Maria of Alania

Maria of Alania (1053–1118), born Martha, was daughter of the Georgian king Bagrat IV and the only foreign-born Byzantine empress of the eleventh century. She married Michael VII Doukas in 1065 and became empress in 1071. When Michael was overthrown in 1078 she married his successor, Nikephoros III Botaneiates.

She backed Alexios I Komnenos's coup of 1081, and her son, the co-emperor Constantine Doukas, was betrothed to Alexios's daughter Anna. After Constantine lost his place as heir in 1087, Maria was forced into a monastery. Constantine died in 1096 and Maria in 1118.