People of the Second Bulgarian Empire

r. 1185–1197

Together with his brother Asen I he led the 1185 uprising against Byzantium that founded the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Crowned tsar under the name Peter.

r. 1190–1196

A leader of the 1185 uprising and founder of the Asen dynasty. Murdered in 1196 by the boyar Ivanko. Father of the future tsar Ivan Asen II.

„the Roman-slayer”

r. 1197–1207

The youngest of the three Asen brothers. Crushed the Latins at Adrianople (1205), capturing Emperor Baldwin I. Killed during the siege of Thessaloniki in 1207.

r. 1207–1218

Nephew of Kaloyan; seized the throne after his death, displacing the underage sons of Asen I. Overthrown in 1218 by Ivan Asen II.

„the Great”

r. 1218–1241

The most powerful ruler of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. After the victory at Klokotnitsa (1230) he destroyed Theodore Komnenos and extended his power from Adrianople to Durrës. First married the Hungarian princess Anna-Maria, then Irene Komnene.

r. 1241–1246

Underage son of Ivan Asen II and Anna-Maria of Hungary. Took the throne at age seven under a regency. Died in 1246 under unclear circumstances.

r. 1246–1256

Son of Ivan Asen II by Irene Komnene. Acceded as a minor; during his reign Bulgaria lost territory in the wars with Nicaea. Murdered in 1256 by his cousin Kaliman.

r. 1256–1256

Son of sebastokrator Alexander (brother of Ivan Asen II). Murdered his cousin Michael II Asen and seized the throne, but was deposed and killed within months.

r. 1256–1257

Son-in-law of Ivan Asen II through his marriage to the latter's daughter Maria. Pushed out by Constantine Tih, he withdrew to Byzantine domains; his son Ivan Asen III later briefly seized the throne.

„Tih”

r. 1257–1277

A boyar of Serbian descent, elected tsar in 1257; he took the name Asen to tie himself to the dynasty through his marriage to Irene Laskarina. Killed in battle against the rebel Ivailo in 1277.

~1226–?

Daughter of Ivan Asen II and Irene Komnene, married to the Nicaean emperor Theodore II Laskaris. Mother of Irene Laskarina, a future Bulgarian tsaritsa.

~1240–?

Daughter of Ivan Asen II and Irene Komnene, wife of tsar Mitso Asen and mother of Ivan Asen III — the link through which Mitso's branch claimed the throne.

Brother of Ivan Asen II, holder of the high title of sebastokrator. Father of the short-lived tsar Kaliman Asen II.

„mother of Boril and Strez”

An unnamed sister of the first three Asens — Ivan I Asen, Peter and Kaloyan — and mother of tsar Boril and the sebastokrator Strez. The link through which Boril and Strez belong to the imperial house.

„mother of Alexius Slav”

An unnamed sister of Ivan I Asen, Peter and Kaloyan and mother of despot Alexius Slav.

An illegitimate son of tsar Kaloyan. As a child he was sent to Rome at the time of the union with Pope Innocent III; his name, unusual for a Bulgarian, puzzles the sources.

A nephew of the first Asens (son of one of their sisters) and first cousin of Boril and Strez. An independent lord in the Rhodopes centred on Melnik; recognised as despot by the Latin emperor Henri (Erik), whose daughter he married.

?–1214

Brother of tsar Boril and first cousin of Alexius Slav. An independent lord of the fortress of Prosek in the Vardar valley; after his reconciliation with Boril he received the dignity of sebastokrator.

The eldest daughter of Ivan Asen II (by his early marriage to Anna, later the nun Anisia). Married to the Thessalonican despot Manuel Angelos Komnenos Doukas; returned to Tarnovo around 1237.

A daughter of Ivan Asen II, named among the imperial daughters in the Synodikon of Boril. According to Akropolites she was considered as a wife for Michael Palaiologos (the future emperor Michael VIII), but the marriage did not take place.

A daughter of Ivan Asen II, married (before 15 June 1253) to the sebastokrator Peter — an influential magnate who took at the Tarnovo court the place of the dowager tsaritsa Irene.

Son of Tsar Konstantin Tih Asen and Maria Palaiologina Kantakouzene (born c. 1272). Proclaimed co-emperor while still a child. In 1279 he was sent with his mother to Constantinople; in 1300 part of the Tarnovo nobility called for him as tsar against Theodore Svetoslav, but his bid came to nothing.

