Ivan the Great and Maria of Tver engaged at the age of 6

Vasili II (Ivan III's father) acquired a friend in the form of Boris of Tver just as he was preparing to attack Dmitry Shemyaka. The marriage was an effort to ensure Moscow's victory over Tver when the city of Tver attempted to compete with Moscow in the past. When Maria's brother, Grand Prince of Tver Mikhail, ultimately sought to negotiate an agreement with Lithuania, it was unsuccessful. This sparked a battle that permanently included Tver in the Moscow sphere of influence. The two resolved to formalize their alliance by arranging for Maria of Tver and the future Ivan III to be wed in 1452. In particular, Ivan's father gave the order to plan his engagement to Maria of Tver when he was 6 years old or Ivan the Great and Maria of Tver engaged at the age of 6. It is considered one of the 10 Interesting Facts about him.

Maria Borisovna of Tver (1442 - 1467) was the Grand Princess consort of Muscovy. They had one only son, Ivan the Younger. In 1467, Maria died. Ivan raped her for political gain, but his true remorse was that she died. She gave birth to an only son while he was just 27 years old. Like other kings of the period, he was forced to consider remarrying right away in order to secure his succession should he outlive this son and cause a succession conflict in the realm. Fraternity of brothers. Through one of the Italian military and architectural experts that Ivan recruited, he discovered that Pope Paul II was the protector of a princess who would end up as his future wife. When the Byzantine Empire was overthrown by the Turks, she was Sophia of Byzantium, a tall lady whose uncle was the last Byzantine emperor, Constantine XI.