Sofia Moscow. How a Byzantine princess helped cope with the Khan's Horde
Sophia was the niece of the last emperor of Byzantium Konstantin Paleolog. His younger brother Thomas escaped tragic fate Constantine, who died defending Constantinople from the Turkish invasion. And between 1443-1449 Thomas and his wife Elena a daughter was born, named Zoey. Her teachers were Athonite monks who did not like the “Franks” and condemned the Union of Florence, according to which the Orthodox world had to submit to the authority of the Pope.
But when the Turks reached the Morea (modern Peloponnese), it was the pope Pontiff Pius II sheltered Thomas and his family. The upbringing of children was entrusted to the cardinal Lascari, a former Orthodox bishop who became a devout Catholic. On the future fate of the Byzantine Zoey the Catholic Church had its own political plans. Planning to marry her off to a Moscow prince Ivan Vasilievich, Rome hoped to strengthen its religious influence on Muscovy. And enlist help in the fight against the Turks.
But the marriage was actively opposed by the heads of Moscow Orthodoxy. Only in 1472 did the parties come to an agreement. And, according to the traditions of those times, the engagement took place in Rome. Byzantine Zoya renamed in the Slavic manner, calling Sophia. And so a convoy set off from Rome to Muscovy. The convoy included gifts, dresses, jewelry, and a magnificent collection of books. And, of course, two dozen Catholic priests.
Having reached Pskov, the priests deployed catholic cross. Having learned about this, the Metropolitan told the prince:
“If you allow the blessed Moscow to carry the cross before the Latin Bishop, then he will enter the single gate, and I, your father, will go out of the city differently. To honor someone else’s Faith is to humiliate one’s own.”
The prince was forced to send a messenger with an order to remove the cross.
Catholics resisted, but were forced to hide the cross.
“The princess herself behaved as befits the future ruler of Rus'. Having entered the Pskov land, the first thing she did was visit an Orthodox church, where she venerated the icons. The papal representative Anthony had to obey here too: follow her to the church, and there venerate the holy icons and venerate the image of the Mother of God.”
She had no intention of being an obedient puppet of the Pope. Perhaps the upbringing of the Athonite monks had an effect.
This is how the Byzantine princess entered Rus'. First thing Sofia Paleolog suggested Ivan adopt the Byzantine coat of arms, the double-headed eagle. And then she set about strengthening his authority among the boyars. From now on, no one could appear in the prince’s chambers without a report and a deep bow. Instead of the previous, simple and “household” title “Grand Duke Ivan Vasilievich" Ivan III takes the pompous title " John, By the grace of God, Sovereign of All Rus' and Grand Duke Vladimir and Moscow and Novgorod and Pskov and Tver and Yugorsk and Perm and Bulgarian and others." From this moment on, the sovereign moves away from his subjects to an unattainable height.
But most of all Sophia Paleolog was outraged by the behavior of the envoys of the Horde Khan. The Moscow prince came out to meet them long before entering the city. And he had to listen to them while standing, while the ambassadors were sitting. Experienced in the art of intrigue, the princess repeated Ivan, “that she married a Tatar slave.” And she pushed him to tear up the Khan’s letter-message. War was inevitable. But the Horde no longer had the same strength and centralized power.
According to the legend given not only by Russian chronicles, but also by the English poet John Milton in 1477 Sophia was able to outwit Tatar Khan, announcing that she had a sign from above about the construction of a temple to St. Nicholas on the place in the Kremlin where the house of the khan’s governors stood, who controlled the collection of yasak and the actions of the Kremlin (“she kicked them out of the Kremlin, demolished the house, although she did not build the temple”).
In 1480 the Horde entered Rus' Khan Ahmed. He reached the mouth of the Ugra River, the left tributary of the Oka, where he was stopped by the Russian army. If the Horde cavalry crossed the river, then after three or four crossings the army Akhmata could approach the capital. Russian military leaders blocked fords and river crossings for the Tatars. For several days there were battles for crossing the Ugra, and when all attacks were repulsed, the “stand on the Ugra” began.
And so, when in November the prince Ivan III ordered the withdrawal of Russian forces from Ugra to Borovsk, Khan Akhmat, deciding that the coast was being given up to him for a decisive battle, he got scared and began a quick retreat.
Having strengthened her influence over her husband, Sophia was able to convince him that the best architects are Italians. Soon the Italians arrived in Moscow and began construction. Orthodox churches. And in 1485, the Italians, led by Aristotle Fioravanti, began to build the Moscow Kremlin.
Sophia tried to influence foreign policy, together with her husband, receiving foreign ambassadors and even sitting in the Boyar Duma. Which at that time was unusual not only for Rus', but even for Europe. However, her role in public policy was limited to behind-the-scenes influence on John.
Sophia actively contributed to the influx of foreigners, merchants, builders, scientists, and doctors. Which caused discontent among the local nobility. Rumors and even accusations of witchcraft were actively spread about the princess.
