When Ivan 3 married Sophia paleologist. Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III the Third: a love story, interesting biography facts

Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III Third: love story, Interesting Facts biographies. The recently released series “Sofia” touched upon the previously unexplained topic of the personality of Prince Ivan the Great and his wife Sophia Paleologue. Zoya Paleolog came from a noble Byzantine family. After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, she and her brothers fled to Rome, where they found the protection of the Roman throne. She converted to Catholicism, but remained faithful to Orthodoxy.

Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III the Third: a love story, interesting biographical facts. At this time, Ivan the Third became a widower in Moscow. The prince's wife died, leaving a young heir, Ivan Ivanovich. The Pope's ambassadors went to Muscovy to propose the candidacy of Zoe Paleologus to the sovereign. The marriage took place only three years later. At the time of her marriage, Sofia, who adopted a new name and Orthodoxy in Rus', was 17 years old. The husband was 15 years older than his wife. But despite this young age, Sofia already knew how to show character and completely broke off relations with the Catholic Church, which disappointed the Pope, who was trying to gain influence in Rus'.

Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III the Third: a love story, interesting biographical facts. In Moscow, the Latin woman was received very hostilely; the royal court was against this marriage, but the prince did not heed their persuasion. Historians describe Sofia as very attractive woman, the king liked her as soon as he saw her portrait brought by the ambassadors. Contemporaries describe Ivan handsome man, but the prince had one weakness, inherent in many rulers in Rus'. Ivan the Third loved to drink and often fell asleep right during the feast; the boyars at that moment became quiet and waited for the prince-father to wake up.

Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III the Third: a love story, interesting biographical facts. The relationship between the spouses was always very close, which the boyars did not like, who saw Sofia as a great threat. At court they said that the prince ruled the country “from his bedchamber,” hinting at the omnipresence of his wife. The Emperor often consulted with his wife, and her advice benefited the state. Only Sofia supported, and in some cases directed, Ivan’s decision to stop paying tribute to the Horde. Sofia contributed to the spread of education among the nobles; the princess's library could be compared with the collection of books of European rulers. She supervised the construction of the Assumption Cathedral in the Kremlin; at her request, foreign architects came to Moscow.

Sofia Paleolog and Ivan III the Third: a love story, interesting biographical facts. But the personality of the princess aroused conflicting emotions among her contemporaries; opponents often called her a witch for her passion for drugs and herbs. And many were sure that it was she who contributed to the death of the eldest son of Ivan the Third, the direct heir to the throne, who was allegedly poisoned by a doctor who was invited by Sophia. And after his death, she got rid of his son and daughter-in-law, the Moldavian princess Elena Voloshanka. After which her son Vasily the Third, father of Ivan the Terrible, ascended the throne. How true this could be, one can only guess; in the Middle Ages, this method of fighting for the throne was very common. The historical results of Ivan the Third were colossal. The prince managed to collect and increase Russian lands, tripling the area of ​​the state. Based on the significance of his actions, historians often compare Ivan the Third with Peter. His wife Sofia also played a significant role in this.

Her personality has always worried historians, and opinions about her varied to the contrary: some considered her a witch, others idolized her and called her a saint. Several years ago, director Alexey Andrianov presented his interpretation of the phenomenon of the Grand Duchess in the serial film “Sofia,” which was broadcast on the Rossiya 1 TV channel. We'll figure out what's true and what's in it.

The film novel “Sofia,” which has made its presence known on the wide screen, stands out from other historical domestic films. It covers a distant era that had not even been attempted to be filmed before: the events in the film are dedicated to the beginning of the formation Russian statehood, in particular the marriage of the Great Moscow Prince Ivan III with the last heir to the Byzantine throne.

A little excursion: Zoya (that’s what the girl was named at birth) was proposed as a wife to Ivan III at the age of 14. Pope Sixtus IV himself really hoped for this marriage (he hoped to strengthen Catholicism in Russian lands through marriage). Negotiations continued in total 3 years and were ultimately crowned with success: at the age of 17, Zoya was betrothed in absentia in the Vatican and sent along with her retinue on a journey through Russian lands, which only after inspecting the territories ended with her arrival in the capital. The Pope’s plan, by the way, completely fell apart when the newly minted Byzantine princess was baptized in a short time and received the name Sophia.

