathedral to Moscow. In the 19th century, the artist Sorokin painted an image of the Lord from it for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This image has miraculously survived to this day and is now located in the lower (stylobate) Church of the Transfiguration as its main shrine. It is known that this is the image Savior Not Made by Hands, which her father blessed her with. In the Kremlin Cathedral Spasa na Bor the frame of this image was kept, and on the analogue lay the icon of the All-Merciful Savior, also brought by Sophia. Then all the royal and imperial brides were blessed with this icon. Stayed in the temple miraculous icon"Praise of the Virgin Mary" Let us remember that the Savior Not Made by Hands is considered the very first icon revealed during the earthly life of the Lord, and the most accurate image of the Savior. It was placed on princely banners, under which Russian soldiers went to battle: the image of the Savior signified the vision of Christ in the sky and foreshadowed victory.

Another story is connected with the Church of the Savior on Bor, which was then the cathedral church of the Kremlin Spassky monastery, with the despina, thanks to which the Novospassky Monastery.

Novospassky Monastery in Moscow

After the wedding, the Grand Duke still lived in wooden mansions, which constantly burned in the frequent Moscow fires. One day, Sophia herself had to escape the fire, and she finally asked her husband to build a stone palace. The Emperor decided to please his wife and fulfilled her request. So the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, together with the monastery, was cramped by new palace buildings. And in 1490, Ivan III moved the monastery to the bank of the Moscow River, five miles from the Kremlin. Since then the monastery began to be called Novospassky, and the Cathedral of the Savior on Bor remained an ordinary parish church. Due to the construction of the palace, the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Senya, which was also damaged by the fire, was not restored for a long time. Only when the palace was finally ready (and this happened only under Vasily III) did it have a second floor, and in 1514 the architect Aleviz Fryazin raised the Nativity Church to new level, which is why it is still visible from Mokhovaya Street. Under Sophia, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe and the State Courtyard were built and rebuilt Annunciation Cathedral, Arkhangelsky was completed. The dilapidated walls of the Kremlin were strengthened and eight Kremlin towers, the fortress was surrounded by a system of dams and a huge ditch on Red Square. The defensive structures built by Italian architects withstood the siege of time and enemies. The Kremlin ensemble was completed under the descendants of Ivan and Sofia.

N.K. Roerich. The city is being built

In the 19th century, during excavations in the Kremlin, a bowl with ancient coins minted under the Roman Emperor Tiberius was discovered. According to scientists, these coins were brought by someone from the numerous retinue of Sophia Paleologus, which included natives of both Rome and Constantinople. Many of them took government positions, becoming treasurers, ambassadors, and translators.

Under Sophia, diplomatic ties began to be established with European countries, where the Greeks and Italians who had initially arrived with her were appointed envoys. The candidates were most likely selected not without the participation of the princess. And the first Russian diplomats were strictly punished in their service letters not to drink alcohol while abroad, not to fight among themselves and thereby disgrace their country. The first ambassador to Venice was followed by appointments to a number of European courts. In addition to diplomatic missions, they also carried out other missions. Clerk Fyodor Kuritsyn, ambassador to the Hungarian court, is credited with the authorship of “The Tale of Dracula,” which was very popular in Rus'.

A. Chicheri, the ancestor of Pushkin’s grandmother, Olga Vasilyevna Chicherina, and the famous Soviet diplomat, arrived in Rus' in Despina’s retinue.

Twenty years later, foreign travelers began to call the Moscow Kremlin a “castle” in European style, due to the abundance of stone buildings in it. In the seventies and nineties of the fifteenth century, master money makers, jewelers, doctors, architects, minters, gunsmiths, and various other skilled people, whose knowledge and experience helped the country become a powerful and advanced power, came to Moscow from Italy and then from other countries.

Thus, through the efforts of Ivan III and Sophia, the Paleologus Renaissance flourished on Russian soil.

(To be continued)

Sophia Paleologus (?-1503), wife (from 1472) of Grand Duke Ivan III, niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Paleologus. Arrived in Moscow on November 12, 1472; on the same day, her wedding to Ivan III took place in the Assumption Cathedral. Marriage with Sophia Paleolog contributed to strengthening the prestige of the Russian state in international relations and the authority of the grand ducal power within the country. Special mansions and a courtyard were built for Sophia Paleolog in Moscow. Under Sophia Paleologus, the grand-ducal court was distinguished by its special splendor. Architects were invited from Italy to Moscow to decorate the palace and the capital. The walls and towers of the Kremlin, the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals, the Faceted Chamber, and the Terem Palace were erected. Sofia Paleolog brought a rich library to Moscow. The dynastic marriage of Ivan III with Sophia Paleologus owes its appearance to the rite of royal crowning. The arrival of Sophia Paleologus is associated with the appearance of an ivory throne as part of the dynastic regalia, on the back of which was placed an image of a unicorn, which became one of the most common emblems of Russian state power. Around 1490, the image of a crowned double-headed eagle first appeared on the front portal of the Palace of Facets. The Byzantine concept of the sacredness of imperial power directly influenced Ivan III’s introduction of “theology” (“by God’s grace”) in the title and in the preamble of state charters.