In 1497, informers accused the princess of attempting to poison the heir Dmitry, grandson Joanna. AND Sophia I had a chance to experience the power of princely anger. The queen's entourage was scattered among prisons. And the healers surrounding her were drowned in the Moscow River.
But the princess was not personally affected by persecution. Saving life Sophia power was soon returned. This was facilitated by palace intrigues on religious grounds. Skillfully manipulating your spouse, Sophia not only got closer to him, but also eliminated her competitor in the person of her daughter-in-law Joanna — Elena(Esther).
This intrigue was one of the last. In 1503 Sophia died. During her 30 years of reign in her new homeland, she never managed to get rid of the labels of a Latin woman, a sorceress and a heretic.
The death of his wife seemed to deprive the Grand Duke of his last strength. Leaving his work, he sat days and nights in his chambers. And power increasingly passed to his son Sophia Vasily. In 1505 John passed away and Vasily III ascended the throne.
Despite the controversial role played in the history of our state Sophia, she undoubtedly played a significant role in liberation from the Horde yoke. And in the formation of Russia as a power. Sophia and Ivan III buried in the Archangel Cathedral of the Moscow Kremlin.
Most historians agree that grandmother, Grand Duchess Moscow Sophia (Zoya) Paleologus played a huge role in the formation of the Moscow kingdom. Many consider her the author of the concept “Moscow is the third Rome”. And together with Zoya Paleologina, a double-headed eagle appeared. At first it was the family coat of arms of her dynasty, and then migrated to the coat of arms of all the tsars and Russian emperors.
Childhood and youth
Zoe Paleologue was born (presumably) in 1455 in Mystras. The daughter of the despot of Morea, Thomas Palaiologos, was born at a tragic and turning point - the time of the fall of the Byzantine Empire.
After the capture of Constantinople by the Turkish Sultan Mehmed II and the death of Emperor Constantine, Thomas Palaiologos, along with his wife Catherine of Achaia and their children, fled to Corfu. From there he moved to Rome, where he was forced to convert to Catholicism. In May 1465, Thomas died. His death occurred shortly after the death of his wife in the same year. The children, Zoya and her brothers, 5-year-old Manuel and 7-year-old Andrei, moved to Rome after the death of their parents.
The education of orphans was undertaken by the Greek scientist, Uniate Vissarion of Nicea, who served as a cardinal under Pope Sixtus IV (it was he who commissioned the famous Sistine Chapel). In Rome, the Greek princess Zoe Palaiologos and her brothers were raised in Catholic faith. The cardinal took care of the maintenance of the children and their education.
It is known that Vissarion of Nicea, with the permission of the pope, paid for the modest court of the young Palaiologos, which included servants, a doctor, two professors of Latin and Greek languages, translators and priests. Sofia Paleolog received a fairly solid education for those times.
Grand Duchess of Moscow
When Sophia came of age, the Venetian Signoria became concerned about her marriage. The king of Cyprus, Jacques II de Lusignan, was first offered to take the noble girl as his wife. But he refused this marriage, fearing a conflict with the Ottoman Empire. A year later, in 1467, Cardinal Vissarion, at the request of Pope Paul II, offered the hand of a noble Byzantine beauty to the prince and Italian nobleman Caracciolo. A solemn engagement took place, but for unknown reasons the marriage was called off.
There is a version that Sophia secretly communicated with Athonite elders and stuck to Orthodox faith. She herself made an effort to avoid marrying a non-Christian, upsetting all the marriages offered to her.
In the turning point for the life of Sophia Paleologus in 1467, the wife of the Grand Duke of Moscow, Maria Borisovna, died. This marriage produced an only son. Pope Paul II, counting on the spread of Catholicism to Moscow, invited the widowed sovereign of All Rus' to take his ward as his wife.
After 3 years of negotiations, Ivan III, having asked for advice from his mother, Metropolitan Philip and the boyars, decided to get married. It is noteworthy that the negotiators from the pope prudently kept silent about Sophia Paleologue’s conversion to Catholicism. Moreover, they reported that the proposed wife of Paleologina is an Orthodox Christian. They didn't even realize that it was so.
In June 1472, in the Basilica of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Rome, the betrothal in absentia of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus took place. After this, the bride's convoy left Rome for Moscow. The same Cardinal Vissarion accompanied the bride.
Bolognese chroniclers described Sophia as a rather attractive person. She looked 24 years old, had snow-white skin and incredibly beautiful and expressive eyes. Her height was no higher than 160 cm. The future wife of the Russian sovereign had a dense physique.
There is a version that in Sophia Paleolog’s dowry, in addition to clothes and jewelry, there were many valuable books, which later formed the basis of the mysteriously disappeared library of Ivan the Terrible. Among them were treatises and unknown poems.
