Maria Laskarina
| Maria Laskarina | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Queen consort of Hungary | |
| Reign | 1235–1270 |
| Born | c. 1206 |
| Died | 16 July or 24 June 1270 |
| Spouse | Béla IV of Hungary |
| Issue |
|
| House | Laskaris |
| Father | Theodore I Laskaris |
| Mother | Anna Angelina |
Maria Laskarina (c. 1206 – 16 July or 24 June 1270) was a daughter of Theodore I Laskaris and his first wife Anna Angelina.
She was a younger sister of Irene Lascarina, first Empress consort of John III Doukas Vatatzes. Theodore married his eldest daughter to his designated heir in 1212. Theodore was widowed in the same year and proceeded to marriages with Philippa of Armenia and Marie de Courtenay. However John was never displaced in succession.
As a younger daughter, the marriage of Maria was not intended to add a potential husband in the line of succession to the throne. Instead it secured a marital alliance with the Kingdom of Hungary.
In 1218, Maria was married to prince Béla of Hungary and became Roman Catholic, converting from Greek Orthodoxy, her religion by birth. Bride and groom were about twelve-years-old. Her husband was the eldest son of Andrew II of Hungary and Gertrude of Merania.
Andrew II died on 26 October 1235. The crown prince succeeded him as Béla IV and Maria became queen. Béla reigned for thirty-five years and died on 3 May 1270. Maria survived him by about two months.
Maria and Béla IV of Hungary had ten children:
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