Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina or better Kamatera (Greek: Ευφροσύνη Δούκαινα Καματερίνα ή Καματηρά, Euphrosynē Doukaina Kamatēra) (c.1155-1211) was the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Alexios III Angelos. Events Frederick I Barbarossa crowned Holy Roman Emperor. ... // Events The oldest extant double entry bookkeeping record dates from 1211 Canons regular of the Order of the Holy Cross founded September 14 1211 Troops led by Estonian resistance fighter Lembitu of Lehola destroy a garrison of missionaries in the historical Estonian region of Sakala and raid the Russian town... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... Alexius III Angelus, Byzantine emperor, was the second son of Andronicus Angelus, nephew of Alexius I. In 1195, while his brother Isaac II was away hunting in Thrace, he was proclaimed emperor by the troops; he captured Isaac at Stagira in Macedonia, put out his eyes, and kept him henceforth...

Euphrosyne was the daughter of Andronikos Doukas Kamateros, a high-ranking official who held the titles of megas droungarios and pansebastos. She was related to the Emperor Constantine X and Irene Doukaina, empress of Alexios I Komnenos. Both of her brothers had rebelled against Andronikos I Komnenos; one was imprisoned and the other was blinded. Painting of Emperor Basil II, exemplifying the Imperial Crown handed down by Angels. ... Constantine X Ducas (1006 - May, 1067) was the emperor of the Byzantine Empire (1059 - 1067). ... Irene Ducaena (1066 – February 19, 1133) was the wife of Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus, and the mother of the emperor John II Comnenus and the historian Anna Comnena. ... Byzantine emperor Alexius I Comnenus Alexius I (1048–August 15, 1118), Byzantine emperor (1081–1118), was the third son of John Comnenus, the nephew of Isaac I Comnenus (emperor 1057–1059). ... Billon trachy (a cup-shaped coin) of Andronicus I Comnenus (1183-1185) Andronicus I Comnenus (c. ...

Euphrosyne married Alexios Angelos, the older brother of the future Emperor Isaac II Angelos in c. 1169. Although Isaac II bestowed many titles and honors upon his brother, Alexios seized the throne on April 8, 1195, desposing Isaac and proclaiming himself emperor. In this he was assisted by Euphrosyne, who had organized a party of aristocratic supporters. Euphrosyne took control of the palace and quelled the opposition herself, securing the accession of her husband to the throne by wholesale bribery. Isaac II Angelus (or Isaakios Angelos) (September 1156-1204), was the Byzantine emperor from 1185-1195, and again 1203-1204. ... Events Nur ad-Din invades Egypt, and his nephew Saladin becomes the sultan over the territory conquered by Nur ad-Din. ... April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). ... Events Priory of St Marys, Bushmead, founded. ...

Euphrosyne was a dominating woman with a talent for politics, and she virtually ruled the Empire in the name of Alexios III, who was concerned primarily with pleasure and idle pursuits. She issued commands herself and even altered Alexios' decrees when it suited her. Euphrosyne and Alexios were criticized for their love of finery and the enrichment of their relatives at state expense. Her own brother, Basil Kamateros, and her son-in-law, Andronikos Kontostephanos, accused Euphrosyne of adultery with one of her ministers, a nobleman named Vatatzes. Alexios III believed the allegations and had Vatatzes executed. Euphrosyne was stripped of her imperial robes and banished to a convent at Nematarea in October 1196. However, her relatives convinced Alexios to reinstate her, and she was recalled six months later in spring 1197. Events Spring, London, popular uprising of the poor against the rich led by William Fitz Osbern. ... Events Amalric II succeeds Henry II of Champagne as king of Jerusalem. ...

In 1203, faced with the Fourth Crusade and the return of his nephew, Alexios IV Angelos, Alexios III fled Constantinople with a magnificent treasure and some female relatives, including his daughter Eirene. Euphrosyne was left behind and was immediately imprisoned by the new regime. Alexios IV was soon strangled by Alexios Doukas Mourtzouphlos, the lover of Euphrosyne's daughter Eudokia, who then proclaimed himself emperor as Alexios V. In April 1204 Euphrosyne fled the city along with her daughter and Alexios V, and they made their way to Mosynoupolis, where Euphrosyne's husband Alexios III had taken refuge. Alexios III had Alexios V blinded and abandoned to the crusaders, who had him executed. Events April 16 - Philip II of France enters Rouen, leading to the eventual unification of Normandy and France. ... The Fourth Crusade (1201–1204), originally designed to conquer Jerusalem through an invasion of Egypt, instead, in 1204, invaded and conquered the Eastern Orthodox city of Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine Empire. ... Alexius IV Angelus (c. ... Map of Constantinople. ... Alexius V Ducas Murtzouphlos (d. ... // Events February - Byzantine emperor Alexius IV is overthrown in a revolution, and Alexius V is proclaimed emperor. ... This article is about the medieval crusades. ...