Meeting of Princess Sophia Paleolog at Lake Peipsi At the end of a long route that ran through Germany and Poland, the Roman escorts of Sophia Palaeologus realized that their desire to spread (or at least bring closer) Catholicism to Orthodoxy through the marriage of Ivan III to Palaeologus had been defeated. Zoya, as soon as she left Rome, demonstrated her firm intention to return to the faith of her ancestors - Christianity. The wedding took place in Moscow on November 12, 1472. The ceremony took place in the Assumption Cathedral.
The main achievement of Sophia Paleolog, which turned into a huge benefit for Russia, is considered to be her influence on her husband’s decision to refuse to pay tribute to the Golden Horde. Thanks to his wife, Ivan the Third finally dared to throw off the centuries-old Tatar-Mongol yoke, although local princes and elites offered to continue paying the quitrent to avoid bloodshed.
Personal life
Apparently, Sophia Paleologue’s personal life with Grand Duke Ivan III was successful. This marriage produced a significant number of offspring - 5 sons and 4 daughters. But it’s difficult to call the existence of the new Grand Duchess Sophia in Moscow cloudless. The boyars saw the enormous influence that the wife had on her husband. Many people didn't like it.
Vasily III, son of Sophia Paleologus Rumor has it that the princess had a bad relationship with the heir born in the previous marriage of Ivan III, Ivan the Young. Moreover, there is a version that Sophia was involved in the poisoning of Ivan the Young and the further removal from power of his wife Elena Voloshanka and son Dmitry.
Be that as it may, Sophia Paleologus had a huge influence on the entire subsequent history of Rus', on its culture and architecture. She was the mother of the heir to the throne and the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible. According to some reports, the grandson bore considerable resemblance to his wise Byzantine grandmother.
Death
Sophia Paleologue, Grand Duchess of Moscow, died on April 7, 1503. The husband, Ivan III, survived his wife by only 2 years.
Destruction of the grave of Sophia Paleolog in 1929 Sophia was buried next to the previous wife of Ivan III in the sarcophagus of the tomb of the Ascension Cathedral. The cathedral was destroyed in 1929. But the remains of the women of the royal house were preserved - they were transferred to the underground chamber of the Archangel Cathedral.
The exact date of her birth is unknown. At the age of about five or seven, she experienced the horror of the defeat of Constantinople by the troops of the Turkish Sultan and the death of her uncle, the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI. Fleeing from the Turks, her father, Derator's brother Fomo Palaiologos, fled with his children to Rome, under the protection of the Pope.
Nineteen years later, at the end of June 1472, a solemn procession set off from Rome to Moscow: the Byzantine princess Sophia Paleologus, a woman who was destined to play an important role in the historical destinies of Russia, was going to the wedding with the Grand Duke of Moscow Ivan III.
Pope's mistake
In 1465, Thomas Palaiologos died. The education and upbringing of the royal orphans - brothers Andrei and Manuel and their younger sister Sophia - was entrusted to Cardinal Vissarion of Nicaea. Special attention he paid attention to European Catholic traditions and, calling Sophia “the beloved daughter of the Roman Church,” insistently inspired that she should humbly follow the principles of Catholicism in everything.
In 1468, surrounded by the Pope, the idea matured to marry Sophia to the recently widowed Moscow sovereign Ivan III. The Vatican intended to kill two birds with one stone with this marriage: firstly, it hoped that the Grand Duke of Muscovy could now agree to a union of churches and submit to Rome, and secondly, he would become a powerful ally in the fight against the Turks. And the influence of the future wife on the Grand Duke was assigned a decisive role.
It must be admitted that the diplomatic “game” of organizing a marriage with the Moscow sovereign was carefully conceived and brilliantly executed. But this operation brought the exact opposite result to what was intended!
Ivan III did not intend to fight for the “inheritance” with the Turks, much less agree to a union. And most importantly: having become the Grand Duchess, Sophia Fominishna (as they began to call her in Rus') did not justify the hopes of the papal throne for the subordination of Russia to the Vatican. She not only did not contribute to the Catholicization of Rus', but also kicked out the cardinal who accompanied her, and all the years of her life allotted to her faithfully served Orthodoxy and the Russian State.
Sophia was deeply Orthodox at heart. She skillfully hid her faith from the powerful Roman “patrons”, who did not help her homeland, betraying it to the Gentiles for ruin and death.
Journey. Meeting. Wedding
Inter-dynastic marriages are not an easy matter; matchmaking dragged on for three whole years. Finally, in January 1472, Ivan III sent an embassy to Rome for his bride. And in June of the same year, Sophia set off on the journey with an honorary retinue and the papal legate Anthony. According to Catholic tradition, the legate at the front of the procession carried a Latin cross, which greatly worried the population of Muscovy. In order not to create unnecessary diplomatic and political problems, the legate’s cross was carefully... stolen and thrown into his chambers already in Moscow, a few days after the wedding...
And here is Moscow! The Grand Duke and Princess saw each other in person for the first time and - no one was disappointed!
