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Ana, majka svetog save Ana, MOTHER OF SAINT SAVA
Ana Nemanjić, or Saint Anastasija, was the mother of kings, mother of the first Serbian educator and teacher Saint Sava – but her life has remained a mys- tery to this day. While we know almost everything about Stefan Nemanja, very little is known about Saint Sava’s mother Ana. The story that has developed over the centuries is based more on tradition than on the basis of material and written sources, with almost none existing. She was most probably of noble origin, though it is not known whether she was a Byz- antine or Greek noblewoman, while she is most often mentioned as the daugh- ter of Byzantine emperor Romanus IV. Her sons Saint Sava and Stefan Ne- manjić, who both wrote extensive biog- raphies of their father Stefan Nemanja, provided very limited information about their mother. They noted what was re- quired of a woman in Europe at that time, namely that Ana was a “good wife, gentle mother and a pious and kind- ly lady”. This lack of detailed writing about Ana as a mother is explained by the spirit of medieval times that viewed the man as the pillar of both the fam- ily and society. Stefan Nemanja married only once and spent his entire life married to Ana. It is today known with certainty that they had three sons: Vukan, Stefan and Rast- ko. The ruling couple also had daughters, but it isn’t known how many. Those that remain recorded are: Jefimija, who mar- ried the ruler of Thessaloniki; Elena, who married Bulgarian King Ivan Asen; and a daughter whose name remains unknown and who was the mother of Bulgarian tsar Constantine I Tih. It is known with certainty that Ana followed in the footsteps of her husband Stefan Nemanja, even when he decid- ed to abdicate and devote himself to the spiritual world. Ana became a nun on the same day that Stefan Nemanja be- came a monk. On the Feast of the An- nunciation, 25 th March 1196, Stefan Ne- manja became a monk called Simeon and Ana became a nun called Anastasija. It is believed that she was aged over 70 at the time and that she spent her monas- tic days at the monastery of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kuršumlija near Toplica. She is known to have passed away pri- or to 1200. Ana was buried in Studeni- ca Monastery.
Mara, the daughter of despot Đurađ Branković and granddaughter of Vuk Brank- ović, was born in the Kosovo town of Vučitrn in 1418. Folk poetry insists that Mara was very beautiful, and indeed that there were none more beautiful. After ascending to the Serbian throne, despot Đurađ agreed with his wife Jerina that Mara should marry Turkish Sultan Murad II in order to protect the coun- try’s interests. Mara would thus become the second Serbian princess to be sent to the Ot- toman sultan’s harem – with the first having been her great-aunt Princess Olivera Lazarević, daughter of Prince Lazar and Princess Milica, who had become the wife of Sultan Bayezid I. Wed in 1436, Mara was the second and last wife of Murad II. He was 32, while Ma- ra was aged between 16 and 19. Historical records insist that she failed to win over the heart and affections of her husband, regard- less of her beauty, which meant she couldn’t do much to help Serbia. Mara remained true to her Christian faith and bore Murad II no children. She was nonetheless repaid for the fact that she didn’t become a mother thanks to the great appreciation and respect she received from Murad’s successor, Mehmed II the Conquer- or. The closeness and mutual respect between Mehmed and Mara would come to the fore from the time of Mara’s return to Serbia fol- lowing Murad’s death until her own death in 1487. Many historians consider Mara as being among the most influential women in Europe during that period. Mara could even have become a Byzan- tine empress, but she had vowed never to re- marry. She turned to the church. She was a great benefactor to the church, though she didn’t become a nun. Mara lived in Smedere- vo upon returning to Serbia and was deep- ly respected by her parents and the Serbian people for her sacrifice. However, that only lasted until, as a supporter of the more real- istic pro-Turkish current in Serbian politics, she was forced to escape to Turkish territory, fleeing the wrath and revenge of her brother Despot Lazar and his wife Jelena. After Ser- bia fell under Ottoman rule in 1459, Mara represented the most important and realis- tic political factor in the life of the Serbian nation. Testifying to the extent of her influ- ence in church circles is the fact that her de- sire proved decisive during the electing of sev- eral Patriarchs of Constantinople. She died in Ježevo (Greece) in 1487 and was buried at the nearby Kosinitza Monastery.
