Abstract
Abstract The marriage of Sofiia Palaiologina and Ivan III of Moscow has been the subject of much speculation about Russia and Byzantium but little analysis of the reality of her role in Russian history. We know very little about her activity as the wife of the grand prince, though that may be because of the character of the chronicle sources. In the relations of Moscow and Lithuania concerning the marriage of her daughter Elena to Grand Prince Alexander her role can be glimpsed behind the protocol, perhaps because the sources are diplomatic records. After her death Sofiia acquired another role: the legend of the miraculous birth of Vasilii III was one of the foundational stories behind the annual pilgrimage of the Russian court to the Holy Trinity-St. Sergii Monastery.
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