Irene Komnene Doukaina

Who is Irene Komnene Doukaina?

Irene Komnene Doukaina or Eirene Komnene Doukaina was a Greek princess and the third wife of tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria. She was the mother of tsar Michael Asen I of Bulgaria.

Irene was daughter of despotēs Theodore Komnenos Doukas, ruler of Epirus, and Maria Petraliphaina. In 1230 Irene and her family were captured by the troops of tsar Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria in the battle of Klokotnitsa and they were taken in Tarnovo, where Irene grew up in the Palace. Irene became known for her beauty and the widowed tsar fell in love with her. They married in 1237. According to a Byzantine author, Ivan Asen II loved Irene "no less than Antony loved Cleopatra", and she may have been his mistress for some years before their marriage in 1237. By marrying Irene, Ivan Asen II would have broken church canons, as his daughter, Maria Asanina Komnena, from his marriage to Anna was married to Irene's uncle, Manuel of Thessalonica. There is moot evidence that the Bulgarian church opposed the marriage and that a patriarch was deposed or executed by the irate tsar.