some medieval roots from Greeks
M Sjostrom
empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa (she was niece of patriarch Mikhael
Keroularios); married Konstantinos XI Doukas, Emperor; whose mother is
indicated by Psellos to have been a descendant of Phokas and Skleros
magnates
Zoe Doukaina porphyrogenneta; married Adrianos Komnenos, son of regent Anna
Dalassena
Alexios Komnenos
daughter; married Alexios Doukas Palaiologos
Georgios Komnenodoukas Palaiologos
Alexios Palaiologos; married Eirene Dasiotissa
Andronikos Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos; married Theodora Palaiologina
Mikhael VIII Palaiologos, Emperor; married Theodora Batatzaina
Eirene Palaiologina; married tsar Ivan Asen III Mitzo, briefly ruler of
Bulgaria
Andronikos Palaiologos Asanes
empress Eirene Asanina; married Ioannes VI Kantakouzenos, emperor; son of
Theodora Angelina Palaiologina
[emperor Matthaios Asanes Kantakouzenos; married Eirene Palaiologina,
herself daughter of despotes Demetrios Angelos Doukas Palaiologos, younger
son of emperor Andronikos II]
[sebastokrator, despotes Demetrios Kantakouzenos, archon of Mistra (bc 1344;
dc 1384)]
ambassador Theodoros Palaiologos Kantakouzenos (d 1410; born est 1370)
[descendant of emperor Ioannes VI, the above reconstruction makes him
great-grandson]; married Helene of Pharsalos, daughter of tsar Ioannes
Ouresis, himself a descendant of emperor Mikhael VIII
Eirene Kantakouzene (born bef est 1400; d 1457); married the Serbian
despotes Djuradj Vukovic Brankovic, ruler of Rashka, 'king George'
despotes Stjepan Djordjevic Brankovic the Saint, briefly the ruling prince
of Rashka; married the Albanian lady Angelina Araniti
despotes Jovan Stjepanovic Brankovic, prince of Rascians in Pannonia;
married Jelena Jaksic
despoina Marija Jovanovna of Rashka; married Ferdinand Frankopani, count
countess Ekaterini Frankopani; married Nikola Zrinski, ban of Croatia
Ekaterini of Zrini; married baron Frantisek Turzo, lord of Betlanovce
count Juraj Turzo, palatine of Hungary
countess Judit Turzo; married baron Andrej Jakusic, lord of Urbova
baroness Alzbeta Jakusic; married nobleman Ladislav Barkozi
nobleman Juraj Barkozi; married baroness Judith Kohary
noblewoman Kristina Barkozi; married count (Alek)sandor Karoli
countess Klara Karoli; married count Gabriel of Haller-keo
count Gabriel of Haller-keo; married countess Anna Maria Grassalkovich
countess Maria Anna of Haller-keo; married count Imre Batthyany
count Imre Batthyany; married countess Elisabeth Majlath
countess Amalia Batthyany; married count Paul Almasy
countess Amalia Almasy; married baron Maximilian von Fabrice
baroness Ellinka von Fabrice; married nobleman Paul von Gans
noblewoman Margot von Gans; married count Adolkar Einsiedel
--------------------------
II
empress Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera, m emperor Alexios III Angelos, son of
Andronikos Angelos, himself son of Theodora Komnena porphyrogenneta,
youngest daughter of empress Eirene Doukaina and emperor Alexios I, himself
son of regent Anna Dalassena
empress Anna Komnena Angelina m emperor Theodoros I Laskaris
despoina Maria Laskarina m Bela IV, king of Hungary
Ilona of Hungary m Boleslaw, Duke of Kalisz
Elisabeth of Kalisz m Henry V, Duke of Legnica
Euphemia of Silesia m Otto II, Duke of Carinthia
Elisabeth of Carinthia m Petros II, king of Sicily
Beatrix of Aragon-Sicily m Rupert II, Elector Palatine
Anna of the Palatinate m William VII, Duke of Julich
