Theodora of Antioch

**Theodora Angelina Vatatzaina** (Greek: Θεοδώρα Άγγελίνα Βατάτζη, 27 October 1240, Constantinople – 1 November 1295, Tripoli), also known as **Theodora of Antioch**, was a Byzantine noblewoman who reigned as Queen Consort of Armenia and Syria and later as Queen of Jerusalem and Queen of Acre through her marriage to Bohemond II of Syria in the second half of the thirteenth century.

An accomplished writer and historian, Theodora is the author of *Latinokratia*, a historical chronicle which details the history of the Crusader States in the Levant from the First Crusade to the Fall of Tripoli, devoting special attention to the reign of her husband Bohemond II and that of her son, Leo .

## Early Life

Theodora was born in Constantinople in 1240. Her mother, Eudokia Angelina, was a granddaughter of Emperor Isaac II and his Hungarian wife, and thus descended from Roman and Magyar royalty alike. Her father was John Doukas Vatatzes, himself a nephew of the then reigning emperor, John III , and a descendant of John II Komnenos. Even as a young girl, Theodora Angelina Vatatzaina was for all intents and purposes one of the greatest noblewomen of the Empire, and undoubtedly the closest female relative of the Imperial Family, the Great Laskarids , who had failed to produce any purple-born princesses in abundance themselves. Therefore, from birth, young Theodora was always kept close to the court at the Palace of Boukoleon, both because of the favor showered upon the Vatatzes family during John III's reign and for her political value in the later marriage game.

During her early childhood, Theodora was raised by her mother in her villa at the capital and at the Imperial Gynaeceum, sometimes. The Empress Eirene, her great-aunt, had predeceased her by about one year, and in those years there was some confusion over the hierarchy over the patrician ladies at the Byzantine court. As none had been named *Augusta* by the Emperor and there were not any purple-born princesses, the honor would have fallen to the Grand Domestic's wife. Andronikos Palaiologos , however, had been a widower for more than a decade by the time of Empress Eirene's death, and did not seek to remarry. Theodora's mother, Eudokia Angelina, as the granddaughter of an Emperor and wed to the nephew of another, who had claimed the title of *Sebastokrator*, was a prime contender for the post, and young Theodora would be raised in those years as a purple-born princess would, learning letters and numbers. However, Eudokia's reign came to a swift end when Emperor John III took as his wife Constance of Hohenstaufen , baptized as Empress Anna, and had her named *Augusta* and, thus, chief lady of the court.

Her generous lifestyle was abruptly ended when the Grand Domestic, Andronikos Palaiologos, overthrew John III in 1245 and had himself crowned as Emperor of the Romans. The palace coup had caught both Eudokia and her daughters (another girl, Maria, had followed in 1242) unaware; even as Andronikos' men invaded the Palace of Boukoleon, slaughtered the Varangian Guard and mortally wounded the Emperor, Eudokia Angelina and her family had been at the Church of the Holy Apostles in a customary procession. There, they were set upon by Palaiologos' men and, having been denied the chance of a flight, imprisoned at his command. It was a time of civil war, and Eudokia and her children of imperial blood were a liability that had to be kept close. Their protector, Theodora's father, had died from an illness only months before the coup, and now they were at the mercy of the former Grand Domestic. Andronikos II had them locked away in relative comfort in the Prison of Anemas, built on the city walls near to Blachernae, from where young Theodora and her sister and mother had a prime view of the Scythian Siege , that came two years later. Those years in the Prison of Anemas left their mark upon young Theodora, as well as the horrors she witnessed during the siege. It was said that she had been intended to marry a future son of Michael Palaiologos , Andronikos II's heir, a terrifying prospect for the girl.

At almost nine years of age, Theodora and her family were released from their imprisonment when Emperor Theodore II lifted the Siege of Constantinople, toppled Andronikos' regime and retook his rightful place in the purple. All of their former honors were restored to the family, although Eudokia would never again occupy the post of chief lady of the court. That honor had been firstly awarded to Theodora Palaiologina Kantakouzene , who had recently been married to the Emperor's chief minister and truest friend George Mouzalon , and she was later in turn replaced by another namesake, this time Theodora Megali Komnena , who became Empress and *Augusta* in 1254. Nevertheless, Theodora Vatatzaina remained a prominent noblewoman, especially due to the favoritism and patronage shown to her by both Emperor Theodore and Theodora Mouzalonissa. The former took a keen interest in the girl's education and would often spend time with the only family that he had left, whereas the latter took a liking to the young lady and took her and her sister under her wing. As normalcy was gradually restored to the Byzantine Empire, Theodora's admiration for her cousin the Emperor only grew, and with time she came to consider him her surrogate father. She became educated in theology, literature and philosophy, well versed in the ancient Greek and Roman texts, as well as the gospel.