According to the ideas of that time, Sophia was considered an elderly woman (she was 25-27 years old), but she was very attractive, with amazingly beautiful, expressive dark eyes and soft matte skin, which in Rus' was considered a sign of excellent health. The princess was of average height and somewhat plump (in Rus' this was called corpulence and was considered an advantage for the weaker sex), but she had a stature worthy of a representative of the proud family of Byzantine basileus. And also (and this is perhaps the most important thing) - the princess had a sharp mind and, as we would say now, statesmanlike thinking. But this will appear a little later, but for now the princess, standing on the threshold of the temple where the wedding will take place, looks at her betrothed. The Grand Duke was still young, only 32 years old, and handsome - tall and handsome. His eyes were especially remarkable, “formidable eyes”: the chronicler says that when the prince was angry, women fainted from his gaze!
Metropolitan Philip performed the wedding ceremony, the Russian sovereign power became related to the Byzantine imperial power...
Princess's dowry
The dowry of the representative of the Byzantine basileus family turned out to be very significant. And we are not talking about gold and silver, although there was enough of it - the emperor’s niece was by no means poor. The main thing in the princess's dowry was something that could not be measured in money - neither then, nor five centuries later!
After the wedding, Ivan III adopted the Byzantine double-headed eagle as a coat of arms - a symbol of royal power; He also placed it on his seal.
In the basement of the stone Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God on Senya (the home church of the Moscow Grand Duchesses), a priceless treasure that arrived on Sophia’s wedding train - “Liberia”, a huge collection of ancient books and manuscripts (better known as the legendary “library of Ivan the Terrible”, the search for which has been going on for more than three centuries). "Liberia" included Greek parchments, Latin chronographs, ancient Eastern manuscripts; Its pricelessness is evidenced by the fact that there were poems by Homer unknown to us, works by Aristotle and Plato, Ovid and Virgil, and even surviving books from the famous Library of Alexandria!
As a gift to her husband, Sophia was “presented” with a luxurious throne, the wooden frame of which was covered with plates of ivory and walrus ivory with scenes on biblical themes carved on them (it is known to us as the throne, again, of Ivan the Terrible, and now it is the oldest in the Kremlin meeting).
Sophia brought with her several Orthodox icons. Very rare icon Mother of God“The Gracious Heaven” was included in the iconostasis of the Kremlin Archangel Cathedral, and from the image of the Savior Not Made by Hands, which she brought, in the 19th century the artist Sorokin painted the image of the Lord for the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. This image has miraculously survived to this day. In the Kremlin Cathedral of the Savior on Bor, and today on the lectern you can see another icon from Princess Sophia’s dowry - the image of the All-Merciful Savior.
“Princess of Tsargrodskaya, Grand Duchess...”
And then it began for Sophia new life- the life of the Grand Duchess of Moscow, and participation in large and small state affairs. And what she created in this field deserves very high praise - because even the struggle for power was aimed at strengthening the power of the sovereign of a single and indivisible Rus'.
Sophia brought with her her ideas about the court and the power of government, and many of the Moscow orders did not suit her heart. She did not like that the boyars behaved too freely with their sovereign. That the Russian capital is built entirely of wood, even the sovereign's mansions in the Kremlin, and the fortress walls are dilapidated. And Sofya Fominishna, rolling up her sleeves, got down to business.
One can only envy her energy and determination - especially considering that she has become, speaking modern language, also a mother of many children, having given birth to the Grand Duke nine children!..
Through the efforts of Sophia, palace etiquette began to resemble Byzantine etiquette. With the permission of the Grand Duke, she created her own “Duma” of members of the retinue and arranged real diplomatic receptions for foreign ambassadors and guests in the female half of the Grand Duke’s chambers, conducting conversations with them “stately and affectionately.” For Rus' this was an unheard of innovation. Ivan III, under the influence of Sophia, also changed his treatment of the courtiers: he began to behave inaccessibly and demand special respect.
According to legend, the name of Sophia Paleologus is associated with the construction of some new Kremlin churches; her contribution to the reconstruction of the Kremlin is also great.
Ivan III himself felt the need to create a real citadel from the grand-ducal residence - impregnable militarily and magnificent architecturally. The final impetus for this was the collapse of the Assumption Cathedral, erected by Pskov craftsmen.
Sophia advised her husband to invite Italian architects, who were then considered the best in Europe. Their creations could make Moscow equal in beauty and majesty to European capitals and support the prestige of the Moscow sovereign, as well as emphasize the continuity of Moscow not only with the Second Rome (Constantinople), but also with the First. Perhaps it was Sophia who prompted her husband to invite Aristotle Fioravanti, who was famous in his homeland as the “new Archimedes”. The architect happily agreed to the Grand Duke's proposal.
The consequences of this invitation were the new Assumption Cathedral, the famous Chamber of Facets and a new stone palace on the site of the former wooden mansion.
Not everyone knows that the famous architect had a special, secret order waiting for him in Moscow - while executing it, Fioravanti drew up general plan the new Kremlin with numerous underground passages, galleries and hiding places. And very few people know that the talented Italian also completed one more task - as it turned out, extremely important for Rus': it was he who actually created the Russian field artillery!