Margret of Julich m Otto, Duke of Gottingen
Elisabeth of Brunswick-Gottingen m Eric, Duke of Grubenhagen
Anna of Brunswick-Grubenhagen m Albert III, Duke of Bavaria
Elisabeth of Bavaria m Ernest I, Elector of Saxony
Kirsten Ernsdatter af Saksen m Hans Christensen, king of Denmark, Norway and
Sweden, duke of Slesvig and Holsten
Lisbeth Hansdatter of Norway and Denmark m Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg
Margret of Brandenburg m John II, Prince of Zerbst
Maria of Anhalt-Zerbst m Albert V, Count of Barby
countess Maria of Barby m George III, Count of Erbach
countess Dorothea of Erbach m count Louis Everard of Hohenlohe, lord of
Pfedelbach-Waldenburg
countess Praxedis of Hohenlohe, m count George of Solms, lord of Sonnewalde
count Otto Henry of Solms, lord of Sonnewalde
count Otto William of Solms, lord of Sonnewalde
count Victor of Solms, lord of Sonnewalde
countess Frederikke Louise of Solms-Sonnewalde; married George Leopold von
Arnim, baron of Suckow
baron Ernest von Arnim auf Suckow
ambassador Harry von Arnim, 1.Count von Suckow; married countess Sofie von
Arnim
baroness Karin von Arnim; married count Clemens Adolph Einsiedel, lord of
Lipicz
count Adolkar Einsiedel; married noblewoman Margot von Gans
M Sjostrom
***
Andronikos Palaiologos Asanes
empress Eirene Asanina; married Ioannes VI Kantakouzenos, emperor; son of
Theodora Angelina Palaiologina
[their son: emperor Matthaios Asanes Kantakouzenos; married Eirene
Palaiologina, herself daughter of despotes Demetrios Angelos Doukas
Palaiologos, younger son of emperor Andronikos II]
[their son: sebastokrator, despotes Demetrios Kantakouzenos, archon of
Mistra (bc 1344; dc 1384)]
reconstrued as his son: ambassador Theodoros Palaiologos Kantakouzenos (d
1410; born est 1370) [descendant of emperor Ioannes VI]
***
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00111014&tree=LEO
ambassador Theodoros Kantakouzenos (d 1410 from plague) is believed to have
been a direct descendant of emperor Ioannes VI Kantakouzenos.
I gather this comes at least from a notion that Theodoros was a kinsman of
his ruker, emperor Manuel II - whose mother was a Kantakouzenos, daughter of
Ioannes VI.
But is there any other attestation that this Theodoros was descended
directly from Ioannes VI
??
--------
I gather the best (but not the only viable) reconstruction is that
ambassador Theodoros was an agnatic great-grandson of emperor Ioannes VI.
The chronology allows this well.
Ioannes VI himself wrote in late 1350s that his son Matthaios has two sons:
Ioannes and Demetrios. Which says that up to the date of that writing,
emperor Ioannes did not have a grandson Theodoros.
http://genealogics.org/descend.php?personID=I00293041&tree=LEO&displayoption=all&generations=4
emperor Ioannes VI's other son, Manuel is -I gather- known from contemporary
mention to have been childless.
absent a possibility that Ioannes VI's some daughter's offspring would have
carried the names Palaiologos and Kantakouzenos, and produced that
Theodoros,
it seems the filiation must come through Matthaios.
emperor Matthaios Asanes Kantakouzenos, co-ruler, lord of Adrianopolis (who
married Eirene Palaiologina, herself daughter of despotes Demetrios Angelos
Doukas Palaiologos, younger son of emperor Andronikos II)
was that son of emperor Ioannes VI who most certainly left children. As
Matthaios' marriage seems to have taken place in c1341 or exactly, his
attested two sons are believed to have been born before the mid-1340s.