Euphrosyne and Alexios III fled across Greece to Thessalonica and Corinth, but were finally captured by Boniface of Montferrat and imprisoned. In 1209 or 1210 they were ransomed by their cousin Michael I of Epirus, and Euphrosyne spent the remainder of her life in Arta. She died in 1210 or 1211. The White Tower The Arch of Galerius Map showing the Thessaloníki prefecture Thessaloníki (Θεσσαλονίκη) is the second-largest city of Greece and is the principal city and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. ... Corinth, or Korinth (Κόρινθος; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ... Boniface of Montferrat (c. ... Events Albigensian Crusade against Cathars (1209-1218) the Franciscans are founded. ... Events End of the reign of Emperor Tsuchimikado, emperor of Japan Emperor Juntoku ascends to the throne of Japan Otto IV, Holy Roman Emperor excommunicated by Pope Innocent III for invading southern Italy in 1210 Gottfried von Strassburg writes his epic poem Tristan about 1210 Beginning of Delhi Sultanate Births... Michael I Angelus Comnenus Ducas was the founder and first ruler of the Despotate of Epirus from 1205 until his death in 1215. ... Arta (Greek: Άρτα, Albanian: Artë) is a city in north-western Greece, capital of the Arta Prefecture. ... // Events The oldest extant double entry bookkeeping record dates from 1211 Canons regular of the Order of the Holy Cross founded September 14 1211 Troops led by Estonian resistance fighter Lembitu of Lehola destroy a garrison of missionaries in the historical Estonian region of Sakala and raid the Russian town...

Family

By her husband, Alexios III Angelos, Euphrosyne had three daughters:

1. Eirene Angelina, who married (1) Andronikos Kontostephanos; (2) Alexios Palaiologos, by whom she was the grandmother of Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
2. Anna Angelina, who married (1) the sebastokratōr Isaac Komnenos, great-nephew of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos; (2) Emperor Theodore I Laskaris of Nicaea.
3. Eudokia Angelina, who married (1) King Stefan I Prvovenčani of Serbia; (2) Emperor Alexios V Doukas; (3) Leo Sgouros, ruler of Corinth.

Empress Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamatera's direct matrilineal 27th-generation descendant Grand Duchess Olga Constantinovna of Russia (1851-1926) became in 1867 the Queen-Consort of the Hellenes by marrying King George I of Greece. Queen Olga later, in 1920, became also the Regent of their kingdom, Greece. The Byzantine Empire in 1265 (William R. Shepherd, Historical Atlas, 1911) Michael VIII (1225 – December 11, 1282) was the founder of the Palaeologos dynasty that would rule the Byzantine Empire to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. ... Anna Angelina was a daughter of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius III Angelus and of Euphrosyne Doukaina Kamaterina. ... Manuel I Comnenus (Greek: Μανουήλ Α ο Κομνηνός; November 28, 1118 – September 24, 1180), was a Byzantine Emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. ... The Latin Empire, Empire of Nicaea, Empire of Trebizond and the Despotate of Epirus. ... Stefan Prvovenčani (lit. ... Alexius V Ducas Murtzouphlos (d. ... Matrilineality is a system in which one belongs to ones mothers lineage; it may also involve the inheritance of property or titles through the female line. ... King George V of the United Kingdom and his consort, Queen Mary A queen consort is the wife and consort of a reigning king. ... George I, King of the Hellenes (Greek: Γεώργιος A, Βασιλεύς των Ελλήνων) (December 24, 1845 – March 18, 1913) was King of the Hellenes (Greece) from 1863 to 1913. ... // High public office A regent, from the Latin regens who reigns is anyone who acts as head of state, especially if not the monarch (who has higher titles). ...

Empress Euphrosyne's matrilineal descent is, exceptionally, a verifiable one. There are still matrilineal descendants alive. Highly exceptional in longevity, her matrilineal descent has lasted now more than 800 years.

Sources

• The Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, Oxford University Press, 1991
• Garland, Lynda. Byzantine Empresses, 1999
• Herrin, Judith (2001). Women in Purple:Rulers of Medieval Byzantium. London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 1-84212-529-X.