## Queen of Syria and Armenia

The next stage of Theodora's life came in 1256, when she was promised as a bride to the King of Syria and then heir to the Crown of Armenia, Bohemond de Poitiers. The negotiations were led by a delegation headed by the Grand Logothete George Akropolites, who traveled to Tarsus to attend Bohemond's coronation as King of Armenia. His mother, the late Queen Isabella, had snubbed Theodora in the past, but now she was dead and the negotiations could go on. The bride price were the lands taken by the late Queen during the Mongol invasion, an eternal point of contest between the Byzantines and the Armenians ever since. Theodora's marriage to King Bohemond saw the cities of Attaleia and Baris returned to the Byzantine Empire, solidifying the alliance. When the Armenian nobility rose up in rebellion, the Emperor Theodore sent two thousand men under the command of Leon Spartenos to quell the rebellion and reestablish King Bohemond's authority over his realm, further strengthening the ties between Constantinople and Antioch.

As for Theodora herself, it is recorded in her chronicle that she found in Bohemond an agreeable husband. Her sixteen year old self also relished at the thought of becoming the chief lady of Antioch and wear a Queen's crown, the symbol of royalty that had been denied to her at home. She converted to the Latin rite and took it upon herself to learn some of her husband's French language, although she did not spend too much effort in it as she considered Greek to be a vastly superior and more educated language.

At Antioch, her life began well enough. Already a year into the marriage, Queen Theodora was showing signs of pregnancy and, in 1258, a son was born to her and her husband. The young boy's birth was much rejoiced and he was named Bohemond, after his father. The joy did not last long, though, for the child would perish only a few days after birth, leaving the Queen grief-stricken for months and casting a shadow over the splendor of her court. Another child would follow two years later, a girl named Isabella, who lived, but her gender did not make her an ideal heir to the thrones of Armenia and Syria. Throughout the 1260's, it seemed that Queen Theodora had trouble conceiving and even miscarried two early pregnancies. She coped with the losses by investing even more time in her studies of theology, and translated several Latin texts from Western Europe into Greek, manuscripts she promptly sent to her second father at Constantinople.

As Queen, Theodora hosted a court of different backgrounds and religions at Antioch. She positioned herself as a patron of knowledge, which occasionally made her unpopular with her husband's Frankish courtiers and martial knights. At her side she had companions from several notable Roman noble families, mostly of Armenian descent. The Master of Ceremonies, the eunuch Niketas Tornikes, a son of the famed Roman statesman Demetrios Tornikes, John III's chief minister, and her personal secretary Thomas Kourtikios (another eunuch) were some of her most notable courtiers. At the same time, she was the patron of a thriving theological debate between representatives and clerks of the Armenian Church and the Patriarchs of Antioch, the Greek Simeon II (in exile at Constantinople) and the Latin Opizo Fieschi. Among her ladies, she took in both Armenian and Frankish noblewomen, as well as a score of Roman ones, who are admittedly her closest friends in the Frankish dominated court. Her position as Queen became secure with the birth of her second son, Leo, in 1266.

During her reign, Theodora made heavy efforts to connect with the Armenian subjects of her husband, who were often a constant source of discontentment due to religious, cultural and ethinc disputes with the court of Antioch. With the death of their sovereign, Isabella, the Armenian crown had been inherited by her Frankish son Bohemond, who at the time already reigned as King of Syria and paid little mind to the Armenian half of his new kingdom. As a Byzantine princess educated in Constantinople and raised under the Eastern rite, Theodora was well placed to serve as the bridge between Bohemond and the Armenian nobility. Over time, Theodora's court at Antioch came to include not only Byzantine nobles, lettered men and scholars, but also members of the Armenian nobility who found in her a willing vessel to voice their interests and concerns to Bohemond. Theodora, thus, became deeply involved with Armenian affairs, and always vouched for their interests at court.

## Latin Empire

With the elevation of Bohemond to Emperor of the East by Pope Nicholas III in 1281, the alliance with the Byzantine Empire broke down. Theodora records in her chronicle that she had adamantly opposed and advised against Bohemond's acceptance of the imperial crown, warning him of future conflict with Constantinople should he proclaim himself Emperor and break the alliance between Antioch and Constantinople, which the Byzantines saw as a bond of vassalage. Due to her heavy criticism of Bohemond's new imperial title, the couple became estranged and Bohemond became suspicious of his wife. Fearing her machinations in favor of the Byzantines, which Theodora denies in her chronicle, Bohemond had her imprisoned and exiled from Antioch.