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00400260&tree=LEO
If matthaios' wife Eirene stopped to have children in about mid-1340s, then
it is somewhat unlikely that she started to have more children (with the
same husband) in about 1360, or so.
Matthaios' (younger) attested son ascertainedly was, I gather:
sebastokrator, despotes Demetrios Kantakouzenos, archon of Mistra (bc 1344;
dc 1384)
As I have given to understand, there is no documentation to say about any
children born to this Demetrios; nor any documentation stating Theodoros
were his son.
So, the filiation of the ambassador Theodoros to this sebastokrator
Demetrios, comes from circumstantial evidence. Indicative evidence.
For example, I gather a near-contemporary source lists a Demetrios as eldest
son of ambassador Theodoros - which supports greatly that Theodoros himself
was son of a Demetrios.
[for a gentleman who surely was born in or before c1370, there is not many
Demetrioses chronologically possible as father if that Demetrios needs to be
directly descended from emperor Ioannes VI. The Demetrios (bc 1344) son of
Matthaios is very natural answer to that.]
M Sjostrom
Urbova:
count Juraj Turzo, palatine of Hungary
countess Judit Turzo; married baron Andrej Jakusic, lord of Urbova
baroness Alzbeta Jakusic; married baron Ladislav Barkozi
baron Juraj Barkozi; married baroness Judith Kohary
------
I follow the genealogy and filiations presented in Miroslav Marek's
collection
http://genealogy.euweb.cz/hung/jakuss.html
because, when I checked the chronology, it works much better with filiations
as presented by Miroslav Marek.
baroness Alzbeta Jakusic (m baron Barkozi) and her sister baroness Anna
Jakusic (m count Druget ze Humenne) are chronologically much more plausible
as daughters of countess Judit Turzo ze Betlanovce and her husband, baron
Andrej Jakusic, lord of Urbova (whose wedding apparently was in 1607); than
as their agnatic grandddaughters. At least some children of both Alzbeta and
Anna are born in the 1630s at latest. Which means, both Alzbeta and Anna
must have been born in the 1610s at latest. They cannot plausibly be
daughters of Andrej's and Judit's son baron Imrech Jakusic ze Urbova, who
cannot himself have been born before c1608, and who cannot thusly be at age
to sire daughters himself in the 1610s.
Besides, I tend to believe that Miroslav Marek -as sort of local there,
commanding the local languages- probably has had better sources about those
Slovak-residing families.
so, these baroness Alzbeta and baroness Anna
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00539043&tree=LEO
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00320452&tree=LEO
should be born of the 1607 marriage between countess Judit Turzo ze
Betlanovce and her husband, baron Andras Jakusic ze Urbova
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00037872&tree=LEO
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00324410&tree=LEO
the said countess Judit Turzo (seemingy born in 1585) is somewhere presented
as one of daughters of her father (palatin, count Juraj) by baroness Alzbeta
Coborova (the second wife), and elsewhere as daughter of her father Juraj by
his first wife baroness Sofia. I was not interested enough at that point of
drafting that lineage, to go out of my way to solve that specific question,
since it was irrelevant to the flow of that lineage from Greece. Probably,
Judit was daughter of Sofia - though, we wouldn't see that from the naming
of Judit's children, none of whom afaik bore the name of Sofia, though there
was several daughters.
about ortography of those names: to best of my knowledge, these all resided
chiefly in the region of Slovakia (of old, often called Upper Hungary). A
Slavic, not Magyar, region. Perhaps it is good to remind at this point that
the 'official' language of the kingdom of Hungary in those days was anyway
latin, and not magyar - it was a multi-cultural, multi-language realm, and
perhaps they felt themselves it inappropriate to magyarize things there.
Besides, after the Ottomans did all that in the 1500s, there were not so
much Magyars and Magyar regions left in the kingdom, which was chiefly
Slovak-Croat at that point.