mara branković
Ana Nemanjić ili Sveta Anasta- sija bila je majka kraljeva, majka pr- vog srpskog prosvetitelja i učitelja Svetog Save – ali njen život je do da- nas ostao misterija. Dok o Stefanu Nemanji znamo skoro sve, o Ani, majci Svetog Save, zna se veoma malo. Spomen o njoj vrlo je štur i protivrečan. Tokom vekova priča se gradila više na osnovu predanja ne- go materijalnih i pisanih izvora, ko- jih o njoj skoro da i nema. Najvero- vatnije je bila plemenitog porekla, ali se ne zna da li je bila vizantij- ska ili grčka plemkinja, a najčešće se pominje da je kćer vizantijskog cara Romana IV. Njeni sinovi Sveti Sava i Stefan Nemanjić, koji su napisali opsežne biografije Stefana Nemanje, svog oca, o majci Ani daju vrlo šture po- datke. Oni su zabeležili ono što se u Evropi toga doba i tražilo od žene, a to je da je Ana bila „dobra supru- ga, nežna mati, pobožna i milosrd- na gospođa“. Ovo odsustvo pisanja o majci objašnjava se duhom sred- njeg veka u kome je muškarac stub porodice, pa i društva. Stefan Nemanja ženio se samo jednom i u braku sa Anom proveo ceo svoj životni vek. Danas se po- uzdano zna da su imali tri sina – Vukana, Stefana i Rastka. Vladar- ski par je imao i ćerke, ali ne zna se koliko njih. Zabeležene su Jefimija, koja se udala za vladara Soluna, za- tim Elena, udata za bugarskog kra-
lja Ivana Asena, i ćerka nepoznatog imena koja je bila majka bugarskog cara Konstantina I. Izvesno je da je Ana u stopu pra- tila svog supruga Stefana Nemanju čak i kada je on rešio da napusti sve- tovnu vlast i posveti se duhovnom svetu. Ana se zamonašila istog dana kada i Stefan Nemanja. Na praznik Blagovesti 25. marta 1196. godine Stefan Nemanja je postao monah Simeon, a Ana monahinja Anasta- sija. Smatra se da je tada imala vi- še od 70 godina i da je monaške da- ne provodila u manastiru Presvete Bogorodice u Kuršumliji blizu Topli- ce. Zna se da je preminula pre 1200. godine. Sahranjena je u manastiru Studenica.
Mara, ćerka despota Đurđa Brankovića i unuka Vuka Bran- kovića, rođena je 1418. u Vuči- trnu. Narodni pesnik beleži da je bila jako lepa, da lepše nije bilo. Despot Đurađ, po dolasku na pre- sto Srbije, dogovara sa suprugom Jerinom da Maru, kako bi zašti- tili interese zemlje, udaju za tur- skog sultana Murata II. Mara će tako postati druga srpska prin- ceza koja je otiša u harem. Prva je bila njena baba-tetka, princeza Olivera Lazarević, kći kneza Laza- ra i kneginje Milice, supruga sul- tana Bajazita I. Venčali su se 1436. i Mara je bila druga i poslednja venčana že- na Murata II. Imao je 32, a Mara između 16 i 19 godina. Istorijski spisi kažu da nije uspela da osvo- ji ljubav i naklonost svoga supru- ga, bez obzira na svoju lepotu, ta- ko da nije mogla da učini mnogo toga za Srbiju. Mara je ostala dosledna u svo- joj hrišćanskoj veri i sa Muratom II nije imala dece. To što se nije ostvarila kao majka vratilo joj se, mada kroz veliko uvažavanje i po- štovanje Muratovog naslednika, Mehmeda II Osvajača. Bliskost i međusobno poštovanje između Mehmeda i Mare doći će do izra- žaja od vremena Marinog povrat- ka u Srbiju posle Muratove smrti,
pa sve do njene smr- ti 1487. godine.
U tom periodu mnogi istori- čari smatra- ju da je Ma- ra bila među najuticajnijim ženama Evrope.
Mogla je Ma- ra da postane vizan- tijska carica, ali se zaklela
da se više neće udavati. Okrenula se crkvi. Bila je veliki ktitor ma- da se nije zamonašila. Mara je po povratku u Srbiju živela u Sme- derevu, zbog svoje žrtve duboko poštovana od strane oca, majke i srpskog naroda, sve dok, kao pri- stalica realnije turkofilske stru- je u srpskoj politici nije morala da pobegne na tursku teritori- ju, bežeći od gneva i osvete bra- ta despota Lazara i njegove su- pruge Jelene. Posle pada Srbije pod osmansku vlast 1459. godine Mara je predstavljala najvažniji i najrealniji politički faktor u živo- tu srpskog naroda. Koliki je bio njen uticaj u crkvenim krugovi- ma, vidi se iz toga što je njena že- lja bila presudna prilikom izbora nekolicine carigradskih patrijar- ha. Umrla je u Ježevu kod Dra- me 1487. godine, a sahranjena je u obližnjem manastiru Kosinica.
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