The film, of course, does not reflect all historical vicissitudes. In 10 hour-long episodes, the creators tried to contain, in their opinion, the most important of what happened in Rus' at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. It was during this period that, thanks to Ivan III, Rus' finally freed itself from the Tatar-Mongol yoke, the prince began to unite the territories, which ultimately led to the formation of a solid, strong state.

The fateful time became so in many ways thanks to Sofia Paleolog. She, educated and culturally enlightened, did not become a mute addition to the prince, capable only of procreating the family and the princely surname, as was the custom in that distant time. The Grand Duchess had her own opinion on everything and could always voice it, and her husband invariably rated it highly. According to historians, it was probably Sofia who put into Ivan III’s head the idea of ​​uniting the lands under a single center. The princess saw unprecedented power in Rus', believed in its great goal, and, according to the hypothesis of historians, the famous phrase “Moscow is the third Rome” belongs to her.

The niece of the last emperor of Byzantium, Sophia also “gave” Moscow the coat of arms of her dynasty - that same double-headed eagle. It was inherited by the capital as an integral part of its dowry (along with book library, which later became part of the heritage of the great library of Ivan the Terrible). The Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals were designed and created thanks to the Italian Alberti Fioravanti, whom Sofia personally invited to Moscow. In addition, the princess called from Western Europe artists and architects, so that they would ennoble the capital: they would build palaces and erect new temples. It was then that Moscow was decorated with the Kremlin towers, the Terem Palace and the Archangel Cathedral.

Of course, we cannot know what the marriage of Sofia and Ivan III really was like; unfortunately, we can only guess about this (we only know that, according to various hypotheses, they had 9 or 12 children). A serial film is, first of all, an artistic perception and understanding of their relationship; it is, in its own way, the author’s interpretation of the princess’s fate. In the film novel, the love line is brought to the fore, and all other historical vicissitudes seem to be an accompanying background. Of course, the creators do not promise absolute authenticity; it was important for them to make a sensual picture that people will believe in, whose characters will sympathize with, and sincerely worry about their serial fate.

However, the filmmakers paid enormous attention to everything regarding details. In this regard, it is possible and necessary to learn about history in a film: historically accurate sets were created specifically for filming (the decoration of the prince’s palace, the secret offices of the Vatican, even the smallest household items of the era), costumes (of which more than 1000 were made, mostly by hand). For the filming of “Sofia,” consultants and experts were hired so that even the most fastidious and attentive viewer would not have any questions about the film.

In the film novel, Sofia is a beauty. Actress Maria Andreeva - the star of the popular Spiritless - at not quite 30, on the screen (at the date of filming) she really looks 17. But historians have confirmed that in fact Paleologue was not a beauty. However, ideals change not only over centuries, even over decades, and therefore it is difficult for us to talk about it. But the fact that she suffered from excess weight (according to her contemporaries, even critically) cannot be omitted. However, the same historians confirm that Sofia was indeed a very smart and educated woman for her time. Her contemporaries also understood this, and some of them, either out of envy or because of their own ignorance, were sure that Paleologue could only become so smart thanks to connections with dark forces and the devil himself (based on this controversial hypothesis, one federal TV channel even directed the film “The Witch of All Rus'”).

However, Ivan III in reality was also unprepossessing: short, hunchbacked and not distinguished by beauty. But the filmmakers obviously decided that such a character would not evoke a response in the souls of the audience, so the actor for this role was selected from among the country's main heartthrobs, Evgeny Tsyganov.

Apparently, the director wanted to please the eye of the fastidious viewer first of all. In addition, for him, the viewer craving spectacle, they created an atmosphere of real historical action: large-scale battles, massacres, natural disasters, betrayal and court intrigue, and in the center - a beautiful love story of Sophia Palaeologus and Ivan III. The viewer can only stock up on popcorn and enjoy the beauty of a well-filmed romantic story.