KURBSKY TO GROZNY ABOUT HIS GRANDMOTHER

But the abundance of your Majesty’s malice is such that it destroys not only your friends, but, together with your guardsmen, the entire holy Russian land, a plunderer of houses and a murderer of sons! May God protect you from this and may the Lord, King of Ages, not allow this to happen! After all, even then everything is going as if on the edge of a knife, because if not your sons, then your half-brothers and close brothers by birth, you have overflowed the measure of bloodsuckers - your father and your mother and grandfather. After all, your father and mother - everyone knows how many they killed. In exactly the same way, your grandfather, with your Greek grandmother, having renounced and forgotten love and kinship, killed his wonderful son Ivan, courageous and glorified in heroic enterprises, born of his first wife, Saint Mary, Princess of Tver, as well as his divinely crowned grandson born of him Tsar Demetrius together with his mother, Saint Helena - the first by deadly poison, and the second by many years of imprisonment in prison, and then by strangulation. But he was not satisfied with this!..

MARRIAGE OF IVAN III AND SOFIA PALEOLOGIST

On May 29, 1453, the legendary Constantinople, besieged by the Turkish army, fell. The last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos, died in battle defending Constantinople. His younger brother Thomas Palaiologos, ruler of the small appanage state of Morea on the Peloponnese peninsula, fled with his family to Corfu and then to Rome. After all, Byzantium, hoping to receive military assistance from Europe in the fight against the Turks, signed the Union of Florence in 1439 on the unification of the Churches, and now its rulers could seek asylum from the papal throne. Thomas Paleologus was able to take out greatest shrines Christian world, including the head of the holy Apostle Andrew the First-Called. In gratitude for this, he received a house in Rome and a good boarding house from the papal throne.

In 1465, Thomas died, leaving three children - sons Andrei and Manuel and the youngest daughter Zoya. The exact date of her birth is unknown. It is believed that she was born in 1443 or 1449 in her father's possessions in the Peloponnese, where she received her initial education. The Vatican took upon itself the education of the royal orphans, entrusting them to Cardinal Bessarion of Nicaea. Greek by birth, former Archbishop of Nicaea, he was a zealous supporter of the signing of the Union of Florence, after which he became a cardinal in Rome. He raised Zoe Paleologue in European Catholic traditions and especially taught her to humbly follow the principles of Catholicism in everything, calling her “the beloved daughter of the Roman Church.” Only in this case, he inspired the pupil, will fate give you everything. However, everything turned out quite the opposite.

In February 1469, the ambassador of Cardinal Vissarion arrived in Moscow with a letter to the Grand Duke, in which he was invited to legally marry the daughter of the Despot of Morea. The letter mentioned, among other things, that Sophia (the name Zoya was diplomatically replaced with the Orthodox Sophia) had already refused two crowned suitors who had wooed her - the French king and the Duke of Milan, not wanting to marry a Catholic ruler.

According to the ideas of that time, Sophia was considered an elderly woman, but she was very attractive, with amazingly beautiful, expressive eyes and soft matte skin, which in Rus' was considered a sign of excellent health. And most importantly, she was distinguished by a sharp mind and an article worthy of a Byzantine princess.

The Moscow sovereign accepted the offer. He sent his ambassador, the Italian Gian Battista della Volpe (he was nicknamed Ivan Fryazin in Moscow), to Rome to make a match. The messenger returned a few months later, in November, bringing with him a portrait of the bride. This portrait, which seemed to mark the beginning of the era of Sophia Paleologus in Moscow, is considered the first secular image in Rus'. At least, they were so amazed by it that the chronicler called the portrait an “icon,” without finding another word: “And bring the princess on the icon.”

However, the matchmaking dragged on because Moscow Metropolitan Philip for a long time objected to the sovereign’s marriage to a Uniate woman, who was also a pupil of the papal throne, fearing the spread of Catholic influence in Rus'. Only in January 1472, having received the consent of the hierarch, Ivan III sent an embassy to Rome for the bride. Already on June 1, at the insistence of Cardinal Vissarion, a symbolic betrothal took place in Rome - the engagement of Princess Sophia and the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan, who was represented by the Russian ambassador Ivan Fryazin. That same June, Sophia set off on her journey with an honorary retinue and the papal legate Anthony, who soon had to see firsthand the futility of the hopes Rome placed on this marriage. According to Catholic tradition, a Latin cross was carried at the front of the procession, which caused great confusion and excitement among the residents of Russia. Having learned about this, Metropolitan Philip threatened the Grand Duke: “If you allow the cross in blessed Moscow to be carried before the Latin bishop, then he will enter the only gate, and I, your father, will go out of the city differently.” Ivan III immediately sent the boyar to meet the procession with the order to remove the cross from the sleigh, and the legate had to obey with great displeasure. The princess herself behaved as befits the future ruler of Rus'. Having entered the Pskov land, she first visited an Orthodox church, where she venerated the icons. The legate had to obey here too: follow her to the church, and there venerate the holy icons and venerate the image of the Mother of God by order of despina (from the Greek despot- “ruler”). And then Sophia promised the admiring Pskovites her protection before the Grand Duke.