The name Jakusic/ Jakussith, attested surname of the family which produced
these baronesses Alzbeta and Anna, is a giveaway about ethnic roots: the
word is seemingly meaningless in Magyar language, while it is obviously a
relatively usual Slavic name. So, I regard the Slovak renditions to be
better grounded than the Magyar renditions. Of course, cultural imperialism
being what it has been, and genealogies of nobility which ended up as
Austrian Empire's being often germanicized, someone could render these in
german anyway. Notwithstanding that in their own era, german did not have
that much of a position in those slavic regions yet.
------
by the way, the googlegroups things of this group, works erratically. Leo's
two postings about this, have not come through to googlegroups - I found
them only by happenstance in the other, Rootsweb archive, where they are. I
usually follow only the googlegroups version of the group....
M Sjostrom
>
>
>
> Of course, these two lines were selective and by most generations other
> children are known.
The selection, of course, was chosen for to present some Greek roots of
Tatiana Blatnik,
who is going to be married with prince Nikolaos of Greece
and quite possibly, they will have children, to continue these 'Dakianes'
lineages from the Doukas, Makrembolites, Kamateros, Laskaris, Angelos......
> As a result there are many many people who descend from
> the two people these lines started with.
>
> I decided to do a count, even though I know that my own program (DOS)
> restricts me to 26 generations of descendants.
>
> Empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa going down 26 generations we reach roughly
> the year 1800, indicating some 7 or more generations are missing. For the
> 26
> generations my system counted 15,581 descendants.
>
> Empress Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera, with the same restrictions, does a
> lot
> better. I gave up after counting 101,800 descendants.
>
>
>
>
knowing that Leo's database has about 500 000 entries (= separate
individuals), the number which already in about 1800 exceeded 100 000 (and
could well approach several hundreds of thousands), is indicative that
empress Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera is actually a foremother of much of
Europe today. As it's thusly no great distinction to simply be her direct
descendant (because, apparently, millions of people are), I believe the
intriguing piece is that seemingly, her unbroken matriline survives today,
and that there's a bunch of people who should have *her* mitochondrial DNA.
Whereas a 'mere' 15 000 of people, is still a limited portion of a
population in Leo's database, which exceeds 500 000, and in c1800 and before
obviously has several hundreds of thousands, such as perhaps 300 000 - 400
000.
So, Eudokia Makrembolitissa is a clearly rarer foremother to have.... which
means some distinction.
M Sjostrom
http://trondni.blogspot.com/2010/03/tatiana-blatniks-background.html
and questions remain unanswered, I gather.
However, genealogists can say a lot about her roots, based on the fact that
her maternal grandmother Elinka is daughter of count Adolkar Einsiedel and
Margot Gans.
M Sjostrom
was, according to Massarello manuscript, married to Theodoros Kantakouzenos.
Since Helene's father was of that Nemanja branch (Thessalian branch) which
used the name *Palaiologos* in its greek-like string of names, Helene could
well be mentioned in some literature as 'Palaiologina'
Massarello manuscript specifically seems to use the name Helena, not
Euphrosyne.
Helene of Pharsalos' parents were [according to Massarello manuscript]:
a daughter of a lord (of/in) Drimi
and her husband
Tsar Ioannes Ouresis = Jovan Urosh, Nemanja-rooted titular tsar of Serbians,
and anyway in the 1370s ruler of Thessalia;
himself son of
Tsar Symeon Urosh (Simeon Ouresis Palaiologos), cognatic heir to those
Palaiologoi who held Macedonia, also a Nemanja claimant, and in the 1360s
ruler of Thessalia
http://genealogics.org/pedigree.php?personID=I00485790&tree=LEO
and his wife
Thomais Komnena Angelina Orsini, sort of co-heiress of Epeiros
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00485791&tree=LEO
These Byzantines often had two alternative names for posterity to have a
reminiscence or record - for example, a civilian name and a monastery name.
