Constantine's daughter, fleeing from her father's capital, had sought refuge within the sacred walls of Rome, and when Ivan came courting her the Pope did not turn a deaf ear to the proposition that she might share the Muscovite throne. This brilliant alliance confirmed the Muscovite autocracy and enabled the Grand Prince to place upon his ensigns the two-headed eagle as a type of supreme power. With this proud Greek princess, better manners came to Moscow. The forms and ceremonies of the Byzantine court, and the arts of Greece and Rome were brought to Russia.
The princess, too, was proud and she could not brook the spectacle of Moscow paying tribute to a barbarian. She gave her husband no peace until he had thrown off the Tartar yoke and prepared himself to fight for the dignity and the independence of Russia.
He, also, on his own part had plenty of pride and ambition when spurred on by his broad-minded consort and he decided to do his utmost to raise his throne to an equality with the proudest of Europe, fearing that the monarchs of the older and more advanced nations might regard him as an upstart. He stood very much upon his dignity, insisting that he should be treated as a king. He instructed his ambassador at the Turkish Court neither to bend the knee to the Sultan nor yield precedence to the representative of any other power. He was as great a stickler for etiquette as the present king of England, and as particular about the marriages of the blood royal.
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From General Nelson A. Miles
Thrilling Stories of The Russian-Japanese War, 1904