Daughter of tsar Mitso and Maria (daughter of Ivan Asen II) and sister of Ivan Asen III. For the sake of her Asen kinship George Terter I set aside his first wife and married her, gaining imperial legitimacy; she was later sent to Byzantium.

r. 1280–1292

A boyar of Cuman origin, founder of the Terter dynasty. Took the throne after Ivan Asen III fled. Forced to acknowledge Tatar overlordship; abdicated in 1292.

r. 1300–1321

Son of George Terter I. Restored the throne to the Terter dynasty, freed Bulgaria from Tatar dependence and stabilised the state. Married Theodora Palaiologina, daughter of the Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX.

r. 1321–1322

Son of Theodore Svetoslav, the last ruler of the Terter dynasty. Reigned barely a year and died childless in 1322, extinguishing the dynasty.

„despot of Kran”

Brother of tsar George I Terter and uncle of Theodore Svetoslav. Returning from Tatar exile, he married a daughter of tsar Smilets around 1298 and received the region of Kran as her dowry — the beginning of the despotate of Kran. After Smilets' death he governed with his mother-in-law in the name of the under-age Ivan. He later came to terms with Theodore Svetoslav and acknowledged Tarnovo's overlordship; in 1302 he defeated and blinded the sebastokrator Radoslav, who was advancing with a Byzantine force.

r. 1292–1298

A boyar raised to the throne with the backing of the Tatar ruler Nogai after George Terter I's abdication. Ruled as a Tatar vassal until his death in 1298.

„wife of Stefan Uros III Decanski”

Daughter of tsar Smilets. In 1298 she was married to the Serbian heir Stefan Uros III Decanski, newly returned from Tatar hostageship — her father's most independent act of foreign policy. A late Serbian chronicle claims the marriage sealed a reconciliation after a war in which king Milutin defeated Smilets, but the account is late and uncorroborated. Bozhilov dates the marriage to c. 1309-1310; the 1298 dating of the History of Bulgaria 7th-14th c. is followed here.

„wife of despot Aldemir”

An unnamed daughter of tsar Smilets. By 1298 she was married to despot Aldemir (Eltimir), brother of George I Terter, who received the region of Kran as her dowry — the origin of the despotate of Kran. Theodore Metochites calls her husband a vagabond fugitive who became the bridegroom of the beloved daughter of Smilets' wife. After the marriage she disappears from the sources.

„the under-age heir”

The under-age son of tsar Smilets. After his father's death in 1298 power was held in his name by his mother and her son-in-law despot Aldemir. Part of the historiography styles him tsar Ivan IV Smilets, but whether he was actually recognised and crowned, or the throne was merely held in his name, remains disputed — he is therefore not marked as reigning here. In 1300, on Theodore Svetoslav's return, he took refuge with his mother at Aldemir's court in Kran and afterwards in Constantinople.

„sebastokrator, brother of tsar Smilets”

Brother of tsar Smilets. Together with Smilets and Voysil he held an independent domain in the Sredna Gora centred on the fortress of Kopsis. On his brother's accession he was proclaimed sebastokrator — the highest rank below the tsar. After 1300 he fled to Byzantium, where Andronikos II again proclaimed him sebastokrator. In 1302 he marched from Thessalonica against the despotate of Kran, but despot Aldemir defeated, captured and blinded him.

„despot of Mysia”

Brother of tsar Smilets, proclaimed despot at his accession. One of the three brothers who held the Sredna Gora domain around Kopsis. After 1300 he entered Byzantine service. In 1322, following the death of George II Terter, he seized the lands between Sliven and Kopsis and styled himself despot of Mysia, acting in alliance with Andronikos III. Michael III Shishman Asen forced him to withdraw to Byzantium and restored Bulgarian control over Kopsis.

r. 1323–1330

Despot of Vidin, son of Shishman of Vidin and an Asen princess; elected tsar in 1323 after the Terter line died out, founding the Shishman dynasty. Killed at the Battle of Velbazhd against the Serbs in 1330.

r. 1330–1331

Son of Michael III Shishman and the Serbian princess Anna-Neda. Took the throne after Velbazhd but was deposed in 1331 by the boyar elite in favour of his cousin Ivan Alexander.

