Anna Porphyrogenita

Anna Porphyrogenita (; 13 March 963 – 1011) was the grand princess consort of Kiev during her marriage to Vladimir the Great.

Life Anna was the daughter of Byzantine emperor Romanos II and the Empress Theophano. She was also the sister of Emperors Basil II and Constantine VIII. Anna was a Porphyrogenita, a legitimate daughter born in the special purple chamber of the Byzantine Emperor's Palace. Anna's hand was considered such a prize that some theorize that Vladimir became Christian just to marry her.

Anna did not wish to marry Vladimir and expressed deep distress on her way to her wedding. Vladimir was impressed by Byzantine religious practices; this factor, along with his marriage to Anna, led to his decision to convert to Eastern Christianity. Due to these two factors, he also began Christianizing his realm. He also gave up his other wives and mistresses.

She likely lived in the halls built on the Starokievskaia Hill, thus enjoying the feasts held there every Sunday, presumably after religious service in the nearby church of the Mother of God.

Progeny It is not known whether she was the biological mother of any of Vladimir's children, although some scholars have pointed to evidence that she and Vladimir may have had as many as three children together, possibly Gleb-David, Boris-Romanos, and Theophana. William Humphreys also favors a reconstruction making Yaroslav the son, rather than the step-son, of Anna, by invoking onomastic arguments. There is a certain pattern in his sons having Slavic names, and his daughters having Greek names only. This view is corroborated by the study of Yaroslav's remains carried out in 1939–1940, as well as his age given in the Primary Chronicle, which would place him amongst Vladimir's youngest children (with 988–990 as his estimated date of birth). In fact, Yaroslav's maternity by Rogneda of Polotsk has been questioned by some, since Mykola Kostomarov in the 19th century.

However, there is good evidence that Rogneda is in fact Yaroslav's mother. According to Alexander Koptev, "Rogneda is obviously represented as Prince Vladimir's most significant wife because she was the mother of Jaroslav", when referring to following the entry in the Primary Chronicle: "In this year died also Rogned, Yaroslav's mother." Simon Franklin and Jonathan Shepard also state that Yaroslav is the son of Vladimir and Rogneda, drawing on their reading of the Primary Chronicle.