“I don’t want to be a Tatar tributary...”
Now, from the heights of the past centuries, we see that almost all of Sophia’s activities were aimed at the benefit of Rus', at strengthening its foreign policy position and internal stability. Many of Sophia's contemporaries (mostly high-born boyars) did not like the Grand Duchess - for her influence on Ivan III, for the changes in Moscow life, for interference in state affairs. It must be admitted that her husband turned out to be wiser than these “many”, and very often followed Sophia’s advice. Perhaps the point was that, as noted famous historian IN. Klyuchevsky, Sophia’s skillful advice always answered the secret intentions of her husband!
A striking example of Sophia’s useful intervention is the final liberation of Rus' from the Mongol-Tatar yoke: given the tough nature of the Byzantine princess, it can be assumed that her decisive position influenced the decision of Ivan III.
...The ambassador of the Khan of the Golden Horde, Akhmat, arrived in Moscow with an ultimatum for the immediate payment of tribute, and for Ivan III the moment of truth came - either submission - or war. According to legend, at the most critical moment Sophia, who insisted on refusing to pay tribute to the Horde khan, declared to the hesitant sovereign: “I refused my hand to rich, strong princes and kings, for the sake of faith I married you, and now you want to make me and my children tributaries; Don’t you have enough troops?”
At the next meeting with the ambassador, the Grand Duke demonstratively tore up the Khan's letter and ordered the ambassador to be driven out. From school textbook history, we remember that after the great “stand on the Ugra” the Tatars turned their army around and went home.
The hated yoke is over...
A significant role in the fact that the Tatars did not decide on a general battle was played by... Russian artillery under the command of Aristotle Fioravanti, which twice scattered the Tatar cavalry, which was trying to cross the river and enter the battle.
Who will ascend the throne?
It was not easy for Sophia when her ill-wishers from the grand ducal circle went on the offensive. When Ivan III's son from his first wife, Ivan Molodoy, fell ill with gout, Sophia ordered a doctor for him from abroad. It seems that the disease was not fatal, and the doctor was a noble one - however, Ivan died suddenly. The doctor was executed, and bad rumors spread around Moscow about Sophia: they say that she poisoned the heir in order to clear the path for her first-born, Vasily, to the throne.
Storm clouds began to gather above Sophia's head. From his eldest son, Ivan III had a grandson, Dmitry, “guarded” by his mother Elena Voloshanka and the boyars, and from Sophia he had an eldest son, Vasily. Which of them was supposed to get the throne?.. In 1497, the princess’s enemies whispered to the Grand Duke that Sophia wanted to poison his grandson, that she was secretly visited by sorcerers preparing poisonous potions, and that even Vasily himself was participating in the conspiracy. Ivan III took the side of his grandson, arrested Vasily, ordered the sorcerers to be drowned in the Moscow River, and removed his wife from him. A year later, he married his grandson in the Assumption Cathedral as heir to the throne.
However, it was not for nothing that all of Sophia’s contemporaries considered her a woman of “outstanding intelligence and strong will”... And she knew how to weave intrigues no worse than her secret and open enemies: for less than two years, Sophia and Vasily were in disgrace. Former princess managed to achieve the fall of Elena Voloshanka, accusing her of... adherence to heresy (proving your innocence with such accusations is very problematic). There was no Holy Inquisition in Rus', heretics were not burned at the stake, so Ivan III simply put Elena and his grandson in prison, where they spent the rest of their lives. In 1500, the Grand Duke and Sovereign of All Rus' named Vasily the legal heir to the throne.
“The Queen of Tsargorod, Grand Duchess of Moscow Sofya Fominishna” won. Who knows what path Russian history would have taken if not for Sophia!
On April 7, 1503, Sophia Paleologus died. With all the honors due to her title, she was buried in the grand-ducal tomb of the Ascension Convent in the Kremlin.
Sofia Paleologus: the Greek intriguer who changed Russia
On November 12, 1472, Ivan III married for the second time. This time his chosen one is the Greek princess Sophia, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI Palaiologos.
White stone
Three years after the wedding, Ivan III will begin the arrangement of his residence with the construction of the Assumption Cathedral, which was erected on the site of the dismantled Kalita Church. Whether this will be connected with the new status - the Grand Duke of Moscow will by that time position himself as “the sovereign of all Rus'” - or whether the idea will be “suggested” by his wife Sophia, dissatisfied with the “wretched situation”, it is difficult to say for sure. By 1479, the construction of the new temple will be completed, and its properties will subsequently be transferred to the whole of Moscow, which is still called “white stone”. Large-scale construction will continue. The Annunciation Cathedral will be built on the foundation of the old palace church of the Annunciation. To store the treasury of the Moscow princes, a stone chamber will be built, which will later be called the “Treasury Yard”. Instead of the old wooden mansion, a new stone chamber will be built to receive ambassadors, called the “Embankment”. The Faceted Chamber will be built for official receptions. Will be rebuilt and built a large number of churches. As a result, Moscow will completely change its appearance, and the Kremlin will turn from a wooden fortress into a “Western European castle.”