Photo: Getty Images, stills from the serial film

Sofia(Zoya) Paleolog- a woman from the family of Byzantine emperors, the Palaiologos, played an outstanding role in the formation of the ideology of the Muscovite kingdom. By Moscow standards of that time, Sophia’s level of education was simply incredibly high. Sophia had a lot of respect for her husband, Ivan III. big influence, which caused discontent among the boyars and clergy. The double-headed eagle - the family coat of arms of the Palaiologan dynasty was accepted by Grand Duke Ivan III as an integral part of the dowry. The double-headed eagle has since become the personal coat of arms of Russian tsars and emperors (not state emblem!) Many historians believe that Sophia was the author of the future state concept of Muscovy: “Moscow is the third Rome.”

Sofia, reconstruction based on the skull.

Zoe's fate was determined by her fall Byzantine Empire. Emperor Constantine died in 1453 during the capture of Constantinople, 7 years later, in 1460, Morea (the medieval name of the Peloponnese peninsula, the possession of Sophia’s father) was captured by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II, Thomas went to the island of Corfu, then to Rome, where he soon died. Zoya and her brothers, 7-year-old Andrei and 5-year-old Manuil, moved to Rome 5 years after their father. There she received the name “Sofia”. The paleologians settled at the court of Pope Sixtus IV (the customer of the Sistine Chapel). To get support, Last year During his life, Thomas converted to Catholicism.
After the death of Thomas on May 12, 1465 (his wife Catherine died a little earlier in the same year), the famous Greek scholar, Cardinal Vissarion of Nicea, a supporter of the union, took charge of his children. His letter has been preserved, in which he gave instructions to the teacher of orphans. From this letter it follows that the pope will continue to allocate 3,600 ecus per year for their maintenance (200 ecus per month for children, their clothes, horses and servants; plus they should have saved for a rainy day, and spent 100 ecus on the maintenance of a modest courtyard ). The courtyard included a doctor, a professor Latin language, professor Greek language, translator and 1-2 priests.

Vissarion of Nicea.

A few words should be said about the deplorable fate of Sophia's brothers. After the death of Thomas, the crown of the Palaiologos was de jure inherited by his son Andrei, who sold it to various European monarchs and died in poverty. During the reign of Bayezid II, the second son, Manuel, returned to Istanbul and threw himself at the mercy of the Sultan. According to some sources, he converted to Islam, started a family and served in the Turkish navy.
In 1466, the Venetian lordship proposed her candidacy as a bride to the Cypriot king Jacques II de Lusignan, but he refused. According to Fr. Pirlinga, the splendor of her name and the glory of her ancestors were a poor bulwark against the Ottoman ships cruising in the waters Mediterranean Sea. Around 1467, Pope Paul II, through Cardinal Vissarion, offered her hand to Prince Caracciolo, a noble Italian rich man. She was solemnly engaged, but the marriage did not take place.
Ivan III was widowed in 1467 - his first wife Maria Borisovna, Princess Tverskaya died, leaving him only son, heir - Ivan the Young.
Sophia's marriage to Ivan III was proposed in 1469 by Pope Paul II, presumably in the hope of increasing influence catholic church to Moscow or, perhaps, the rapprochement of the Catholic and Orthodox churches - to restore the Florentine union of churches. Ivan III's motives were probably related to status, and the recently widowed monarch agreed to marry the Greek princess. The idea of ​​marriage may have originated in the head of Cardinal Vissarion.
Negotiations lasted three years. The Russian chronicle tells: on February 11, 1469, the Greek Yuri arrived in Moscow from Cardinal Vissarion to the Grand Duke with a sheet in which Sophia, the daughter of the Amorite despot Thomas, an “Orthodox Christian” was offered to the Grand Duke as a bride (her conversion to Catholicism was kept silent). Ivan III consulted with his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, and made a positive decision.
In 1469, Ivan Fryazin (Gian Batista della Volpe) was sent to the Roman court to woo Sophia for the Grand Duke. The Sofia Chronicle testifies that a portrait of the bride was sent back to Rus' with Ivan Fryazin, and such secular painting turned out to be an extreme surprise in Moscow - “... and the princess was written on the icon.” (This portrait has not survived, which is very unfortunate, since it was probably painted by a painter in the papal service of the generation of Perugino, Melozzo da Forli and Pedro Berruguete). The Pope received the ambassador with great honor. He asked the Grand Duke to send boyars for the bride. Fryazin went to Rome for the second time on January 16, 1472, and arrived there on May 23.