r. 1331–1371

Nephew of Michael III Shishman, son of despot Sratsimir and Petritsa (Michael's sister). A long, culturally brilliant reign; but he ultimately divided the realm between his sons, weakening it before the Ottoman threat.

r. 1332–1355

Eldest son of Ivan Alexander by his first marriage, proclaimed co-tsar and designated heir. Killed fighting the Ottomans around 1355, predeceasing his father.

r. 1337–1349

Son of Ivan Alexander by Theodora Basarab, raised to co-tsar. Killed in battle against the Ottomans in 1349.

r. 1356–1396

Son of Ivan Alexander by his first marriage; received the Tsardom of Vidin as a separate appanage around 1356. Ruled Vidin until the Ottoman conquest in 1396; died in captivity.

r. 1371–1395

Son of Ivan Alexander by his second marriage to Sara-Theodora. Last tsar of the Tarnovo realm; ruled a shrunken, besieged state that fell to the Ottomans in 1393–1395.

~1340–?

Daughter of Ivan Alexander by his first marriage to Theodora Basarab. First married to a despot Constantine; later, around 1378, given as wife to the Ottoman sultan Murad I as part of her brother Ivan Shishman's settlement with the Turks.

„the nun Makaria”

~1348–1402

Daughter of Ivan Alexander by his second marriage to Sarah-Theodora and sister of Ivan Shishman. Around 1356 married to the future Byzantine emperor Andronikos IV Palaiologos; mother of emperor John VII and grandmother of emperors.

Despot of Vidin of Cuman origin, progenitor of the Shishman dynasty. Through marriage to an Asen princess he tied his house to the Asen line; father of Michael III Shishman.

A despot, father of tsar Ivan Alexander. Through his marriage to Petritsa, sister of Michael III Shishman, he secured his son's hereditary claim to the throne.

Sister of Michael III Shishman and wife of despot Sratsimir. Mother of tsar Ivan Alexander — the link by which the Shishman house inherited the throne.

„the nun Elisaveta”

?–1376

Sister of Ivan Alexander, married to the Serbian king (later tsar) Stefan Dušan — a marriage that sealed the Bulgarian-Serbian alliance after Velbazhd.

Brother of tsar Michael III Shishman Asen and of Keratsa Petritsa. A despot and lord of Vidin who around 1331 raised a boyar revolt against his nephew tsar Ivan Alexander in defence of the deposed line of Ivan Stefan.

Son of tsar Michael III Shishman Asen by his first marriage to Anna-Neda and a younger brother of Ivan Stefan. After the coup of 1331 he fled to the Tatars and later sought refuge in Byzantium.

A despot, son of tsar Michael III Shishman Asen, known only from the donor inscription in the church of Donja Kamenica, where he is depicted with his wife.

A Bulgarian royal son known from a Neapolitan document that calls him a nephew of the king of Naples. Bozhilov takes him to be an otherwise unattested son of tsar Michael III Shishman Asen.

?–1363

Brother of tsar Ivan Alexander. A despot who around 1346 established himself as an autonomous ruler in Epirus and Thessaly (Ioannina) under the overlordship of the Serbian tsar Stefan Dušan; married to the 'basilissa' Anna Palaiologina.

Brother of tsar Ivan Alexander, son of despot Sratsimir and Petritsa. Father of Shishman, who is attested as an administrative officer around Yambol.

?–1340

Brother of tsar Ivan Alexander, son of despot Sratsimir and Petritsa. Died before 1340 and was buried in Tarnovo.

The youngest of the six children of despot Sratsimir and Petritsa and a sister of tsar Ivan Alexander. Probably the wife of the sebastokrator Dejan, a lord in the south-western Bulgarian lands.

The youngest son of tsar Ivan Alexander by his marriage to Sarah-Theodora and a younger brother of Ivan Shishman. On surviving miniatures he is shown with the imperial title — a co-tsar alongside his father.

Daughter of tsar Ivan Alexander by his second marriage to Sarah-Theodora and one of his youngest children, a sister of Vasilisa.

The youngest daughter of tsar Ivan Alexander, sister of Desislava; both born of the second marriage to Sarah-Theodora. She died very young.

Son of despot Yoan Komnin Asen by his first marriage and a nephew of tsar Ivan Alexander. He belongs to the family's Epirote–Thessalian branch.

Son of Michael Asen and a nephew of tsar Ivan Alexander. Attested around 1356–1357 as an administrative officer in the region of Yambol.

