Anna of Moscow

Anna Vasilyevna of Moscow (Russian: Анна Васильевна; 1393 – August 1417) was a Byzantine empress consort by marriage to John VIII Palaiologos.[1] She died while her husband was still the junior co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.

Anna of Moscow
Anna on the Large Sakkos of Photius, 1410s
Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire
Tenure1416–1417
(with Helena Dragaš)
Born1393
DiedAugust 1417 (aged 23–24)
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1414)​
DynastyRurik (Daniilovichi)
FatherVasily I of Moscow
MotherSophia of Lithuania

Life

She was a daughter of Vasily I of Moscow and Sophia of Lithuania.

She married John VIII in 1414.[1] Her husband was the eldest surviving son of Manuel II Palaiologos and Helena Dragaš. John was named Despotes in 1416 and seems to have assumed the position of co-emperor shortly thereafter.

Anna was second in status only to her mother-in-law among the women of the Byzantine court. The history of Doukas records her dying of the "plague" in 1417. She is thought to be a victim of bubonic plague. Following the Black Death this plague continued to strike parts of Europe sporadically until the 17th century, each time with reduced intensity and fatality, suggesting an increased resistance due to genetic selection.

Ancestry

References
  1. Hilsdale, Cecily J. (2014-02-20). Byzantine Art and Diplomacy in an Age of Decline. Cambridge University Press. p. 297. ISBN 978-1-107-72938-4.


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