"Smiltsena" Palaiologina

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smiltsena_Palaiologina

Smiltsena Palaiologina

Smiltsena (Bulgarian: Смилцена) was the niece of Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, and empress-consort (tsaritsa) of Tsar Smilets of Bulgaria.

Smiltsena was the daughter of sebastocrator Constantine Palaiologos, who was a half-brother of Emperror Michael VIII Palaiologos, and his wife Irene Komnene Laskarina Branaina. In the histories she was called just Smiltsena (Bulgarian: the wife of Smilets), without a name being given.

Family

She married Smilets, who is credited with being descended "from the noblest family of the Bulgarians". The family held extensive lands between the Balkan mountains and the Sredna Gora. They had three children:

• Marina (died 7 April 1355)
• Theodora (died 22 December 1320)
• Ivan

Smilets ascended the throne of Bulgaria in 1292 and the new tsaritsa moved from her husband's provincial residence into the royal palace in Tarnovo. Tsar Smilets died in 1298 and was succeeded by his son Ivan II. Smiltsena Palaiologina took over the government as tsarina-regent, because Ivan was still a child when he ascended the throne. The widowed empress apparently defeated Smilets' brothers Radoslav and Voysil (Vojsil), who sought refuge in the Byzantine Empire and entered into Byzantine service. To meet this threat and the invasion of the Mongol prince Chaka, Smiltsena sought an alliance with Aldimir (Eltimir), the brother of the former ruler George Terter I, who had been deposed by her husband. Aldimir was accordingly married to Smiletsena's daughter Marina and, if this had not happened earlier, the widowed empress granted him the title of despotēs and invested him with an extensive landholding around Kran. In 1299 Smiltsena attempted unsuccessfully to make an alliance with King Stefan Milutin to the exclusion of the latter's projected alignment with the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. She arranged a marriage between her daughter Theodora and Stefan Dečanski of Serbia, the eldest son of King Stefan Milutin. Smiltsena even madе a proposal of marriage to Stefan Milutin, and offered him Bulgaria as dowry, but he refused. Smiltsena was unable to strengthen her position, and abandoned Tarnovo to Chaka, who installed himself as emperor in 1299. Smiltsena, Ivan II and their retinue settled in the possessions of Aldimir, where they may have remained even after the accession of Aldimir's nephew Theodore Svetoslav to the throne in 1300. Soon Aldimir entered into an alliance with Theodore Svetoslav and his own possessions around Kran were enlarged. Аs result Smiltsena and Ivan II were asked to leave Kran and they fled to Constantinople, where they were welcomed into the Byzantine court. In the Byzantine capital Smiltsena continued to play an active role in politics. In 1305 Aldemir appears to have entered into negotiations with the Byzantines against his nephew and Smiltsena was negotiating with the Byzantine government in Constantinople on behalf of either Aldimir or her son, but with Aldimir's subjugation by Theodore Svetoslav in the same year, she disappears into obscurity.

-http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTIUM%2012611453.htm#Palaiologi...

d) --- Palaiologina (-after [1306]). Pachymeres records that "Smiltzæ" married "neptem ex fratre suam…ex sebastocratore nata Constantino"[70]. She attempted to maintain power in the name of her infant son in 1298 after the death of her husband. She offered to marry Milutin King of Serbia in return for his support[71]. She was expelled by Chaka the Tatar, who installed himself as Tsar in Bulgaria in 1299, and eventually returned to Constantinople[72]. Pachymeres records that "quæ uxor olim Smiltzæ fuerat" returned to Constantinople, dateable to 1306 from the context[73].

m (1292) as his second wife, SMILEC Tsar of the Bulgarians, son of --- (-1298).