Ivan III did not intend to fight for the “inheritance” with the Turks, much less accept the Union of Florence. And Sophia had no intention of Catholicizing Rus'. On the contrary, she showed herself to be an active Orthodox Christian. Some historians believe that she did not care what faith she professed. Others suggest that Sophia, apparently raised in childhood by the Athonite elders, opponents of the Union of Florence, was deeply Orthodox at heart. She skillfully hid her faith from the powerful Roman “patrons”, who did not help her homeland, betraying it to the Gentiles for ruin and death. One way or another, this marriage only strengthened Muscovy, contributing to its conversion to the great Third Rome.

Early in the morning of November 12, 1472, Sophia Paleologus arrived in Moscow, where everything was ready for the wedding celebration dedicated to the name day of the Grand Duke - the day of remembrance of St. John Chrysostom. On the same day, in the Kremlin, in a temporary wooden church, erected near the Assumption Cathedral under construction, so as not to stop services, the sovereign married her. The Byzantine princess saw her husband for the first time. The Grand Duke was young - only 32 years old, handsome, tall and stately. His eyes were especially remarkable, “formidable eyes”: when he was angry, women fainted from his terrible gaze. Previously he was distinguished by a tough character, but now, having become related to the Byzantine monarchs, he turned into a formidable and powerful sovereign. This was largely due to his young wife.

The wedding in a wooden church made a strong impression on Sophia Paleolog. The Byzantine princess, raised in Europe, differed in many ways from Russian women. Sophia brought with her her ideas about the court and the power of government, and many of the Moscow orders did not suit her heart. She did not like that her sovereign husband remained a tributary of the Tatar Khan, that the boyar entourage behaved too freely with their sovereign. That the Russian capital, built entirely of wood, stands with patched fortress walls and dilapidated stone churches. That even the sovereign's mansions in the Kremlin are made of wood and that Russian women look at the world from a small window. Sophia Paleolog not only made changes at court. Some Moscow monuments owe their appearance to her.

She brought a generous dowry to Rus'. After the wedding, Ivan III adopted the Byzantine double-headed eagle as a coat of arms - a symbol of royal power, placing it on his seal. The two heads of the eagle face the West and the East, Europe and Asia, symbolizing their unity, as well as the unity (“symphony”) of spiritual and temporal power. Actually, Sophia’s dowry was the legendary “Liberia” - a library allegedly brought on 70 carts (better known as the “library of Ivan the Terrible”). It included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts, among which were unknown to us poems by Homer, works by Aristotle and Plato, and even surviving books from the famous Library of Alexandria. Seeing wooden Moscow, burned after the fire of 1470, Sophia was afraid for the fate of the treasure and for the first time hid the books in the basement of the stone Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary on Senya - the home church of the Moscow Grand Duchesses, built by order of St. Eudokia, the widow. And, according to Moscow custom, she put her own treasury for preservation in the underground of the Kremlin Church of the Nativity of John the Baptist - the very first church in Moscow, which stood until 1847.

According to legend, she brought with her a “bone throne” as a gift to her husband: its wooden frame was entirely covered with plates of ivory and walrus ivory with scenes on biblical themes carved on them. This throne is known to us as the throne of Ivan the Terrible: the king is depicted on it by the sculptor M. Antokolsky. In 1896, the throne was installed in the Assumption Cathedral for the coronation of Nicholas II. But the sovereign ordered it to be staged for Empress Alexandra Feodorovna (according to other sources, for his mother, Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna), and he himself wished to be crowned on the throne of the first Romanov. And now the throne of Ivan the Terrible is the oldest in the Kremlin collection.

Sophia brought with her several Orthodox icons, including, allegedly, a rare icon of the Mother of God “Blessed Heaven”... And even after the wedding of Ivan III, an image of the Byzantine Emperor Michael III, the founder of the Paleologus dynasty, with which the Moscow people became related, appeared in the Archangel Cathedral rulers. Thus, the continuity of Moscow to the Byzantine Empire was established, and the Moscow sovereigns appeared as the heirs of the Byzantine emperors.

The sudden death of Ivan III's first wife, Princess Maria Borisovna, on April 22, 1467, made the Grand Duke of Moscow think about a new marriage. The widowed Grand Duke chose the Greek princess Sophia Paleologus, who lived in Rome and was reputed to be a Catholic. Some historians believe that the idea of ​​the “Roman-Byzantine” marriage union was born in Rome, others give preference to Moscow, and still others to Vilna or Krakow.

Sophia (in Rome they called her Zoe) Palaeologus was the daughter of the Morean despot Thomas Palaeologus and was the niece of Emperors Constantine XI and John VIII. Despina Zoya spent her childhood in Morea and on the island of Corfu. She came to Rome with her brothers Andrei and Manuel after the death of her father in May 1465. The Palaiologos came under the patronage of Cardinal Vissarion, who retained his sympathies for the Greeks. The Patriarch of Constantinople and Cardinal Vissarion tried to renew the union with Russia through marriage.

