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Rita of Armenia

Rita of Armenia (Armenian: Ռիտա Հայաստանի; Greek: Μαρία; 10/11 January 1278 – July 1333) was an Armenian Princess. She was a Byzantine Empress consort by marriage to Michael IX Palaiologos.

She was the daughter of King Levon II of Armenia and Queen Keran. She was the wife of Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX Palaiologos, making her a junior empress-consort of the Byzantine Empire. In 1317, she became the only empress upon the death of the senior empress, Irene of Montferrat. She was known as Maria in Constantinople.

A chronicle attributed to Hetoum II of Armenia is included in the collection known as Recueil des Historiens des Croisades. According to a passage recording her birth, Rita was the twin sister of Princess Theophane of Armenia.

The history of George Pachymeres records that Andronikos II Palaiologos began negotiations with Levon while seeking a potential wife for his son and junior co-ruler Michael IX Palaiologos. Levon offered him Rita, and the marriage took place on 16 January 1294. The bride was sixteen years old and the groom seventeen.

Rita assumed the name Maria upon her marriage.

Empress

Rita was the junior Empress consort from 1294 to 1317. The senior was Irene of Montferrat, second wife of Andronikos II and stepmother to Michael IX. Since 1303, Andronikos II and Irene held separate courts. The senior emperor resided in Constantinople and the senior Augusta in Thessaloniki. Rita became the only Empress when Irene died in 1317.

She remained so for three years. In 1320, however, the death of her second son resulted in tragedy. Prince Andronikos maintained a mistress but suspected her of infidelity. He assigned retainers of his to wait by her house and attack whoever tried to enter. The one who approached was Manuel during night time and the retainers failed to recognize him. The second prince died by order of his older brother.

The affair seriously affected the health of Michael IX who died on 12 October 1320. Both deaths strained the relationship between Andronikos II and Andronikos III. Grandfather and grandson started a civil war that would last until the victory of the younger man in 1328. Meanwhile, the widowed Rita retired to a monastery, where she assumed the name "Xene". She would die there five years following the end of the war.

David Anhaght, also known as David the Invincible, was one of Armenia’s greatest thinkers—a philosopher who lived in the 5th century and left a lasting mark on Armenian intellectual tradition. He studied in Alexandria, one of the world's leading centers of learning at the time, and brought back with him a deep understanding of Greek philosophy. What made David truly “invincible” wasn’t strength or fame, but the sharpness of his mind and the clarity of his thought. He wrote commentaries on Aristotle and other classical philosophers, helping to shape the way Armenians thought about logic, ethics, and the nature of the soul. Even today, though only some of his works remain, his legacy lives on as a reminder of how powerful and timeless the pursuit of knowledge can be. David wasn’t just a scholar—he was a symbol of how wisdom can endure through the ages.