Victor Muizhel. “Ambassador Ivan Frezin presents Ivan III with a portrait of his bride Sophia Paleolog.”

On June 1, 1472, an absentee betrothal took place in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The deputy of the Grand Duke was Ivan Fryazin. The wife of the ruler of Florence, Lorenzo the Magnificent, Clarice Orsini, and Queen Katarina of Bosnia were present as guests. The father, in addition to gifts, gave the bride a dowry of 6 thousand ducats.
When in 1472 Clarice Orsini and the court poet of her husband Luigi Pulci witnessed a wedding in absentia that took place in the Vatican, the poisonous wit of Pulci, in order to amuse Lorenzo the Magnificent, who remained in Florence, sent him a report about this event and the appearance of the bride:
“We entered a room where a painted doll was sitting in a chair on a high platform. She had two huge Turkish pearls on her chest, a double chin, thick cheeks, her whole face was shiny with fat, her eyes were open like bowls, and around her eyes there were such ridges of fat and meat, like high dams on the Po. The legs are also far from thin, and so are all the other parts of the body - I have never seen such a funny and disgusting person as this fairground cracker. All day long she chatted incessantly through an interpreter - this time it was her brother, the same thick-legged cudgel. Your wife, as if under a spell, saw a beauty in this monster in female form, and the translator’s speeches clearly gave her pleasure. One of our companions even admired the painted lips of this doll and thought that it spits amazingly gracefully. All day long, until the evening, she chatted in Greek, but we were not given food or drink in either Greek, Latin, or Italian. However, she somehow managed to explain to Donna Clarice that she was wearing a tight and bad dress, although the dress was made of rich silk and cut from at least six pieces of material, so that they could cover the dome of Santa Maria Rotunda. Since then, every night I dream of mountains of oil, grease, lard, rags and other similar disgusting things.”
According to the Bolognese chroniclers, who described the passage of her procession through the city, she was short in stature, had very beautiful eyes and amazingly white skin. They looked like she was 24 years old.
On June 24, 1472, a large convoy of Sofia Paleologus, together with Fryazin, left Rome. The bride was accompanied by Cardinal Vissarion of Nicea, who was supposed to realize the emerging opportunities for the Holy See. Legend has it that Sofia's dowry included books that would form the basis of the collection of the famous library of Ivan the Terrible.
Sophia's retinue: Yuri Trakhaniot, Dmitry Trakhaniot, Prince Constantine, Dmitry (the ambassador of her brothers), St. Cassian the Greek. And also the papal legate, the Genoese Anthony Bonumbre, Bishop of Accia (his chronicles are mistakenly called a cardinal). The nephew of diplomat Ivan Fryazin, architect Anton Fryazin, also arrived with her.