Yuri the Greek, who arrived in Moscow from Italy on February 11, 1469, brought a certain “leaf” to Ivan III. In this message, the author of which, apparently, was Pope Paul II himself, and the co-author was Cardinal Vissarion, the Grand Duke was informed about the stay in Rome of a noble bride devoted to Orthodoxy, Sophia Paleologus. Dad promised Ivan his support if he wanted to woo her.

In Moscow they did not like to rush in important matters and they pondered over the new news from Rome for about four months. Finally, all thoughts, doubts and preparations were left behind. On January 16, 1472, Moscow ambassadors set off on a long journey.

In Rome, Muscovites were honorably received by the new Pope Sixtus IV. As a gift from Ivan III, the ambassadors presented the pontiff with sixty selected sable skins. From now on, the matter quickly came to an end. A week later, Sixtus IV in St. Peter's Cathedral performs a solemn ceremony of Sophia's betrothal in absentia to the Moscow sovereign.

At the end of June 1472, the bride, accompanied by Moscow ambassadors, the papal legate and a large retinue, went to Moscow. At parting, dad gave her a long audience and his blessing. He ordered that magnificent, crowded meetings be held everywhere for Sophia and her retinue.

Sophia Paleologus arrived in Moscow on November 12, 1472, and her wedding to Ivan III immediately took place. What is the reason for the rush? It turns out that the next day the memory of St. John Chrysostom, the heavenly patron of the Moscow sovereign, was celebrated. From now on, the family happiness of Prince Ivan was given under the protection of the great saint.

Sophia became the full-fledged Grand Duchess of Moscow.

The very fact that Sophia agreed to go from Rome to distant Moscow to seek her fortune suggests that she was a brave, energetic and adventurous woman. In Moscow, she was expected not only by the honors given to the Grand Duchess, but also by the hostility of the local clergy and the heir to the throne. At every step she had to defend her rights.

Ivan, for all his love for luxury, was thrifty to the point of stinginess. He saved on literally everything. Growing up in a completely different environment, Sofia Paleolog, on the contrary, strived to shine and show generosity. This was required by her ambition as a Byzantine princess, niece of the last emperor. In addition, generosity made it possible to make friends among the Moscow nobility.

But the best way to establish oneself was, of course, childbearing. The Grand Duke wanted to have sons. Sophia herself wanted this. However, to the delight of her ill-wishers, she gave birth to three daughters in a row - Elena (1474), Theodosia (1475) and again Elena (1476). Sophia prayed to God and all the saints for the gift of a son.

Finally her request was fulfilled. On the night of March 25-26, 1479, a boy was born, named Vasily in honor of his grandfather. (For his mother, he always remained Gabriel - in honor of the Archangel Gabriel.) Happy parents connected the birth of their son with last year's pilgrimage and fervent prayer at the tomb St. Sergius Radonezhsky in the Trinity Monastery. Sophia said that when approaching the monastery, the great elder himself appeared to her, holding a boy in his arms.

Following Vasily, she gave birth to two more sons (Yuri and Dmitry), then two daughters (Elena and Feodosia), then three more sons (Semyon, Andrei and Boris) and the last, in 1492, daughter Evdokia.

But now the question inevitably arose about the future fate of Vasily and his brothers. The heir to the throne remained the son of Ivan III and Maria Borisovna, Ivan the Young, whose son Dmitry was born on October 10, 1483 in his marriage to Elena Voloshanka. In the event of the death of Derzhavny, he would not hesitate to get rid of Sophia and her family in one way or another. The best they could hope for was exile or exile. At the thought of this, the Greek woman was overcome with rage and impotent despair.

In the winter of 1490, Sophia’s brother, Andrei Paleologus, came to Moscow from Rome. The Moscow ambassadors who had traveled to Italy returned with him. They brought a lot of all kinds of craftsmen to the Kremlin. One of them, the visiting doctor Leon, volunteered to heal Prince Ivan the Young from a leg disease. But when he supplied the prince with jars and gave him his potions (from which he could hardly die), a certain attacker added poison to these potions. On March 7, 1490, 32-year-old Ivan the Young died.

This whole story gave rise to many rumors in Moscow and throughout Rus'. The hostile relationship between Ivan the Young and Sophia Paleolog was well known. The Greek woman did not enjoy the love of Muscovites. It is quite understandable that rumor attributed to her the murder of Ivan the Young. In “The History of the Grand Duke of Moscow,” Prince Kurbsky directly accused Ivan III of poisoning his own son, Ivan the Young. Yes, such a turn of events opened the way to the throne for Sophia’s children. Derzhavny himself found himself in an extremely difficult situation. Probably, in this intrigue, Ivan III, who ordered his son to use the services of a vain doctor, turned out to be only a blind tool in the hands of a cunning Greek woman.

After the death of Ivan the Young, the question of the heir to the throne intensified. There were two candidates: the son of Ivan the Young - Dmitry and the eldest son of Ivan III and Sophia Paleolog - Vasily. The claims of Dmitry the grandson were reinforced by the fact that his father was officially proclaimed Grand Duke - co-ruler of Ivan III and heir to the throne.

The sovereign was faced with a painful choice: to send either his wife and son, or his daughter-in-law and grandson to prison... The murder of a rival has at all times been the usual price of supreme power.

