Sophia Palaiologina

Zoe Palaiologina
Grand Princess consort of Moscow
Reconstruction by Sergey Nikitin, 1994.
Tenure	12 November 1472 – 7 April 1503
Born	1440/49
Died	7 April 1503
Burial	Ascension Convent, Kolomenskoye Archangel Cathedral, Kremlin (1929)
Spouse	Ivan III of Russia
Issue	Vasili Ivanovich Yuri Ivanovich Dmitri Ivanovich Simeon Ivanovich Andrei Ivanovich Elena Ivanovna Feodosiya Ivanovna Eudoxia Ivanovna
House	Palaiologos
Father	Thomas Palaeologus
Mother	Catherine Zaccaria
Religion	Eastern Orthodox

Zoe Palaiologina (Greek: Ζωή Παλαιολογίνα), who later changed her name to Sophia Palaiologina (Russian: София Фоминична Палеолог; ca. 1440/49 – 7 April 1503), was a Byzantine princess member of the Imperial Palaiologos family, by marriage Grand Princess of Moscow as the second wife of Grand Prince Ivan III. Through her eldest son Vasili III, she was also the grandmother of Ivan the Terrible, the first Tsar of All Russia.

Zoe's father was Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of Morea and younger brother of the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI Palaiologos. Her mother was Catherine, the only legitimate daughter and heiress of Centurione II Zaccaria, the last independent Prince of Achaea and Baron of Arcadia.

The marriage between Thomas Palaiologos and Catherine Zaccaria produced four children: Helena, later wife of Lazar Branković, Despot of Serbia, Zoe, Andreas and Manuel.

The fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 was a turning point in Zoe's fate. Seven years later, in 1460, the Ottoman army duly attacked Morea and quickly breached the Hexamilion wall across the Isthmus of Corinth, which was too long to be effectively manned and defended by Thomas' forces. Thomas and his family escaped to Corfu and, then to Rome, where (already recognized as the legitimate heir to the Byzantine Empire by the Pope) he made a ceremonial entrance as Byzantine Emperor on 7 March 1461. Catherine, who remained in Corfu with her children, died there on 16 August 1462.