Sophia Fominichna Palaiologina or Paleologue was a Byzantine princess from the Palaiologos imperial dynasty and the grand princess of Moscow as the second wife of Ivan III of Russia. Her father was Thomas Palaiologos, the despot of the Morea. Through her eldest son, Vasili III, she was the grandmother of Ivan IV, the first crowned tsar of all Russia.
Reconstruction by Sergey Nikitin, 1994
Ivan Fryazin showed to Ivan III the portrait of Sophia Palaiologina, by Viktor Muizhel.
Destruction of Sophia Palaiologina grave in 1929.
The House of Palaiologos, also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek noble family that rose to power and produced the last and longest-ruling dynasty in the history of the Byzantine Empire. Their rule as Emperors and Autocrats of the Romans lasted almost two hundred years, from 1259 to the Fall of Constantinople in 1453.
Michael VIII Palaiologos (r. 1259–1282), founder of the imperial Palaiologos dynasty
John VI Kantakouzenos (center, r. 1347–1354) nearly succeeded in deposing the Palaiologos dynasty in favor of his own family, the Kantakouzenoi.
Constantine XI Palaiologos (r. 1449–1453), the final Byzantine Emperor
Thomas Palaiologos, younger brother of Constantine XI and Despot of the Morea 1428–1460