The only son of the Vidin tsar Ivan Sratsimir, sent as a child hostage to the Ottomans. Later ruler of what remained of the Vidin tsardom; his name is linked to the first Bulgarian anti-Ottoman uprising 'of Constantine and Fruzhin' (c. 1408–1413).

Daughter of the Vidin tsar Ivan Sratsimir and tsaritsa Anna. Around 1374 married to the Bosnian ban, later king, Tvrtko I Kotromanić.

Firstborn son of the last Tarnovo tsar Ivan Shishman. According to Schiltberger, after the fall of Nikopol (1395/96) he entered Ottoman service and converted to Islam.

Second son of tsar Ivan Shishman. Together with his cousin Constantine he led the great Bulgarian uprising against the Ottomans (c. 1408–1413); he later received estates in the Kingdom of Hungary, where he ended his life.

Daughter of tsar Ivan Shishman and tsaritsa Maria, of whom the sources preserve no further detail.

r. 1279–1280

Son of Mitso and Maria Asenina, grandson of Ivan Asen II. Installed on the throne with Byzantine backing against Ivailo, but soon fled to Constantinople, leaving power to George Terter I.

~1300–1363

Daughter of Andronikos Asen and wife of John VI Kantakouzenos. Byzantine empress (1347–1354) who played a decisive role in her husband's struggle for the throne; she defended Didymoteicho and Constantinople in his absence.

~1310–?

A monk, a descendant of Tsar Ivan Asen III (on the testimony of Gregory Palamas); of the second generation of the Byzantine Asens. Known from his correspondence with Gregory Palamas (1343).

~1320–?

A third-generation Byzantine Asen who lived in Constantinople; his exact place in the pedigree is undetermined. Founder of a mixed Byzantine-Venetian branch through his daughter Irene Asenina.

~1326–?

Son of Despot Manuel Asen and Anna Komnene Doukaina Asenina, grandson of the protostrator Theodore Synadenos. Panhypersebastos (1351) and later sevastokrator; raised by his uncle John VI Kantakouzenos.

~1338–?

A second-generation Byzantine Asen, uncle of emperors John V and Manuel II Palaiologos; his exact place in the pedigree is undetermined. A rhetorician, theologian, poet and composer who left 69 works; a prominent opponent of Palamism.

~1367–1416

Son of the eparch Isaac Asen and Anna [Goudeles] Asenina Palaiologina, on his mother's side a grandson of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos. Governor (kephale) of the island of Lemnos (until 1409).

~1372–?

Son of Irene Asenina and the Venetian Paolo de Bernardo; a gasmoulos by origin (of a mixed Italian-Greek marriage). A Byzantine subject, known from a document of 1395.

~1400–1416

Son of Andrey Asen (governor of Lemnos) and an unnamed Asenina. He died young and unmarried around late 1415 – early 1416; an epitaph for him survives.

~1423–1467

Son of Paul Asen and brother-in-law of Despot Demetrios Palaiologos. Governor of Corinth, victor at Leondarion (1452), defender of Acrocorinth (1458); Demetrios's most faithful companion to the end. One of the last bearers of the name Asen.

The eldest son of Yoan III Asen and Irene Palaiologina. As a young man he was designated co-administrator to the protovestiarios; he later emigrated to Serbia (around 1328).

The second son of Yoan III Asen. A prominent Byzantine general and governor (kephale) of the Morea who won lands from the Principality of Achaea; father of the empress Irene Asenina Kantakouzene and of a whole line of the Asan family.

One of the five sons of Yoan III Asen. Raised to the rank of panhypersebastos at the coronation of John V Palaiologos (1341); an influential figure in the civil war against John Kantakouzenos. Married twice, father of the megas primikerios Andronikos, of Andrew, Michael and Irene Philanthropene.

A son of Yoan III Asen, named among the Asen brothers in the Byzantine sources of the early 14th century.

A son of Yoan III Asen, holder of the high rank of sebastokrator. Father of Michael Asen (Komnenos Tornikes Palaiologos).

Daughter of Yoan III Asen and Irene Palaiologina, niece of emperor Andronikos II. In 1321 married to Manuel Tagaris, a governor in the Byzantine East.

The younger of the two daughters of Yoan III Asen and Irene Palaiologina. In late 1303 married to the leader of the Catalan Company, Roger de Flor — a union that sealed the agreement between Byzantium and the Catalan mercenaries.