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.
The travel route was as follows: north from Italy through Germany, they arrived at the port of Lubeck on September 1. (They had to go around Poland, through which travelers usually followed to Muscovy by land - at that moment it was in a state of conflict with Ivan III). The sea journey through the Baltic took 11 days. The ship landed in Kolyvan (modern Tallinn), from where the motorcade in October 1472 proceeded through Yuryev (modern Tartu), Pskov and Novgorod. On November 12, 1472, Sofia entered Moscow.
Even during the bride's journey, it became obvious that the Vatican's plans to make her a conductor of Catholicism had failed, since Sophia immediately demonstrated a return to the faith of her ancestors. The papal legate Anthony was deprived of the opportunity to enter Moscow, carrying the Latin cross in front of him.
The wedding in Russia took place on November 12 (21), 1472 in the Assumption Cathedral in Moscow. They were married by Metropolitan Philip (according to the Sophia Vremennik - Kolomna archpriest Hosea).
Sofia's family life, apparently, was successful, as evidenced by her numerous offspring.
Special mansions and a courtyard were built for her in Moscow, but they soon burned down in 1493, and during the fire the Grand Duchess’s treasury was also destroyed.
Tatishchev reports evidence that allegedly, thanks to the intervention of Sophia, Ivan III decided to confront Khan Akhmat (Ivan III was already an ally and tributary of the Crimean Khan at that time). When Khan Akhmat’s demand for tribute was discussed at the council of the Grand Duke, and many said that it was better to pacify the wicked with gifts than to shed blood, it was as if Sophia burst into tears and with reproaches persuaded her husband not to pay tribute to the Great Horde.
Before the invasion of Akhmat in 1480, for the sake of safety, with her children, court, noblewomen and princely treasury, Sofia was sent first to Dmitrov, and then to Beloozero; if Akhmat crossed the Oka and took Moscow, she was told to flee further north to the sea. This gave Vissarion, the ruler of Rostov, a reason to warn the Grand Duke against constant thoughts and excessive attachment to his wife and children in his message. One of the chronicles notes that Ivan panicked: “he was horrified and wanted to run away from the shore, and sent his Grand Duchess Roman and the treasury with her to Beloozero.”
The family returned to Moscow only in winter.
Over time, the Grand Duke's second marriage became one of the sources of tension at court. Soon enough, two groups of the court nobility emerged, one of which supported the heir to the throne - Ivan Ivanovich the Young (son from his first marriage), and the second - the new Grand Duchess Sophia Paleologue. In 1476, the Venetian A. Contarini noted that the heir “is in disgrace with his father, since he behaves badly with his despina” (Sophia), but already from 1477 Ivan Ivanovich was mentioned as his father’s co-ruler.
In subsequent years, the grand ducal family grew significantly: Sophia gave birth to the grand duke a total of nine children - five sons and four daughters.
Meanwhile, in January 1483, the heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich the Young, also married. His wife was the daughter of the ruler of Moldova, Stephen the Great, Elena Voloshanka, who immediately found herself at odds with her mother-in-law. On October 10, 1483, their son Dmitry was born. After the capture of Tver in 1485, Ivan the Young was appointed Prince of Tver by his father; in one of the sources of this period, Ivan III and Ivan the Young are called “autocrats”. Thus, throughout the 1480s, Ivan Ivanovich’s position as the legal heir was quite strong.
The position of the supporters of Sophia Paleologus was much less favorable. However, by 1490 new circumstances came into play. The son of the Grand Duke, heir to the throne, Ivan Ivanovich, fell ill with “kamchyuga in the legs” (gout). Sophia ordered a doctor from Venice - “Mistro Leon”, who arrogantly promised Ivan III to cure the heir to the throne; however, all the doctor’s efforts were fruitless, and on March 7, 1490, Ivan the Young died. The doctor was executed, and rumors spread throughout Moscow about the poisoning of the heir; a hundred years later, these rumors, now as undeniable facts, were recorded by Andrei Kurbsky. Modern historians regard the hypothesis of the poisoning of Ivan the Young as unverifiable due to a lack of sources.
On February 4, 1498, the coronation of Prince Dmitry took place in the Assumption Cathedral in an atmosphere of great pomp. Sophia and her son Vasily were not invited. However, on April 11, 1502, the dynastic battle came to its logical conclusion. According to the chronicle, Ivan III “put disgrace on his grandson, Grand Duke Dmitry, and on his mother, Grand Duchess Elena, and from that day on he did not order them to be remembered in litanies and litias, or named Grand Duke, and put them behind bailiffs.” A few days later, Vasily Ivanovich was granted a great reign; Soon Dmitry the grandson and his mother Elena Voloshanka were transferred from house arrest to captivity. Thus, the struggle within the grand ducal family ended with the victory of Prince Vasily; he became his father's co-ruler and legal heir to the Grand Duchy. The fall of Dmitry the grandson and his mother also predetermined the fate of the Moscow-Novgorod reform movement in Orthodox Church: church council 1503 finally defeated it; many prominent and progressive figures of this movement were executed. As for the fate of those who lost the dynastic struggle themselves, it was sad: on January 18, 1505, Elena Stefanovna died in captivity, and in 1509, “in need, in prison,” Dmitry himself died. “Some believe that he died from hunger and cold, others that he suffocated from smoke,” Herberstein reported about his death. But the worst thing awaited the country ahead - the reign of the grandson of Sophia Paleologus - Ivan the Terrible.
The Byzantine princess was not popular; she was considered smart, but proud, cunning and treacherous. The hostility towards her was even reflected in the chronicles: for example, regarding her return from Beloozero, the chronicler notes: “Grand Duchess Sophia... ran from the Tatars to Beloozero, but no one chased her away; and through which countries she walked, especially the Tatars - from the boyar slaves, from the Christian bloodsuckers. Reward them, O Lord, according to their deeds and the wickedness of their undertakings.”