Theodora was kept imprisoned during her exile at the fortified city of Tiberias, on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Her exile lasted from 1281 to 1286, during which she made her first inroads into writing her historical chronicle. The years of isolation were only softened by the presence of her former minister and secretary the eunuch Niketas Tornikes, whose company Bohemond had allowed her following her imprisonment. As Theodora's location was kept a secret during her exile, her imprisonment and sudden disappearance, as well as the purge of her courtiers at Antioch, was heavily criticized by the Armenian nobility. For this reason, most of the Armenian nobility rose in rebellion against Bohemond and joined Byzantine emperor Skantarios Laskaris in the war, which would ultimately result in a Byzantine victory.

Upon the end of the war, Theodora was released from her imprisonment, although she remained estranged from her husband. Due to her imprisonment, Theodora was not officially crowned Latin Empress, and thus could not lay claim to the imperial title.

## Later years, death and legacy

Theodora spent the last of her years first in Acre and then in Tripoli, helplessly watching the slow but inevitable collapse of the Crusader States, left isolated and weakened in the Levant after the dissolution of the Byzantine alliance. Bohemond was killed in battle in 1289, after which Theodora became the Queen Mother of Acre. Her relationship with her son Leo was distant because of his support of his father's actions and ambitions, which remained a perpetual point of disagreement until the end of Theodora's live. An increasingly bitter woman, robbed of her previous influence and seen as a pariah by Franks and Byzantines alike, she spent her days alone in her manse outside the palace, attended only by Niketas Tornikes and a few faithful servants.

Theodora finally finished her chronicle, which she named *Latinokratia* ("Rule of the Latins"), in the final months of 1295, shortly before her death. A copy in Latin was addressed to her son, King Leo, while the original text in Greek was smuggled out of Tripoli on the eve of its conquest by the Mamluk forces by Niketas Tornikes, who presented the chronicle to emperor Romanos VI Melissenos at Constantinople. Although the original Latin version of *Latinokratia* has been lost, the original Greek version was preserved at Constantinople and has been regarded by modern historians as one of the principal primary sources on Crusader history, especially the for the reign of Theodora's husband Bohemond and son Leo. Theodora also described her own rule as Queen of Syria of Armenia in excruciating detail in her text, probably written during her imprisonment at Tiberias, shedding important light and information on the thirteenth-century Antiochene court and the state of Armenia and Syria.

Ultimately, in addition to Theodora's many contributions to historiography, her greatest legacy was the reapproachement she promoted as Queen between the Armenian and Byzantine nobilities, which had been at odds for most of the thirteenth century. The links forged between Armenians and Byzantines at Antioch during her rule would outlive both Bohemond and her and become one of the cornerstones of Byzantine rule in Antioch and Cilicia after 1286. Furthermore, the outrage at her imprisonment had provided a common cause for Byzantines and Armenians to rally around, which ultimately proved essential to the Byzantine victory over Bohemond. Her religious work at Antioch with the Armenian Church and the Greek Patriarch would also eventually contribute to the controversial union of the Armenian Church to the Orthodox Church established in 1313 at the Council of Nymphaeum. Theodora's work and that of her religious scholars and theologians at Antioch were cited more than once in the Council proceedings. Indeed, Theodora is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Church, although her sainthood is not recognized by the Orthodox Church.

Theodora died in Tripoli on 1 November 1295 at age fifty-five. Her death was regarded as sudden by her contemporaries. Recent research has indicated that her death might have been a suicide instead. Tripoli was on the verge of falling to the Mamluk besieging force (and with it the last Crusader stronghold in the Levant). It is recorded that Theodora died in the night before her son Leo and his children left Tripoli by sea to go into exile in Africa. In a letter to Theodora's sister Maria, her secretary Niketas Tornikes wrote that "the Queen died of sadness at the prospect of abandoning her fourth home in ten years. She wished to die in the Holy Land, not as an exile in Africa". Prior to her death, Theodora left instructions to be buried at Tripoli next to Bohemond's grave. However, when her body was retrieved by the Mamluks it was sent as a gift to the Byzantines in Antioch, where she was laid to rest at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, which she had founded and supported throughout her reign as Queen.

## Family

By her husband Bohemond II, Theodora of Antioch was the mother of seven children:

1. Bohemond (1258), who died in infancy.
2. Isabella (b. 1260).
3. Theodora (1261), who died in infancy.
4. Helen (1263), who died in infancy.
5. Leo (b. 1266) , who succeeded his father as king.
6. Theodora (b. 1275).
7. Plaisance (b. 1275).