In the fall of 1497, Ivan III leaned towards Dmitry. He ordered that a solemn “crowning to the kingdom” be prepared for his grandson. Having learned about this, supporters of Sophia and Prince Vasily formed a conspiracy that included the murder of Dmitry, as well as Vasily’s flight to Beloozero (from where the road to Novgorod opened before him), and the seizure of the Grand Duke’s treasury stored in Vologda and Beloozero. However, already in December, Ivan arrested all the conspirators, including Vasily.

During the investigation, it became clear that Sophia Paleolog was involved in the conspiracy. It is possible that she was the organizer of the enterprise. Sophia obtained poison and waited for the right opportunity to poison Dmitry.

On Sunday, February 4, 1498, 14-year-old Dmitry was solemnly declared heir to the throne in the Assumption Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin. Sophia Paleologus and her son Vasily were absent from this coronation. It seemed that their cause was completely lost. The courtiers rushed to please Elena Stefanovna and her crowned son. However, the crowd of flatterers soon retreated in bewilderment. The Sovereign never gave Dmitry real power, giving him control over only some northern districts.

Ivan III continued to painfully search for a way out of the dynastic impasse. Now the original plan did not seem successful to him. The sovereign felt sorry for his young sons Vasily, Yuri, Dmitry Zhilka, Semyon, Andrey... And he lived together with Princess Sophia for a quarter of a century... Ivan III understood that sooner or later Sophia’s sons would rebel. There were only two ways to prevent the performance: either destroy the second family, or bequeath the throne to Vasily and destroy the family of Ivan the Young.

This time the Sovereign chose the second path. On March 21, 1499, he “bestowed... his son Prince Vasil Ivanovich, named him Sovereign Grand Duke, gave him Velikiy Novgorod and Pskov as a grand prince.” As a result, three great princes appeared in Rus' at once: father, son and grandson!

On Thursday, February 13, 1500, a magnificent wedding was held in Moscow. Ivan III gave his 14-year-old daughter Theodosia in marriage to Prince Vasily Danilovich Kholmsky, the son of the famous commander and leader of the Tver “compatriots” in Moscow. This marriage contributed to a rapprochement between the children of Sophia Paleolog and the top of the Moscow nobility. Unfortunately, exactly a year later, Theodosia died.

The denouement of the family drama came only two years later. “The same spring (1502) the Great Prince, April 11, on Monday, put disgrace on his grandson Grand Duke Dmitry and his mother, Grand Duchess Elena, and from that day he did not order them to be remembered in litanies and litias, nor named Grand Duke, and put them behind the bailiffs.” Three days later, Ivan III “bestowed his son Vasily, blessed him and placed him in the Grand Duchy of Volodymyr and Moscow and All Rus' as autocrat, with the blessing of Simon, Metropolitan of All Rus'.”

Exactly one year after these events, on April 7, 1503, Sophia Paleologus died. The body of the Grand Duchess was buried in the cathedral of the Kremlin Ascension Monastery. She was buried next to the grave of the Tsar’s first wife, Princess Maria Borisovna of Tver.

Soon the health of Ivan III himself deteriorated. On Thursday, September 21, 1503, he, along with the heir to the throne Vasily and his younger sons, went on a pilgrimage to the northern monasteries. However, the saints were no longer inclined to help the repentant sovereign. Upon returning from the pilgrimage, Ivan was struck by paralysis: “... it took away his arm and leg and eye.”

Ivan III died on October 27, 1505. In the “History” of V.N. Tatishchev there are the following lines: “This blessed and praiseworthy great prince John the Great, formerly named Timothy, added many reigns to the great prince and multiplied his strength, refuted the barbaric wicked power and delivered the entire Russian land of tributary and captivity , and made many tributaries from the Horde, introduced many crafts, which I had never known before, brought love and friendship and brotherhood to many distant sovereigns, glorified the entire Russian land; in all this, his pious wife, Grand Duchess Sophia, helped him; and may they have eternal memory for ever and ever.”

On November 12, 1472, Ivan III married for the second time. This time his chosen one is the Greek princess Sophia, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos.

White stone

Three years after the wedding, Ivan III will begin the arrangement of his residence with the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, which was erected on the site of the dismantled Kalita Church. Whether this will be connected with the new status - the Grand Duke of Moscow will by that time position himself as “the sovereign of all Rus'” - or whether the idea will be “suggested” by his wife Sophia, dissatisfied with the “wretched situation”, it is difficult to say for sure. By 1479, the construction of the new temple will be completed, and its properties will subsequently be transferred to the whole of Moscow, which is still called “white stone”. Large-scale construction will continue. The Annunciation Cathedral will be built on the foundation of the old palace church of the Annunciation. To store the treasury of the Moscow princes, a stone chamber will be built, which will later be called the “Treasury Yard”. Instead of the old wooden mansion, a new stone chamber will be built to receive ambassadors, called the “Embankment”. The Faceted Chamber will be built for official receptions. A large number of churches will be rebuilt and built. As a result, Moscow will completely change its appearance, and the Kremlin will turn from a wooden fortress into a “Western European castle.”

