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DOI: 10.46698/VNC.2022.18.11.004
AUTOCRATORISSA MARIA OF THE ALANS IN THE SYSTEM OF DYNASTIC RELATIONS OF ALANIA, THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND GEORGIA
Malakhov, Sergey N.
Kavkaz Forum. 2022. Issue 11.
Abstract:
Based on written and sphragistic materials, the article examines the main
pages of the biography of the Byzantine Empress Maria of the Alans, who played
an important role in strengthening the Alan-Byzantine and Georgian-Byzantine
interstate ties in the second half of the XIth century. The autocratress Maria, the
niece of the Alanian exusiocrator Durgulele and the daughter of the Georgian
king Bagrat IV, was known in Byzantine society as «alanissa». The reasons for
assigning this ethnic name to her, which cannot be considered as erroneous, are
considered. Maria of Alan retained her maternal cultural identity: in particular,
she contributed to the expansion of Alan-Byzantine ties and the strengthening
of the position of the Alan nobility in the ruling class of the Byzantine Empire.
Maria actively participated in the legitimation of the Komnenos dynasty, the
cultural and church life of Byzantine society. Rapprochement of Alanya, Georgia
and Byzantium from the middle of the XIth - the beginning of the XII century. was
predetermined by a single religion and the increased foreign policy threat from
the Seljuk Turks. Matrimonial unions between the ruling dynasties of neighboring
powers became the basis for the development of close military and political
cooperation.
The relevance of the article is determined by the growing research interest in
the problems of religious self-identification of the modern Ossetians on the basis
of the religious affiliation of their ancestors. The novelty of the study is determined
by the involvement of new sources, in particular, sphragistic data. The purpose
of the article is to identify the role of Mary of the Alans in strengthening the
international relations of Orthodox states. Another aspect of interest is that for
medieval societies, the active political participation of women, even with high
social status, was not the norm. The fact that evidence of such activity of a woman
has come down to us indicates her outstanding merits.
Keywords: Alania, Byzantine Empire, Georgia, autocrat Maria of the Alans, dynastic ties
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