1. Life
Theodora Grand Komnene was the daughter of the Emperor Basil Grand Komnenos (1332-1340) and Eirene of Trebizond, who was born into an aristocratic family of Trebizond. Her siblings were John, the later Emperor Alexios III Grand Komnenos (1349-1390), Maria and Alexios.
In September of 1358, Theodora married the Turkman emir of Chalybia Ibrahim Haci, in the context of the intermarriage policy of the Grand Komnene imperial family women with foreign rulers, implemented by Alexios III in order to secure the territorial integrity of the Empire of Trebizond. More specifically, the emperor of Trebizond, having suffered in the previous year because of Ibrahim Haci’s invasion in the area of Palaiomatzouka (mod. Hamsikoy) and fearing another incursion, agreed with the marriage that Haci had repeatedly proposed. Theodora arrived in the on August 29th 1358 accompanied by the Basileios Choupakas. Her marriage with the Turkman emir produced one son, Soleyman Haci. It is possible that their son, the later emir of Chalybia, married one of Alexios III’s daughters.1 We have no further information on Theodora’s life after this point. |
1. This is the view expressed in Miller, W., Trebizond. The Last Greek Empire (London 1926), p. 64. Nicol, D.M., The last centuries of Byzantium (London 1972, Cambridge 1994, reprinted 1997), p. 403 agrees with him. |