New title

With the appearance of Sophia, a number of researchers associate a new ceremony and a new diplomatic language - complex and strict, prim and strained. Marriage to a noble heiress of the Byzantine emperors will allow Tsar John to position himself as the political and church successor of Byzantium, and the final overthrow of the Horde yoke will make it possible to transfer the status of the Moscow prince to the unattainably high level of national ruler of the entire Russian land. From government acts “Ivan, Sovereign and Grand Duke” leaves and “John, by the grace of God, sovereign of all Rus'” appears. The significance of the new title is complemented by a long list of the boundaries of the Moscow state: “Sovereign of All Rus' and Grand Duke of Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Perm, and Yugorsk, and Bulgarian, and others.”

Divine origin

In his new position, the source of which was partly the marriage with Sophia, Ivan III finds the previous source of power insufficient - succession from his father and grandfather. The idea of ​​the divine origin of power was not alien to the ancestors of the sovereign, however, none of them expressed it so firmly and convincingly. To the proposal of the German Emperor Frederick III to reward Tsar Ivan with a royal title, the latter will answer: “... by the grace of God we are sovereigns on our land from the beginning, from our first ancestors, and we have been appointed by God,” indicating that in the worldly recognition of his power the Moscow prince doesn't need it.

Double headed eagle

To visually illustrate the succession of the fallen house of the Byzantine emperors, a visual expression will be found: from the end of the 15th century, the Byzantine coat of arms - a double-headed eagle - will appear on the royal seal. There are a large number of other versions where the two-headed bird “flew” from, but it is impossible to deny that the symbol appeared during the marriage of Ivan III and the Byzantine heiress.

The best minds

After Sophia’s arrival in Moscow, a fairly impressive group of immigrants from Italy and Greece will form at the Russian court. Subsequently, many foreigners will occupy influential government positions, and will more than once carry out the most important diplomatic government assignments. Ambassadors visited Italy with enviable regularity, but often the list of assigned tasks did not include resolving political issues. They returned with another rich “catch”: architects, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths, whose activities were directed in one direction - to contribute to the prosperity of Moscow. Visiting miners will find silver and copper ore in the Pechora region, and coins will begin to be minted from Russian silver in Moscow. Among the visitors there will be a large number of professional doctors.

Through the eyes of foreigners

During the reign of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus, the first detailed notes by foreigners about Rus' appeared. To some, Muscovy appeared as a wild land in which rude morals reigned. For example, for the death of a patient, a doctor could be beheaded, stabbed, drowned, and when one of the best Italian architects, Aristotle Fioravanti, fearing for his life, asked to return to his homeland, he was deprived of his property and imprisoned. Muscovy was seen differently by travelers, those who did not stay long in the bear region. The Venetian merchant Josaphat Barbaro was amazed at the welfare of Russian cities, “abundant with bread, meat, honey and other useful things" The Italian Ambrogio Cantarini noted the beauty of Russians, both men and women. Another Italian traveler Alberto Campenze, in a report for Pope Clement VII, writes about the excellent border service set up by the Muscovites, the ban on selling alcohol, except holidays, but most of all he is captivated by the morality of Russians. “They consider it a terrible, vile crime to deceive each other,” writes Campenze. – Adultery, violence and public debauchery are also very rare. Unnatural vices are completely unknown, and perjury and blasphemy are completely unheard of.”

New orders

External attributes played a significant role in the rise of the king in the eyes of the people. Sofya Fominichna knew about this from the example of the Byzantine emperors. A magnificent palace ceremony, luxurious royal robes, rich decoration of the courtyard - all this was not present in Moscow. Ivan III, already a powerful sovereign, lived not much more widely and richly than the boyars. Simplicity was heard in the speeches of his closest subjects - some of them, like the Grand Duke, came from Rurik. The husband heard a lot about the court life of the Byzantine autocrats from his wife and from the people who came with her. He probably wanted to become “real” here too. Gradually, new customs began to appear: Ivan Vasilyevich “began to behave majestically”, before the ambassadors he was titled “Tsar”, he received foreign guests with special pomp and solemnity, and as a sign of special mercy he ordered to kiss the Tsar’s hand. A little later, court ranks will appear - bed keeper, nursery keeper, stable keeper, and the sovereign will begin to reward the boyars for their merits.
After a while, Sophia Paleologue will be called an intriguer, she will be accused of the death of Ivan the Young’s stepson and the “unrest” in the state will be justified by her witchcraft. However, this marriage of convenience would last 30 years and would become perhaps one of the most significant marital unions in history.

According to one version, they were hereditary traders of old books - the Ancient Words, according to another - the Ancient Ones, who were related to the imperial dynasties of the Komnenos and Angels. The ancient Egyptians revered the Thracians as the most ancient people on earth, so the Ancient Ones could have a reference to the First Man.