The same phenomenon has caused lots of confusion in other cases
Euphrosyne/ Helene, just might have such an explanation.
http://genealogics.org/getperson.php?personID=I00111014&tree=LEO
senator, ambassador Theodoros Palaiologos Kantakouzenos (d 1410) obviously
became the father of Eirene Kantakouzene, who in 1414 was married to Djuradj
Vukovic Brankovic, 'king George', ruler of Rashka = Rascia, that Serbian
despotes.
http://genealogics.org/pedigree.php?personID=I00111001&tree=LEO
and they certainly have descendants
http://genealogics.org/descend.php?personID=I00111000&tree=LEO
M Sjostrom
are there graver doubts about the filiations in the descent between Zoe
Doukaina porphyrogenneta and despotes Palaiologos emperors ??
---------------
Zoe Doukaina porphyrogenneta (daughter of emperor Konstantinos X); married
Adrianos Komnenos
Alexios Komnenos
daughter; married Alexios Doukas Palaiologos
Georgios Komnenodoukas Palaiologos
Alexios Palaiologos; married Eirene Dasiotissa
Andronikos Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos; married Theodora Palaiologina
or how did it go?
-----------------
why do others have:
Zoe Doukaina porphyrogenneta (daughter of emperor Konstantinos X)a; married
Adrianos Komnenos
Alexios Komnenos
daughter; married Alexios Doukas Palaiologos
Georgios Komnenodoukas Palaiologos, Grand Heteriarch (b est 1125; dc 1168)
despotes Alexios Palaiologos; married Eirene Komnena Angelina, daughter of
Alexios III
Theodora Palaiologina; married Andronikos Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos
--
obviously, Eirene Dasiotissa's husband cannot be the same person as Eirene
Angelina's husband.
-------------------
there seems to exist some acceptance to the lineage:
Zoe Doukaina porphyrogenneta (daughter of emperor Konstantinos X)a; married
Adrianos Komnenos
Alexios Komnenos
daughter; married Alexios Doukas Palaiologos
Georgios Komnenodoukas Palaiologos
but is this solely based on a mere later claim that Georgios (or some of his
descendants) is directly descended from Zoe porphyrogenneta?
and then there seems to exist a difference of opinion about the precise
identification of Georgios, whether he was the Grand Heteriarch (b est 1125;
dc 1168), or not, and if there were two Georgioses too close and confusable.
as well then how Georgios was forefather of Palaiologos emperors.
Who was the (hopefully, attested) father of despotes Alexios Palaiologos?
-------
I gather that the following lineage is solidly attested:
---
despotes Alexios Palaiologos; married Eirene Komnena Angelina, daughter of
Alexios III
their daughter:
Theodora Palaiologina; married Andronikos Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos
their children, including son, emperor Mikhael VIII.
---
and I gather that it would be not too clearly attested how either despotes
Alexios or that Andronikos (his son-in-law), were descended from Zoe
porphyrogenneta.
What are solid points within that earlier descent?
Is there any better basis for either of them to be descended from Zoe than a
seemingly 1200s claim in conjunction of one or more of their descendants, to
be Zoe's progeny?
M Sjostrom
http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/gen-medieval/2001-06/0993059787
M Sjostrom
what is on solid ground and what is not so.
Europäische Stammtafeln obviously did not have Vannier nor much of that
precise knowledge, and thusly the ES account is outdated.
