Name Anna Moscow | Died August 1417 | |
Spouse John VIII Palaiologos (m. 1414) Parents Vasily I of Moscow, Sophia of Lithuania Grandparents Dmitry Donskoy, Vytautas, Eudoxia of Moscow, Anna, Grand Duchess of Lithuania Great-grandparents Ivan II of Moscow, Kestutis, Birute, Dmitry of Suzdal, Alexandra Velyaminova Similar People John VIII Palaiologos, Vasily I of Moscow, Vasily II of Moscow, Sophia of Lithuania, Vytautas | ||
Anna of moscow
Anna Vasilievna of Moscow (1393 – August 1417) was a Byzantine Empress consort by marriage to John VIII Palaiologos. She died while her husband was still the junior co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire.
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Family
She was a daughter of Vasily I of Moscow and Sophia of Lithuania. Her maternal grandparents were Vytautas the Great and his first wife Anna.
Marriage
She married John VIII in 1414. 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.