Theodora Asenina
- Title
- Princess
Biography
Theodora Asenina was a daughter of Paul Asen and a sister of Matthew Asen. In 1441, during her family's stay in Mesembria, she married — according to Sphrantzes, against the will of her whole family — Despot Demetrios Palaiologos, the fifth son of Emperor Manuel II.
This marriage bound the Asen family to one of the last claimants of the Byzantine throne and raised up her brother Matthew as Despot Demetrios's closest companion. Theodora's fate shared in the downfall of Demetrios's house after the Ottoman conquest of the Morea (1460).