Maria Megale Komnene (Greek: Μαρία Κομνηνή), known as Maria of Trebizond (Greek: Μαρία της Τραπεζούντας) (died 17 December 1439) was the third wife of John VIII Palaiologos. She was the last Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire.
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She was a daughter of Alexios IV of Trebizond and Theodora Kantakouzene. Her maternal grandparents were Theodore Kantakouzenos and Euphrosyne Palaiologina.
The parentage of Theodore is not known with certainty. His eldest known son was named Demetrios. Since the eldest sons of Byzantine nobles were typically named after their grandfathers, genealogists have suggested Theodore was son of a senior Demetrios Kantakouzenos. Demetrios I Kantakouzenos, Despot of Morea has been suggested but the identification is speculative.[1]
In September, 1427, Maria married John VIII Palaiologos. The marriage was recorded in the history of Doukas. George Sphrantzes places it in year 6936 of the Byzantine calendar and thus establishes the date.
John VIII had previously married twice. His first wife Anna of Moscow had died in 1417. His second marriage to Sophia of Montferrat had been dissolved in 1426. John remained childless and pursued the marriage in hopes of gaining heirs of his own. The marriage lasted twelve years but resulted in no children. Sphrantzes records the date of her death. Steven Runciman attributed the death to bubonic plague.
John never remarried and died childless on 31 October 1448. He was succeeded by his younger brother Constantine XI. Constantine was a widower when succeeding to the throne and never married again. His reign ended with the Fall of Constantinople (29 May 1453) and with it the end of the Empire, leaving Maria the last Empress.
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Maria of Trebizond
Born: ? Died: 1439 |
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| Preceded by Sophia of Montferrat |
Byzantine Empress consort 1427–1439 |
Last empress to death |