Son of Michael Asen and grandson of Yoan III Asen; brother of Yaroslav. He belongs to the Serbo-Byzantine branch of the family in the first half of the 14th century.

Son of Michael Asen and grandson of Yoan III Asen; brother of Abraham. Named together with his brother in the Saray codex of the Octateuch.

Probably the firstborn son of Andronikos Asen and brother of the empress Irene and of despot Manuel. A despot who, with his brother, took part in the Byzantine palace struggles of the 1330s and 1340s.

Son of Andronikos Asen and brother of the empress Irene Kantakouzene. A despot and loyal supporter of his brother-in-law John VI Kantakouzenos in the civil war; he commanded armies in Thrace.

The younger daughter of Andronikos Asen and sister of the empress Irene Kantakouzene.

?–1383

Son of the panhypersebastos Isaac Asen. Megas primikerios and cousin of emperor John V Palaiologos; a prominent courtier in the third quarter of the 14th century.

?–1374

Son of the panhypersebastos Isaac Asen and brother of the megas primikerios Andronikos, of Michael and of Irene Philanthropene. In 1355, with his brother Michael, he was sent on a diplomatic mission.

Son of the panhypersebastos Isaac Asen and brother of Andrew Asen, with whom he was sent together on an imperial errand in 1355.

Daughter of the panhypersebastos Isaac Asen by his second marriage, married into the Philanthropenos family. She inherited part of the family estates together with her brother the megas primikerios Andronikos.

Son of the sebastokrator Constantine Palaiologos Asen; he also used the patronyms Komnenos and Tornikes. A grandson of Yoan III Asen in the male line.

~?–1383

Brother of Constantine Asen and cousin of Empress Helena Kantakouzene; their common father is unknown. A Constantinopolitan archon, friend and correspondent of the scholar Demetrios Kydones.

~?–1429

Son of Andrey Asen and grandson of the panhypersebastos Isaac Asen, whose name he bore. He reached the peak of his career as eparch (city prefect) of Constantinople; husband of Anna [Goudeles] Asenina Palaiologina.

By birth of the eminent Byzantine Goudeles family (sister of George Goudeles); she acquired the names Asenina and Palaiologina through her marriage to the eparch Isaac Asen. In the sources she is called an "aunt" of Emperor Manuel II Palaiologos.

Daughter of Alexander Asen, married to the Venetian Paolo de Bernardo. Mother of Marco de Bernardo Asen.

?–1398

An Asenina married to the Venetian Bartolomeo III Ghisi, lord of Tinos, Mykonos and a third of Negroponte; mother of Giorgio III Ghisi, the last of the line. Her exact place in the pedigree is undetermined.

An Asenina by birth, in all likelihood a daughter of Despot Manuel Asen (not with full certainty). Wife of the grand primikerios John Kondostephanos, founder of the Athonite monastery of Pantokrator.

?–1442

A Byzantine Asen attested 1437–1442. A diplomat to Sultan Murad II and governor (kephale) of Constantinople; father-in-law of Despot Demetrios Palaiologos and father of Matthew, Theodora and Simonida Asenina.

Daughter of Paul Asen and sister of Matthew Asen. In 1441 she married Despot Demetrios Palaiologos, the fifth son of Emperor Manuel II — a marriage that bound the Asen family to the last claimants of the Byzantine throne.

Daughter of Paul Asen and sister of Matthew and Theodora Asenina. She took monastic vows under the name Sophrosyne. Of the last generation of the Byzantine Asens in the mid-fifteenth century.

A Byzantine Asen whose exact place in the pedigree remains undetermined. Married to N. Laskarina Palaiologina; father of Helena Asenina Palaiologina.

Daughter of John Asen and N. Laskarina Palaiologina; of the later generations of the Byzantine Asens.

A bearer, besides the family name Asen, of that of the noble Byzantine Raoul family. Known only by name, as a member of the ramified Byzantine branch of the family in the fourteenth century.

An unnamed daughter of Tsar Ivan Asen III (John III Asen) and Irene Palaiologina, of the first generation of the Byzantine Asens.

A Byzantine Asen attested around 1335–1336 in connection with a trial against the metropolitan of Philippi; his exact place in the pedigree is undetermined.

