Anna Diogenissa

Anna Diogenissa (ca. 1074–1145) was a Byzantine noblewoman of the Diogenes house who became the Grand Princess consort of Serbia as wife of Uroš I Vukanović (r. 1112–1145). She had five children with Uroš I, including the successor, Uroš II (r. 1145-1162).

Family and marriage

Anna Diogenissa was born in the Byzantine capital Constantinople sometime before or, at the latest, nine months after the death of her father Constantine Diogenes at Antioch in 1074.^[1] Her mother was Theodora Komnene, a daughter of the powerful noblewoman Anna Dalassena and John Komnenos, and hence sister to the future emperor Alexios I Komnenos (r. 1081–1118).^[1] Her paternal grandparents were Romanos IV Diogenes (r. 1068–1071) and Anna of Bulgaria.

It is not recorded when Anna married Uroš I, the Serbian Grand Prince, who reigned from ca. 1112 to 1145. It most likely took place during Uroš' captivity in Byzantium, where he had been sent as a hostage by his uncle Vukan following the capture of Lipljan in 1094 by the troops of Alexios I Komnenos. Uroš is credited with having unified most of the Serbian territories after retaking them from Byzantine occupation. Rascia was the first independent state of the Serbs which had been formed in the 8th century.

Together they had at least five children:

• Uroš II, Serbian Grand Prince (d. after 1161)
• Desa (d. after 1166), married and had one daughter
• Beloš, married and had one daughter
• Jelena (d. after 1146), married King Béla II of Hungary, by whom she had five children.
• Marija, married Conrad II, Grand Duke of Znojmo, mother of Helen of Znojmo

Possible child of Anna and Uroš:

• Zavida, Lord of Ribnica^[1]

There is not much information in the available sources on the life of Anna Diogenissa, and this lack includes the date of her death. Charles Cawley in his Medieval Lands derived what little information he has from Europäische Stammtafeln.

Maria	Helena

See also

• List of Serbian consorts

References