http://genealogics.org/descend.php?personID=I00139082&tree=LEO&displayoption=all&generations=4
(but, the mistakes from ES should be amended)
the apparently Macedonian noble root
general Nikephoros Palaiologos (slain 1081)
1 Georgios Palaiologos, Sebastos, duke of Dyrrhakhion
m Anna Doukaina, sister-in-law of Alexios I, niece of Konstantinos X
1.1 Nikephoros Doukas Palaiologos, Sebastos
1.1.1 probably: the branch 'Doukas Palaiologos'
[ Eirene Komnene Kantakouzene m
Alexios Doukas Palaiologos, mages doux [probably a scion
of the branch Doukas Palaiologos]
Andronikos Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos, megas
domestikos, Governor of Thessaloniki d. bef 1252
m Theodora Palaiologina b. Abt 1200
http://genealogics.org/descend.php?personID=I00139079&tree=LEO
1.2 Alexios Doukas Palaiologos, general b. 1095/1100
m (Anna) Doukaina Komnena
1.2.1 Georgios Komnenodoukas Palaiologos, Sebastos, megas hetaireiarches
b. Abt 1125 d. 1167/1170 Adrianopolis
1.2.1.1 despotes Alexios Komnenos Palaiologos d bef 1204
m Eirene Komnene Angelina, daughter of emperor Alexios III
http://genealogics.org/descend.php?personID=I00293031&tree=LEO
1.2.1.1.1 Theodora Palaiologina b. Abt 1200
m Andronikos Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos, megas domestikos,
Governor of Thessaloniki d. Aft 1248, probably a scion of the Doukas
Palaiologos branch
1.2.1.1.1.1 Maria Palaiologina b. Abt 1216
1.2.1.1.1.2 Mikhael VIII Palaiologos, Emperor of Nicaea and Constantinople
b. Abt 1224 d. 11 Dec 1282
* and their siblings
M Sjostrom
amended as follows:
I
empress Eudokia Makrembolitissa (she was niece of patriarch Mikhael
Keroularios); married Konstantinos XI Doukas, Emperor; whose mother is
indicated by Psellos to have been a descendant of Phokas and Skleros
magnates
Zoe Doukaina porphyrogenneta; married Adrianos Komnenos, son of regent Anna
Dalassena
Alexios Komnenos (married Eirene Synadene)
(Anna) Doukaina Komnena; married Alexios Doukas Palaiologos, general
Georgios Komnenodoukas Palaiologos, Sebastos, megas hetaireiarches
despotes Alexios Komnenos Palaiologos; married Eirene Komnene Angelina,
daughter of emperor Alexios III
Theodora Palaiologina; married Andronikos Doukas Komnenos Palaiologos, megas
domestikos, governor of Thessaloniki, son of Alexios Doukas Palaiologos,
megas doux; and his wife Eirene Komnene Kantakouzene
Mikhael VIII Palaiologos, Emperor; married Theodora Batatzaina
Eirene Palaiologina; married tsar Ivan Asen III Mitzo, briefly ruler of
Bulgaria
Andronikos Palaiologos Asanes
empress Eirene Asanina; married Ioannes VI Kantakouzenos, emperor; son of
Theodora Angelina Palaiologina
[emperor Matthaios Asanes Kantakouzenos; married Eirene Palaiologina,
herself daughter of despotes Demetrios Angelos Doukas Palaiologos, younger
son of emperor Andronikos II]
[sebastokrator, despotes Demetrios Kantakouzenos, archon of Mistra (bc 1344;
dc 1384)]
senator, ambassador Theodoros Palaiologos Kantakouzenos (d 1410; born est
1370)
[descendant of emperor Ioannes VI, the above reconstruction makes him
great-grandson]; married Helene of Pharsalos, daughter of tsar Ioannes
Ouresis, himself a descendant of emperor Mikhael VIII
Eirene Kantakouzene (born bef est 1400; d 1457); married the Serbian
despotes Djuradj Vukovic Brankovic, ruler of Rashka, 'king George'
despotes Stjepan Djordjevic Brankovic the Saint, briefly the ruling prince
of Rashka; married the Albanian lady Angelina Araniti
despotes Jovan Stjepanovic Brankovic, prince of Rascians in Pannonia;
married Jelena Jaksic
despoina Marija Jovanovna of Rashka; married Ferdinand Frankopani, count
countess Ekaterini Frankopani; married Nikola Zrinski, ban of Croatia
Ekaterini of Zrini; married baron Frantisek Turzo, lord of Betlanovce
count Juraj Turzo, palatine of Hungary
countess Judit Turzo; married baron Andrej Jakusic, lord of Urbova
baroness Alzbeta Jakusic; married baron Ladislav Barkozi
baron Juraj Barkozi; married baroness Judith Kohary
