Andronikos III Palaiologos - Family

Family

Andronikos III was first married, in 1318, with Irene of Brunswick, daughter of Henry I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg; she died in 1324. They had an unnamed son, who died shortly after birth in 1321.

Andronikos III married as his second wife, in 1326, with Anna of Savoy. She was a daughter of Count Amadeus V, Count of Savoy and his second wife Maria of Brabant. They had several children, including:

  • John V Palaiologos
  • Michael Palaiologos, despotes
  • Maria (renamed Eirene), who married Emperor Michael Asen IV of Bulgaria
  • Eirene Palaiologos (renamed Maria), who married Francesco I of Lesbos

According to Nicephorus Gregoras, Andronikos also had an illegitimate daughter, Irene Palaiologina of Trebizond. She married Basil of Trebizond and took over the throne of the Empire of Trebizond from 1340 to 1341. The Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople (1983) by Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza adds a second illegitimate daughter of Andronikos, converting to Islam under the name Bayalun. She was reportedly one of several wives of Uzbeg Khan of the Golden Horde. This daughter is not included in the older Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten (1978) by Detlev Schwennicke and her existence may reflect Sturdza's own theories.

Read more about this topic:  Andronikos III Palaiologos

Famous quotes containing the word family:

    It seems to me that upbringings have themes. The parents set the theme, either explicitly or implicitly, and the children pick it up, sometimes accurately and sometimes not so accurately.... The theme may be “Our family has a distinguished heritage that you must live up to” or “No matter what happens, we are fortunate to be together in this lovely corner of the earth” or “We have worked hard so that you can have the opportunities we didn’t have.”
    Calvin Trillin (20th century)

    All happy families resemble one another, but each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
    Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910)

    One banquet in a rich family could feed a poor man’s family for half a year.
    Chinese proverb.