Theodora Palaiologina
Encyclopedia
Theodora Palaiologina Synadene was the daughter of Constantine Palaiologos
Constantine Palaiologos (half-brother of Michael VIII)
Constantine Palaiologos was a son of Andronikos Palaiologos, Grand Domestic of the Empire of Nicaea and an unknown second wife...

 and Irene Komnene Laskarina Branaina. Through her father, she was a half-niece of the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...

.

Early life

Both of Theodora's parents died when she was young and unmarried, after which time she was brought up under the guardianship of her paternal half-uncle, the emperor Michael VIII
Michael VIII Palaiologos
Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus reigned as Byzantine Emperor 1259–1282. Michael VIII was the founder of the Palaiologan dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire until the Fall of Constantinople in 1453...

..

Marriage and children

Sometime after being taken in by her half-uncle, Theodora was married to a Byzantine
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 noble named John Angelos Doukas Synadenos
John Synadenos (megas stratopedarches)
John Komnenos Angelos Doukas Synadenos was a Byzantine noble and military leader with the rank of megas stratopedarches during the reigns of Michael VIII Palaiologos and Andronikos II Palaiologos John Komnenos Angelos Doukas Synadenos was a Byzantine noble and military leader with the rank of...

, by whom she had three children:
  • Euphrosyne Synadene. A nun.
  • Theodore Synadenos. Protostrator
    Protostrator
    Prōtostratōr was a Byzantine court office, originating as the imperial stable master, which in the last centuries of the Empire evolved into one of the senior military offices...

    . Married Eudokia Muzakiaina (A picture of Theodore and his wife can be seen here).
  • John Synadenos. Megas Konostaulos. Married Thomais Komnene Doukaina Laskarina Kantakouzene Palaiologina.

Later life

It was not long after the death of her husband that Theodora decided to create the convent of Bebaia Elpis ("Sure Hope") in Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

, bringing her daughter, Euphrosyne, along with her. Sometime in the 14th century, she wrote the Typicon of Bebaia Elpis

The exact year of Theodora's death is unknown, though it was certainly in the 14th century.
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