Irene Lekapene (bornMaria;Bulgarian:Ирина Лакапина,Greek:Μαρία/Ειρήνη Λεκαπηνή, diedc. 966) was theEmpress consort ofPeter I of Bulgaria. She was а daughter ofChristopher Lekapenos, son and co-emperor ofRomanos I Lekapenos, and his wifeAugustaSophia.[1]
| Irene Lekapene | |
|---|---|
 Seal depicting Irene with Peter I | |
| Empress consort of Bulgaria | |
| Born | Unknown Byzantine Empire |
| Spouse | Peter I of Bulgaria |
| Issue | Plenimir,Boris II,Roman |
| Father | Christopher Lekapenos |
| Mother | Sophia |
To prove himself a worthy successor tohis father both at home and in the eyes of foreign governments, Bulgaria's new emperor Peter I made a show of force by invadingByzantine Thrace in May 927, but showed himself ready to negotiate for a more permanent peace. Romanos seized the occasion and proposed a marriage alliance between the imperial houses of Byzantium and Bulgaria to end theWar of 913–927. Romanos arranged for a diplomatic marriage between his granddaughter Maria and the Bulgarian monarch.[2] For the first time in Byzantine history, a Byzantine princess was to be married to a foreign ruler; decades later, Romanos' son-in-law and co-rulerConstantine VII criticized Romanos for this concession. In October 927 Peter arrived nearConstantinople to meet Romanos and signed the peace treaty, marrying Maria on November 8. To signify the new era in Bulgaro-Byzantine relations, Maria was renamedIrene ("peace").
Family
editIrene and Peter I of Bulgaria had several children, including:
References
edit- ^Charles William Previté-Orton (1975)Cambridge Medieval History, Shorter: Volume 1, The Later Roman Empire to the Twelfth Century. Volume 1 of The Shorter Cambridge Medieval History,ISBN 0-521-09976-5 p. 256
- ^Milan Loos (1974).Dualist Heresy in the Middle Ages. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 382.