~?–1349

A landholder in Chalkidike, known from documents of the Xeropotamou monastery; his membership of the Asen family is not entirely certain. Father of Tomais and Philippa Asenina.

An Asen whose own name is not preserved, attested around 1366/67; not identifiable with other known members of the family.

A courtier of the former Serbian empress Elena (the nun Elisaveta) at Serres (1365), and after 1371 in the service of Emperor John V Palaiologos. His kinship with the house of Ivan Alexander attests to the common root of the two branches.

Daughter of Demetrios Asen and sister of Philippa Asenina, probably the elder of the two; mentioned around 1349.

Daughter of Demetrios Asen and sister of Tomais Asenina; in 1349, still a minor, married to a priest.

„comitissa de Acchisio”

Mentioned in letters of Pope Gregory XI (c. 1372–1374) as "comitissa de Acchisio" and "nobili mulieri Anne de Constantinopoli"; her membership of the Asen family is accepted by scholars.

An unnamed Asenina, attested around 1383; the sources preserve no detail about her.

A teacher (didaskalos) on the island of Euboea, known solely from one manuscript (Cod. San Marco 303); distinct from the influential Constantinopolitan archon John Asen.

?–1397

Wife of "kyr John," mentioned in the commemoration book of a Constantinopolitan monastery; the two donated 300 hyperpyra for annual commemoration. Unidentifiable; died 1397.

An unnamed Asenina, wife of Andrey Asen (governor of Lemnos) and mother of Manuel Asen.

An unnamed daughter of the eparch Isaac Asen and Anna [Goudeles] Asenina Palaiologina, a sister of Andrey Asen.

r. 1278–1279

A peasant who led a popular uprising against Tatar raids and boyar weakness. After Constantine Tih's death he married the widow Maria Palaiologina and was proclaimed tsar. Killed in the Tatar camp in 1280.

~1260–?

Daughter of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. In early 1278 married to Ivan Asen (tsar Ivan Asen III), son of Mitso; Bulgarian tsaritsa in 1279–1280. After the couple fled to Constantinople she became the matriarch of the Byzantine branch of the Asens — mother of five sons and several daughters from whom the whole Asan family in the Empire descends.

Daughter of the Hungarian king Andrew II, first wife of Ivan Asen II and mother of Kaliman Asen I.

Daughter of the Epirote ruler Theodore Komnenos, who was captured by Ivan Asen II at Klokotnitsa. Second wife of the tsar and mother of Michael II Asen and of the daughters Maria and Elena.

Daughter of Theodore II Laskaris and Elena Asenina, granddaughter of Ivan Asen II. Her marriage to Constantine Tih tied the elected tsar to the Asen line and justified his adopted name 'Asen'.

Niece of the Byzantine emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. Wife of Constantine Tih and, after his death, of the rebel Ivailo, to whom she lent royal legitimacy.

Daughter of the Serbian king Stefan Uroš II Milutin, first wife of Michael III Shishman and mother of Ivan Stefan. Set aside when the tsar married Theodora Palaiologina.

Daughter of the Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos. First wife of Theodore Svetoslav and later of Michael III Shishman, who set aside Anna-Neda for this marriage.

Daughter of the Wallachian voivode Ivanko Basarab, first wife of Ivan Alexander. Mother of the co-tsars Michael Asen IV and Ivan Asen IV and of the Vidin tsar Ivan Sratsimir.

A converted Jewess who took the baptismal name Theodora; second wife of Ivan Alexander, for whom he left Theodora Basarab. Mother of the last Tarnovo tsar Ivan Shishman.

Daughter of the protostrator Theodore Synadenos, wife of despot Manuel Asen. Depicted with her husband in a donor portrait.

Daughter of the megas konostaulos John Palaiologos Komnenos and granddaughter of Constantine Palaiologos (brother of emperor Michael VIII). Wife of Michael Komnenos Asen.

„the widow of Smilets”

An unnamed daughter of the sebastokrator Constantine Palaiologos, brother of emperor Michael VIII, and a niece of Andronikos II. She married Smilets between 1283 and 1285, before his accession. After his death in 1298 she governed in the name of her under-age son Ivan together with her son-in-law despot Aldemir, and in early 1299 offered marriage to the Serbian king Milutin in exchange for the Bulgarian crown — a scheme that came to nothing. In 1300 she fled with Ivan to Aldemir at Kran and from there to Byzantium.