Biography of Sofia

1449, born in Mystras, near Sparta (like Helen of Troy), from the despot of Morea (Peloponnese) - Thomas Palaiologos, brother of the childless Emperor Constantine XI , to whom she was a niece. Birth name - Zoya

1453, fall of Constantinople, Emperor Constantine XI killed. George of Trebizond “the history of the World has come to its end”, Byzantine historian Ducas “We have reached the end of times, we saw a terrible, monstrous thunderstorm breaking out over our heads.” Zoya is four years old, the birth of her brother Andrei

1455, birth of Manuel, Zoya's brother

1460, Morea is captured by the Turks and Zoe, together with her father Thomas, titular emperor of Byzantium, moves to Corfu (Kerkyra). Thomas sends his envoy, George Ralis, to the Pope. In the main church of Kirkira, at the relics of St. Spyridon, the girl Zoya prays for the revival of Byzantium. And these days, the clergy of the temple often changes Spiridon’s shoes, which miraculously wear out, as Spiridon visits all those in need and prays for the Byzantine miracle. During the plague, the Palaiologos family moves to the mountain village of Chlomos

November 1460, Thomas leaves for Rome, he brings the Pope the head of the Apostle Andrew and his cross. The head of the apostle is placed in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican

1462, death of mother in Corfu, arrival of Thomas in Rome. Zoe's mother is buried in Kerkyra in the monastery of the Holy Apostles Jason and Sosipater

1464, Thomas, together with Pope Pius II, blesses the Venetian war galleys against the Turks. The campaign was unsuccessful, but brought to Rimini the remains of the Byzantine philosopher Plitho, following the example of whose academy the Florentine Ficino Academy was created

1465, Thomas summons his sons to Rome and dies in the arms of Cardinal Bessarion. Thomas's body was buried in the crypt of St. Peter's Basilica; during the reconstruction of the cathedral in the 16th century, Thomas's tomb was lost. Zoe and her brothers arrive in Ancona. Andrei Paleolog becomes the heir of Byzantium

1466, the king of Cyprus, Jacques, refused to marry Zoe II de Lusignan

1467, betrothed to Prince Caracciolo, but the marriage did not take place

1469, Ivan Fryazin (Jean Baptiste della Volpe) goes to Rome to woo Zoya for Ivan III

1470, return of Ivan Fryazin to Moscow with a painting of Zoya

June 1, 1472, betrothal from Sophia to Ivan in absentia III and departure to Moscow. According to the testimony of the Bolognese people, Sophia was then about 24x years, according to our version 23. Sofia moved along the route Rome - Viterbo - Siena - Florence - Bologna - Nuremberg - Lubeck - Tallinn (11 days by ship) - Derp (Tartu) - Pskov - Veliky Novgorod - Moscow

November 12, 1472, Sophia’s wedding with Ivan III in the Kremlin, in a temporary church on the site of the Assumption Cathedral. The girl returns to Orthodoxy and from now on she is Sofia. Only Moscow sources call her by this name.

1474, birth of daughter Anna. Died in infancy

1479, birth of Vasily III

Autumn 1480, Sophia's flight, with her children, treasury and archives, from the Mongol horde to Beloozero. Sofia is responsible for the safety of money, books, documents, and shrines.

7 March 1490, heir to John III , one of the leaders of the Westernizing Party, Ivan Molodoy, died. Prince Andrei Kurbsky named the cause of death as the poisoning of the prince by the Greeks (Eurasians) of Sophia Paleologus. False libel.

1492 (7000), expected end of the world according to the Byzantine calendar

1497, the conspiracy of Vladimir Gusev is revealed. Allegedly, the Greek party wanted to kill Dmitry Ivanovich, the son of Ivan the Young. Vasily III and Sofia fall into disgrace. False libel.

1500, resignation of Fyodor Kuritsyn, head of intelligence and leader of the Westerners, who intrigued against Sofia

1502, Dmitry Ivanovich and his mother Elena Voloshanka fell into disgrace. Victory of the Eurasians over the Slavophiles and Westerners. Vasily III - father's co-ruler

April 7, 1503, death of Sophia Palaiologos. She was buried in the grand-ducal tomb of the Ascension Convent in the Kremlin. The buildings of this monastery were dismantled in 1929, and the sarcophagi with the remains of the great duchesses and queens were transported to the basement chamber of the Archangel Cathedral in the Kremlin, where they remain today. This circumstance, as well as the good preservation of Sophia Paleologue’s skeleton, allowed specialists to recreate her appearance.

1594, Ivan Volk, brother of Fyodor Kuritsyn, was executed

1892, the first book about Sophia Paleolog (Pavel Pirling 1840 - 1922)

