Irene Laskarina

Irene Laskarina was the first-born daughter of the Nicaean emperor Theodore II Laskaris and Elena Asenina, daughter of Tsar Ivan Asen II — and thus a granddaughter of the Bulgarian tsar. After his accession Konstantin Tih parted with his first, unnamed wife, sent her as a hostage to Nicaea and married Irene; this marriage to a descendant of the Asens bound him to the dynasty and justified the name "Asen" that he adopted.

According to Pachymeres, Irene bore a strong hatred for Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos over the disinheriting and blinding of her brother John IV Laskaris, and through this she exerted a powerful influence on the political decisions of the Bulgarian tsar. She died around 1268, after which Konstantin Tih entered into a new marriage with Maria Palaiologina Kantakouzene.