Irene Palaiologina

Irene Palaiologina (; - 1372) was a Byzantine princess, the daughter of Emperor John V Palaiologos and Helena Kantakouzene. She married her maternal cousin Halil Bey, son of Ottoman Sultan Orhan and Theodora Kantakouzene.

Biography Irene Palaiologina was born in 1349 as one of older children of John V Palaiologos and Helena Kantakouzene . In 1352, her parents left for Thrace to take charge of the administration of the cities that had been ceded to them by their grandfather John VI Kantakouzenos. Irene, however, remained in the capital, where her father entrusted his daughter's education and upbringing to her grandmother, Empress Irene Asanina, who cared for her until her parents' return.

In 1358, ten-year-old Irene was betrothed to Halil Bey, an Ottoman prince, son of Sultan Orhan I. Irene's fiancé was also her first cousin, as his mother Theodora Kantakouzene was Irene's maternal aunt, sister of Empress Helena Kantakouzene. In 1357, the Ottoman prince was kidnapped by Genoese pirates and, after long attempts to free him with the help of Irene's brother Andronikos IV Palaiologos, he was released for a large ransom in 1359. The betrothal was the counterpart demanded by the Byzantines in exchange for help in freeing the prince. Shortly after, Irene married Halil. She was widowed in 1362, when her husband was executed by his older half-brother, the new Sultan Murad I.

In 1372, the Byzantines offered Irene's hand in marriage to King Peter II of Cyprus, but the offer was rejected by the Cypriots. There is no further information on the princess's life.