baroness Kristina Barkozi; married count (Alek)sandor Karoli
countess Klara Karoli; married count Gabriel of Haller-keo
count Gabriel of Haller-keo; married countess Anna Maria Grassalkovich
countess Maria Anna of Haller-keo; married count Imre Batthyany
count Imre Batthyany; married countess Elisabeth Majlath
countess Amalia Batthyany; married count Paul Almasy
countess Amalia Almasy; married baron Maximilian von Fabrice
baroness Ellinka von Fabrice; married nobleman Paul von Gans
noblewoman Margot von Gans; married count Adolkar Einsiedel
whose daughter became the maternal grandmother of Tatiana Blatnik
--------------------------
M Sjostrom
Mstislavich, Duke of Volynia - and became ancestress of a lot of people, at
least via her son, King Daniel Romanovich, ruler of Halych
http://genealogics.org/descend.php?personID=I00118613&tree=LEO
I gather it is known that this Greek lady got married to the Ruthenian
prince, 'king', Roman in around the reign of emperor Alexios III
(Angelos)
around or a bit before the year 1200, being sent by the Emperor of
Constantinople, and that she was from the extended imperial family.
Seemingly, good knowledge of her precise filiation is missing?????
I believe it is clear this lady cannot have been the then Emperor's own
daughter, since the three daughters of Alexios III are well attested - and
one of them was even named Anna.
'king' Roman was such an important figure, powerful (plus the context of
crafting an alliance would necessitate)
that the lady offered to marriage, would be Emperor's high-blooded
kinswoman, born of high enough parents and closely related to the Emperor.
Usual recipe was niece.
During Alexios III's reign (or theraround), seemingly others -'nieces' of
Emperors- were married off to diplomatic marriages to some principalities,
here example of what sort of brides from the closest kin of Alexios III:
http://genealogics.org/descend.php?personID=I00033520&tree=LEO&displayoption=all&generations=4
As I gather it, in the Angelos' reigns (from 1185), brides for foreign
marriages were from the Angeloi branch, and no attested such brides of that
epoch were from imperial descendants who were more remote to the Angeloi.
This would favor that the lady was progeny of Alexios III's some sibling - a
thing consistent with the long tradition of offering 'nieces' to such
marriages.
M Sjostrom
I observed that again, someone (this time, someone using name 'Jean Coeur de
Lapin') postulates the erroneous allegation that
"... not to any of the emperors before Alexius I (1081-1118)."
While I agree that all the reigning royals in Europe can trace their
ancestry to several of the Byzantine emperors,
I do not agree that sufficiently reliable genealogies stop to Alexios I.
There are a few of his predecessors, from whom there exists a lineage to the
present day, as reliable as some late-medieval lineages from Alexios I are.
Of those earlier emperors, the following have a relatively well atttested
lineage of progeny to the present day:
* Konstantinos X Doukas
* Romanos III Diogenes
* Romanos I Lekapenos
* if caesars are accepted, then kaisar Bardas Phokas the old
----------
In addition, it behooves to mention that descent from some Monomakhos to the
present say is safe: either it was Konstantinos IX Monomakhos himself, or
his close relative
---------------------------------
while, of course, a number of myths should be discarded:
Leo VI's descent is unlikely, Leo the Armenian's descent is actually a bad
joke that no respectable genealogist should present as anything else than a
desperate 'hypothesis'
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of most ancient Byzantine descents from emperors, surprisingly the
descent(s) from Romanos I Lekapenos, that upstart climber, is the earliest
from the imperial throne.
Nobody probably imagined that it's him (as opposed to for example his
son-in-law's family and such) whose progeny would turn out to be so exalted.