New title
With the appearance of Sophia, a number of researchers associate a new ceremony and a new diplomatic language - complex and strict, prim and strained. Marriage to a noble heiress of the Byzantine emperors will allow Tsar John to position himself as the political and church successor of Byzantium, and the final overthrow of the Horde yoke will make it possible to transfer the status of the Moscow prince to the unattainable high level national ruler of the entire Russian land. “Ivan, Sovereign and Grand Duke” leaves the government acts and “John, by God's grace sovereign of all Rus'." The significance of the new title is complemented by a long list of the boundaries of the Moscow state: “Sovereign of All Rus' and Grand Duke of Vladimir, and Moscow, and Novgorod, and Pskov, and Tver, and Perm, and Yugorsk, and Bulgarian, and others.”
Divine origin
In his new position, the source of which was partly his marriage with Sophia, Ivan III finds the previous source of power - succession from his father and grandfather - insufficient. The idea of the divine origin of power was not alien to the ancestors of the sovereign, however, none of them expressed it so firmly and convincingly. To the proposal of the German Emperor Frederick III to reward Tsar Ivan with a royal title, the latter will answer: “... by the grace of God we are sovereigns on our land from the beginning, from our first ancestors, and we have been appointed by God,” indicating that in the worldly recognition of his power the Moscow prince does not need.
Double headed eagle
To visually illustrate the succession of the fallen house of the Byzantine emperors, a visual expression will be found: from the end of the 15th century, the Byzantine coat of arms - a double-headed eagle - will appear on the royal seal. There are a large number of other versions where the two-headed bird “flew” from, but it is impossible to deny that the symbol appeared during the marriage of Ivan III and the Byzantine heiress.
The best minds
After Sophia’s arrival in Moscow, a fairly impressive group of immigrants from Italy and Greece will form at the Russian court. Subsequently, many foreigners will occupy influential government positions, and will more than once carry out the most important diplomatic government assignments. Ambassadors visited Italy with enviable regularity, but often the list of assigned tasks did not include resolving political issues. They returned with another rich “catch”: architects, jewelers, coiners and gunsmiths, whose activities were directed in one direction - to contribute to the prosperity of Moscow. Visiting miners will find silver and copper ore in the Pechora region, and coins will begin to be minted from Russian silver in Moscow. Among the visitors there will be a large number of professional doctors.
Through the eyes of foreigners
During the reign of Ivan III and Sophia Paleologus, the first detailed notes by foreigners about Rus' appeared. To some, Muscovy appeared as a wild land in which rude morals reigned. For example, for the death of a patient, a doctor could be beheaded, stabbed, drowned, and when one of the best Italian architects, Aristotle Fioravanti, fearing for his life, asked to return to his homeland, he was deprived of his property and imprisoned. Muscovy was seen differently by travelers, those who did not stay long in the bear region. The Venetian merchant Josaphat Barbaro was amazed at the welfare of Russian cities, “abundant with bread, meat, honey and other useful things.” The Italian Ambrogio Cantarini noted the beauty of Russians, both men and women. Another Italian traveler Alberto Campenze, in a report for Pope Clement VII, writes about the excellent border service set up by the Muscovites, the ban on selling alcohol, except holidays, but most of all he is captivated by the morality of Russians. “They consider it a terrible, vile crime to deceive each other,” writes Campenze. - Adultery, violence and public debauchery are also very rare. Unnatural vices are completely unknown, and perjury and blasphemy are completely unheard of.”
New orders
External attributes played a significant role in the rise of the king in the eyes of the people. Sofya Fominichna knew about this from the example of the Byzantine emperors. A magnificent palace ceremony, luxurious royal robes, rich decoration of the courtyard - all this was not present in Moscow. Ivan III, already a powerful sovereign, lived not much more widely and richly than the boyars. Simplicity was heard in the speeches of his closest subjects - some of them, like the Grand Duke, came from Rurik. The husband heard a lot about the court life of the Byzantine autocrats from his wife and from the people who came with her. He probably wanted to become “real” here too. Gradually, new customs began to appear: Ivan Vasilyevich “began to behave majestically”, before the ambassadors he was titled “Tsar”, he received foreign guests with special pomp and solemnity, and as a sign of special mercy he ordered to kiss the Tsar’s hand. A little later, court ranks will appear - bed keeper, nursery keeper, stable keeper, and the sovereign will begin to reward the boyars for their merits.
After a while, Sophia Paleologue will be called an intriguer, she will be accused of the death of Ivan the Young’s stepson and the “unrest” in the state will be justified by her witchcraft. However, this marriage of convenience would last 30 years and would become perhaps one of the most significant marital unions in history.