The disgraced Duma man of Vasily III, Bersen Beklemishev, in a conversation with Maxim the Greek, spoke about it like this: “our land lived in silence and in peace. Just as the mother of the Grand Duke Sophia came here with your Greeks, so our land was confused and great unrest came to us, just like you did in Constantinople under your kings.” Maxim objected: “Sir, Grand Duchess Sophia was from a great family on both sides: on her father - the royal family, and on her mother - the Grand Duke of the Italian side.” Bersen replied: “Whatever it is; Yes, it has come to our discord.” This disorder, according to Bersen, was reflected in the fact that from that time “the great prince changed the old customs,” “now our Sovereign, having locked himself in the third place at his bedside, does all sorts of things.”
Prince Andrei Kurbsky is especially strict towards Sofia. He is convinced that “the devil instilled evil morals into the good family of Russian princes, especially through their evil wives and sorcerers, just as among the kings of Israel, especially those whom they stole from foreigners”; accuses Sophia of poisoning young John, the death of Elena, the imprisonment of Dmitry, Prince Andrei Uglitsky and other persons, contemptuously calls her a Greek, a Greek “sorceress”.
The Trinity-Sergius Monastery houses a silk shroud sewn by the hands of Sophia in 1498; her name is embroidered on the shroud, and she calls herself not the Grand Duchess of Moscow, but “the princess of Tsaregorod.” Apparently, she highly valued her former title if she remembers it even after 26 years of marriage.

Shroud from the Trinity-Sergius Lavra embroidered by Sophia Paleolog.

There are different versions regarding the role of Sophia Paleologus in the history of the Russian state:
Artists and architects were called from Western Europe to decorate the palace and capital. New temples and new palaces were erected. The Italian Alberti (Aristotle) ​​Fioraventi built the Assumption and Annunciation Cathedrals. Moscow was decorated with the Faceted Chamber, the Kremlin towers, the Terem Palace, and finally the Archangel Cathedral was built.
For the sake of the marriage of her son Vasily III, she introduced a Byzantine custom - a viewing of brides.
Considered the ancestor of the Moscow-Third Rome concept
Sophia died on April 7, 1503, two years before the death of her husband (he died on October 27, 1505).
She was buried in a massive white stone sarcophagus in the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral in the Kremlin next to the grave of Maria Borisovna, the first wife of Ivan III. “Sophia” is scratched on the lid of the sarcophagus with a sharp instrument.
This cathedral was destroyed in 1929, and the remains of Sophia, like other women of the reigning house, were transferred to the underground chamber of the southern extension of the Archangel Cathedral.

Transfer of the remains of the Grand Duchesses and Queens before the destruction of the Ascension Monastery, 1929.

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The unusually rapid successes of Grand Duke Ivan III in collecting Russian lands were accompanied by significant changes in Moscow court life. The first wife of Ivan III, Princess Maria Borisovna of Tver, died early, in 1467, when Ivan was not yet 30 years old. After her, Ivan left behind a son - Prince Ivan Ivanovich “Young”, as he was usually called. At that time, relations between Moscow and Western countries. By various reasons The Pope was interested in establishing relations with Moscow and subordinating it to his influence. It was the pope who suggested arranging the marriage of the young Moscow prince with the niece of the last Emperor of Constantinople, Zoe-Sophia Palaeologus. After the capture of Constantinople by the Turks (1453), the brother of the murdered Emperor Constantine Palaeologus, named Thomas, fled with his family to Italy and died there, leaving the children in the care of the pope. The children were raised in the spirit of the Union of Florence, and the pope had reason to hope that by marrying Sophia to the Prince of Moscow, he would have the opportunity to introduce the union to Moscow. Ivan III agreed to start matchmaking and sent ambassadors to Italy to pick up his bride. In 1472 she arrived in Moscow, and the marriage took place. However, the pope’s hopes were not destined to come true: the papal legate accompanying Sophia did not have any success in Moscow; Sophia herself did not contribute in any way to the triumph of the union, and thus the marriage of the Moscow prince did not entail any visible consequences for Europe and Catholicism. But it had some consequences for the Moscow court.