1929, transfer of the remains of Sophia Paleologus to the Archangel Cathedral

1994 , The study of the remains of Sophia Paleologus began. Her age was determined to be 50-60 years old, and her appearance was also restored; Sergei Nikitin (1950 -) worked on it."The idea of ​​the project that will be discussed, recalls Tatyana Panova, head of the Kremlin’s archaeological department, arose several years ago when I participated in the examination of human remains discovered in the basement of an old Moscow house. In the 1990s, such finds quickly became surrounded by rumors about executions allegedly taking place here by NKVD officers during 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 from the Bureau of Forensic Medicine, who worked with me, suddenly discovered that he and the historian-archaeologist had shared object for research - remains historical figures. So, in 1994, work began in the necropolis of Russian grand duchesses and queens of the 15th - early 18th centuries, which has been preserved since the 1930s in an underground chamber next to the Archangel Cathedral of the Kremlin".“I,” continues Tatyana Panova, “was lucky enough to see the stages of recreating Sophia’s appearance, not yet knowing all the circumstances of her difficult fate. As this woman’s facial features appeared, it became clear how much life situations and illnesses hardened the character of the Grand Duchess. Otherwise and it could not have been - 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 legal heir, Ivan the Young, at the age of 32 from gout is still in doubt. By the way, the Italian Leon, invited by Sophia, took care of the prince’s health and inherited from his mother not only his appearance, which was captured on one of the 16th-century icons - a unique case (the icon can be seen in the exhibition of the State Historical Museum), but also his tough character. Greek blood also showed in Ivan IV the Terrible - he is very similar to his royal grandmother with a Mediterranean type of face. This is clearly visible when you look at sculptural portrait his mother - Grand Duchess Elena Glinskaya."

2005, book by Tatyana Panova (1949 -), who participated in the work with the remains of Despina, about Sophia Paleolog

Environment

I. Family

Father - Thomas Paleologus

Mother - Ekaterina Tsakkariya of Akhai

Sister - Elena Paleolog

Brother - Andrey Paleolog

Brother - Manuel Paleologus

Husband - Ivan III

Daughter - Anna (1474) died in infancy

Daughter - Elena (1475) died in infancy

Daughter - Theodosia (1475 - ?)

Daughter - Elena Ivanovna (1476 - 1513)

Son - Vasily III (1479 - 1533)

Son - Yuri Ivanovich (1480 - 1536)

Son - Dmitry Zhilka (1481 - 1521)

Daughter - Evdokia (1483 - 1513)

Daughter - Elena (1484) died in infancy

Daughter - Theodosia (1485 - 1501)

Son - Simeon Ivanovich (1487 - 1518)

Son - Andrei Staritsky (1490 - 1537)

II. Greeks who arrived in Rus'

Sofia was accompanied by at least 50 Greeks from different clans

Palaiologists

Trachaniotes

Georgy (Yuri)

Dmitry

Ralisa (Ralevs, Larevs)

Dmitry Grek

Manuel

Laskaris (Laskerives)

Fedor

Lazarises (Lazarevs)

Constantine, Prince of Theodoro (Mangupa). Saint Cassian from the Uchem Desert

Kerbushi (Kashkiny)

Carpubus

Atalyk

Armamet

Cicerones (Chicherines)

Athanasius Cicero

Manuils (Manuylovs)

Angels (Angels)

III. Philhellenes (Grecophiles, friends of the Greeks, Eurasians)

IV. Westerners

Fyodor Kuritsyn (- 1504) intelligence chief

Elena Voloshanka (- 1505) wife of Ivan the Young

Ivan the Young (1458 - 1490) son Ivan III

Dmitry (1483 - 1509) grandson Ivan III

Semyon Ryapolovsky, voivode

Ivan Volk (- 1504) brother of Kuritsyn

Ivan Patrikeev (1419 - 1499) palace

V. Slavophiles

VI. Metropolitans of Moscow and All Rus'

Gerontius (1473 - 1489)

Zosima (1490 - 1495)

Simon (1495 - 1511)

Results of activities

1. The crown and titles of the Byzantine Empire, which were traded by Andrei Paleologus (Sophia’s brother), as well as Orthodox relics in the hands of Manuel Paleologus, the second son of Thomas, turned out to be of little significance. Sophia's library, around which the Greek party rallied, on the contrary, allowed the fragile woman to outplay the Westerners and Slavophiles, put Vasily III on the throne and launch Rus' along the Eurasian path. Moscow - Third Rome.

2. John III divided the state into the Palace, the Treasury and the Church. On the side of the Palace were Westerners and Kuritsyn's intelligence, on the side of the Church were Slavophiles and counterintelligence. Sophia, her Byzantines (Eurasians), managed to create a group of guardians of State Secrets around the Treasury (Library, archives..) and subjugate the opposites, seizing them like the Double-Headed Eagle, two birds with one stone, on the coat of arms of the Paleologians.

Books about Sophia Paleolog

1892, Pirling P. Russia and the East. Royal wedding, Ivan III and Sophia Paleologue

1998, Sofia Paleolog. Women of Russia (miniature edition)

2003, Irina Chizhova. Sofia Paleolog

2004, Arsenyeva E.A. Necklace of Discord. Sofia Paleologus and Grand Duke Ivan III

2005, Panova T.D. Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue

2008, Leonardos Georgis. Sofia Palaiologos, from Byzantium to Russia

2014, Gordeeva L.I. Sophia Paleolog. Chronicle of life

2016, Matasova T.A. Sophia Paleolog. ZhZL 1791

2016, Pavlishcheva N. Sofia Paleolog. The first film novel about the first Russian queen

2017, Sorotokina N.M. Sophia Paleolog. Crown of omnipotence

2017, Pearling P. Sophia. Ivan III and Sofia Paleologus. Wisdom and Faithfulness (1892 reprint)

Movie

2016, series "Sofia" (main role - Maria Andreeva)