Game of Thrones: Sofia Paleologue against Elena Voloshanka and the “Judaizers”
“The heresy of the Judaizers,” a religious and political movement that existed in Rus' at the end of the 15th century, still conceals a lot of mysteries. In the history of our state it was destined to become a landmark phenomenon.
Origins
Opposition movements in Rus' have appeared for a long time. At the end of the 14th century, in Pskov and Novgorod, centers of freethinking, a movement of “Strigolniks” arose, which protested against church bribery and money-grubbing. Pskov deacons Nikita and Karp questioned the sacraments performed by official ministers of the cult: “they are unworthy presbyters, we supply them for a bribe; It is unworthy to receive communion from them, nor to repent, nor to receive baptism from them.”
It just so happened that Orthodox Church, which determines the way of life in Rus', has become a bone of contention for various ideological systems. A century after the activities of the Strigolniks, the followers of Nil Sorsky, known for his ideas about “non-covetousness,” loudly declared themselves. They advocated for the Church to abandon its accumulated wealth and called on the clergy to lead a more modest and righteous life.
Blasphemy against the Church
It all started with the fact that Abbot Gennady Gonzov, called to archbishop's service in Novgorod, called by his contemporaries “a bloodthirsty intimidator of criminals against the church,” suddenly discovered fermentation of minds in his flock. Many priests stopped receiving communion, while others even desecrated icons with abusive words. They were also seen to be interested in Jewish rituals and Kabbalah.
Moreover, the local abbot Zacharias accused the archbishop of being appointed to the position for a bribe. Gonzov decided to punish the obstinate abbot and sent him into exile. However, Grand Duke Ivan III intervened in the matter and defended Zacharias.
Archbishop Gennady, alarmed by the heretical revelry, turned to the hierarchs of the Russian Church for support, but real help never received it. Here Ivan III played his role, who, for political reasons, clearly did not want to lose ties with the Novgorod and Moscow nobility, many of whom were classified as “sectarians.”
However, the archbishop had a strong ally in the person of Joseph Sanin (Volotsky), a religious figure who defended the position of strengthening church power. He was not afraid to accuse Ivan III himself, allowing for the possibility of disobedience to the “unrighteous sovereign,” for “such a king is not God’s servant, but the devil, and is not a king, but a tormentor.”
Oppositionist
One of the most important roles in the opposition to the Church and the “Judaizers” movement was played by the Duma clerk and diplomat Fyodor Kuritsyn, the “chief of heretics,” as the Archbishop of Novgorod called him.
It was Kuritsyn who was accused by the clergy of inculcating heretical teaching among Muscovites, which he allegedly brought from abroad. In particular, he was credited with criticizing the Holy Fathers and denying monasticism. But the diplomat did not limit himself to promoting anti-clerical ideas.
Heresy or conspiracy?
But there was one more person around whom heretics and freethinkers gathered - the daughter-in-law of Ivan III and the mother of the heir to the throne Dmitry, Princess Elena Voloshanka of Tver. She had influence on the sovereign and, according to historians, tried to use her advantage for political purposes.
She succeeded, although the victory did not last long. In 1497, Kuritsyn sealed the charter of Ivan III for the Grand Duchy of Dmitry. It is interesting that a double-headed eagle appears for the first time on this seal - the future coat of arms of the Russian state.
The coronation of Dmitry as co-ruler of Ivan III took place on February 4, 1498. Sofia Paleolog and her son Vasily were not invited to it. Shortly before the appointed event, the sovereign uncovered a conspiracy in which his wife tried to disrupt the legal succession to the throne. Some of the conspirators were executed, and Sofia and Vasily found themselves in disgrace. However, historians claim that some accusations, including an attempt to poison Dmitry, were far-fetched.
But the court intrigues between Sofia Paleolog and Elena Voloshanka did not end there. Gennady Gonzov and Joseph Volotsky again enter the political arena, not without Sophia’s participation, and force Ivan III to take up the cause of the “Judaizing heretics.” In 1503 and 1504, Councils against heresy were convened, at which the fate of Kuritsyn's party was decided.
Russian Inquisition
Archbishop Gennady was a zealous supporter of the methods of the Spanish inquisitor Torquemada; in the heat of controversy, he convinced Metropolitan Zosima to adapt strict measures in the conditions of the Orthodox heresy.
However, the metropolitan, suspected by historians of sympathizing with heretics, did not give progress to this process.
The principles of the “punishing sword of the Church” were no less consistently pursued by Joseph Volotsky. In his literary works, he repeatedly called for dissidents to be “handed over with cruel execution,” because the “holy spirit” himself punishes with the hands of executioners. Even those who “did not testify” against heretics fell under his charges.
In 1502, the Church’s struggle against the “Judaizers” finally found a response from the new Metropolitan Simon and Ivan III. The latter, after long hesitation, deprives Dmitry of his grand-ducal rank and sends him and his mother to prison. Sofia achieves her goal - Vasily becomes co-ruler of the sovereign.