Ivan III's wife Sophia Paleolog. Reconstruction based on the skull of S. A. Nikitin

Firstly, he contributed to the revitalization and strengthening of Moscow’s relations with the West, and with Italy in particular, that were emerging in that era. Together with Sophia, Greeks and Italians arrived in Moscow; they came later too. The Grand Duke kept them as “masters”, entrusting them with the construction of fortresses, churches and chambers, casting cannons, and minting coins. Sometimes these masters were entrusted with diplomatic affairs, and they traveled to Italy with instructions from the Grand Duke. Traveling Italians in Moscow were called by the common name “Fryazin” (from “fryag”, “franc”); thus, Ivan Fryazin, Mark Fryazin, Antony Fryazin, etc. acted in Moscow. Of the Italian masters, the architect Aristotle Fioravanti, who built the famous Assumption Cathedral and the Chamber of Facets in the Moscow Kremlin, was especially famous.

Assumption Cathedral in the Moscow Kremlin

In general, through the efforts of the Italians, under Ivan III, the Kremlin was equipped and decorated anew. Along with the “Fryazhsky” craftsmen, German craftsmen also worked for Ivan III, although in his time they did not play a leading role; Only “German” doctors were issued. In addition to the masters, foreign guests (for example, Sophia’s Greek relatives) and ambassadors from Western European sovereigns appeared in Moscow. (By the way, the embassy from the Roman emperor offered Ivan III the title of king, which Ivan refused.) To receive guests and ambassadors at the Moscow court, a certain “rite” (ceremonial) was developed, completely different from the order that was previously observed when receiving Tatar embassies. And in general, the order of court life under new circumstances changed, became more complex and more ceremonious.

A. Vasnetsov. Moscow Kremlin under Ivan III

Secondly, Moscow people attributed the appearance of Sophia in Moscow big changes in the character of Ivan III and the confusion in the princely family. They said that when Sophia came with the Greeks, the earth was confused and great unrest came. The Grand Duke changed his behavior with those around him: he began to behave less simply and easily as before, he demanded signs of respect for himself, he became demanding and was easily scorched (inflicted disfavor) on the boyars. He began to discover a new, unusually high idea of ​​his power. Having married a Greek princess, he seemed to consider himself the successor of the disappeared Greek emperors and hinted at this succession by adopting the Byzantine coat of arms - the double-headed eagle.

Moscow coat of arms at the end of the 15th century

In a word, after his marriage to Sophia, Ivan III showed great lust for power, which the Grand Duchess herself later experienced. At the end of his life, Ivan completely quarreled with Sophia and alienated her from himself. Their quarrel occurred over the issue of succession to the throne. Ivan III's son from his first marriage, Ivan the Young, died in 1490, leaving the Grand Duke with a small grandson, Dmitry. But the Grand Duke had another son from his marriage with Sophia - Vasily. Who should inherit the Moscow throne: grandson Dmitry or son Vasily? First, Ivan III decided the case in favor of Dmitry and at the same time brought his disgrace on Sophia and Vasily. During his lifetime, he crowned Dmitry to the kingdom (precisely on kingdom , and not for a great reign). But a year later the relationship changed: Dmitry was removed, and Sophia and Vasily again fell into favor. Vasily received the title of Grand Duke and became his father's co-ruler. During these changes, the courtiers of Ivan III endured: with Sophia’s disgrace, her entourage fell into disgrace, and several people were even executed; With disgrace against Dmitry, the Grand Duke also launched a persecution against some boyars and executed one of them.

Remembering everything that happened at the court of Ivan III after his marriage to Sophia, Moscow people condemned Sophia and considered her influence on her husband more harmful than useful. They attributed to her the fall of old customs and various novelties in Moscow life, as well as the damage to the character of her husband and son, who became powerful and formidable monarchs. However, one should not exaggerate the importance of Sophia’s personality: even if she had not been at the Moscow court at all, all the same, the Moscow Grand Duke would have realized his strength and sovereignty, and relations with the West would have started anyway. The entire course of Moscow history led to this, due to which the Moscow Grand Duke became the sole sovereign of the powerful Great Russian nation and a neighbor of several European states.