The councils of 1503 and 1504, through the efforts of the militant defenders of Orthodoxy, turned into real processes. However, if the first Council is limited only to disciplinary measures, then the second sets in motion the punitive flywheel of the system. Heresy that undermines not only the authority of the Church, but also the foundations of statehood must be eradicated.
By decision of the Council, the main heretics - Ivan Maksimov, Mikhail Konoplev, Ivan Volk - are burned in Moscow, and Nekras Rukavov is executed in Novgorod, after having his tongue cut out. The spiritual inquisitors also insisted on the burning of Yuryev’s Archimandrite Cassian, but the fate of Fyodor Kuritsyn is not known to us for certain.
From his first wife, Marya Ilyinichna Miloslavskaya. Sophia was born in 1657. Gifted with natural abilities, inquisitive, energetic and power-hungry, after the death of her father (1676) she managed to acquire the love and trust of her sick brother Tsar Fyodor and, thanks to this, achieved some influence on state affairs.
After the death of Tsar Fyodor (April 27, 1682), Princess Sophia began to support the rights to the throne not of Natalya Naryshkina’s son, Peter, but of the feeble-minded Tsarevich Ivan. Ivan, unlike Peter, was Sophia’s brother not only on his father’s side, but also on his mother’s side. He was older than Peter, but due to his weak mental abilities he could not personally conduct government affairs. The latter circumstance was beneficial to the power-hungry Sophia, who dreamed of concentrating all power in her own hands under the external screen of Ivan.
Streletsky riot of 1682. Painting by N. Dmitriev-Orenburgsky, 1862.
(Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna shows the archers that Tsarevich Ivan is unharmed)
In the fight against Peter, who had already been placed on the Moscow throne by the boyars, Princess Sophia took advantage of the discontent that arose in the Streltsy army at the end of Tsar Fedor’s life and the first days after his death. Under the influence of the Miloslavsky party led by Sofia, a Streltsy riot began in Moscow. Convened on May 23, 1682, a council of the Duma and all ranks of people (of course, only Muscovites), under the threat of expanding the rebellion, agreed to the demands of the archers that Ivan and Peter reign together. Management "for the sake of youth both sovereigns" was awarded to their sister. The name of the “Great Empress, Blessed Princess and Grand Duchess Sophia Alekseevna” began to be written in all decrees along with the names of both tsars.
Now it was necessary to calm down the archers, who continued to worry. They were led by the former like-minded person of Princess Sophia, the head of the Streltsy order, Prince Ivan Andreevich Khovansky, who had now begun his own struggle for power. Following the archers came the “schismatics” who sought a return to church antiquity and renunciation of all innovations and “heresies” of Patriarch Nikon.
Nikita Pustosvyat. Queen Sophia's dispute with schismatics about faith. Kremlin, 1682 Painting by V. Perov, 1881
Sophia began to act with great energy. Khovansky was executed for his ambitious plans. Duma clerk appointed in his place Shaklovity restored discipline in the streltsy regiments, and Sophia was thus able to raise the authority of the authorities to its previous heights.
Princess Sophia. Portrait from the 1680s.
The subsequent seven-year reign of Sophia on behalf of her brothers (1682 - 1689) was noted in purely civil matters with somewhat greater lenience compared to previous times (the prohibition of separating husbands from their wives when handing over faulty debtors to work off debt; the prohibition of collecting debts from widows and orphans , if there is no property left after husbands and fathers; replacement with whip and exile death penalty for “outrageous words”, etc.). However, religious persecution even intensified: schismatics were persecuted with even greater severity than before. The period of Princess Sophia's reign was the apogee of persecution against them. Sophia's closest collaborator at this time was her heartfelt favorite, Prince Vasily Vasilyevich Golitsyn, one of the most educated people in Moscow at that time, a great admirer of “Westernism”. During the reign of Sophia it was opened in Moscow at the Zaikonospassky Monastery Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, which soon began to play a role not so much educational institution, how much of a kind of church inquisition.
The years of Sophia's power were also marked by important foreign policy events. According to the “Eternal Peace”, on April 21, 1686, Poland finally ceded Kyiv to Moscow and all the lands lost by its kings under the Truce of Andrusovo in 1667. Polish monarch Jan Sobieski made these concessions to attract Moscow to an alliance against the Turks. As part of this union, Prince Vasily Golitsyn undertook two trips to Crimea(in 1687 and 1689), but both of them ended in failure.
Since 1688, the matured Peter I had already begun to take part in affairs and attend the boyar duma. Clashes between him and Princess Sophia began to become more frequent, and a decisive struggle was inevitable. An attempt by Shaklovity and Sophia to rely on the archers in this fight against Peter ( second Streltsy riot) ended with the execution of Shaklovity and the imprisonment of Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent (at the end of September 1689). Thus ended her reign - state affairs now passed into the hands of Peter and his Naryshkin relatives.
Princess Sophia in the Novodevichy Convent. Painting by I. Repin, 1879