Ophia of Salin, Empress of Baland

Ophia of Salin (14 July 1033 - 29 June 1054), was Empress of Baland as the third wife of Thusuaye I, the ninth emperor of the Hafra dynasty, mother of Thusuaye the Crown Prince and Aguillarma, Queen of Jasume. Her grandson, Thusuaye II, was the next monarch of the empire. Ophia the Jealous, as she was called, was at odds with her husband's many lovers and eventually died after drinking poisoned wine while trying to kill her husband's mistress, Asha Vanni. Asha Vanni succeeded her and became the fourth wife of Thusuaye I. Ophia's daughter, Queen Aguillarma, was also very jealous, so she is often considered to be the continuation of her mother's life.

Background and early life
Ophia was born on 14 July 1033, in Andaw, Duchy of Salin. Her maternal grandfather, Diagar III, Duke of Salin, was the illegitimate son of Emperor Hsinpalay the Great and her mother was Lebinreina the Younger, Duchess of Salin, so by descent she and her future husband, Thusuaye, were uncle and nephew. Ophia's maternal grandmother was a Brahmin from the Hyderabad region of India who refused to convert to Mahaism, so that Hsinpalay later intervened in his son's marriage, declared it null and void, arrested her on charges of heresy, and removed her name from all documents, so that her name is not known now, however, her daughters were not disinherited. Her father, Savad, was a commoner, and his marriage to Lebinreina was also fraught with controversy; the couple later obtained acceptance to the court and the inheritance of their children by bribing Renee, the empress. Ophia was an infant daughter who had three brothers and one sister, the second brother being the future Diagar IV, Duke of Salin, and sister Indradevi, Duchess of Raga by marriage.

Ophia looked so much like her handsome father that she was the favorite child of her parents. She was also very well-groomed, always dressed appropriately and complementarily, and was praised by many as "jewel of Salin". However, compared to her glamorous appearance, her learning and character were less pleasing. She disliked learning since childhood and was spoiled and capricious, so she was considered a vase beauty. When she became the empress, her brother Diagar IV went to the palace to see her and advised her, "Read for an hour every day, it is not difficult." But she did not follow. Ophia made her first appearance at the imperial court in 1044 at the wedding of Emperor Thusuaye I and his first wife Isovanasi, but she was only 11 years old and not much attention was paid to her, nor did the emperor. She lived with her sister at the court of Raga after her sister's marriage in 1046, when there were rumors that the Duke of Raga had an illicit relationship with his sister-in-law Ophia.

Marriage as Empress of Baland
In 1051, the downfall of Empress Mother Kalidha and the annulment of the marriage between Thusuaye I and his second wife, Mayadevi, shook the succession of their son, Menshan Maya, the emperor's only son at the time. The young emperor decided to marry again because he wanted a more legitimate heir and because he did not want to be a widower.The emperor, who had just brought down the power of his mother, was in dire need of the support of the nobility, and powerful Duchy of Salin was logically joined in marriage with the emperor. On 26 February 1051, Ophia married Thusuaye I as his third wife, and was officially crowned on 29 May at the Temple of Tongtha Khin. Because she was the first wife Thusuaye took after his reign alone, her marriage ceremony and coronation were very grand, more than her two predecessors. Thusuaye himself was very fond of his beautiful young wife and often accompanied her and traveled together, and female officials in the palace praised the emperor and the empress as a loving couple. Ophia did not disappoint her doting husband, and on 17 December of that year, she gave birth to a son, whom the overjoyed emperor named Thusuaye, the same as his own name, and made him the crown prince, the first in line of succession, ahead of his brother, Menshan Maya. On 11 February 1053, she gave birth to another son, who unfortunately died on the day of his birth. On 3 March of the following year, she gave birth to her last child, a daughter named Aguillarma, which means "beauty like a river of stars". She was denounced by Jasume as "demon queen".

Although the emperor and the empress were in harmony, Thusuaye I was a flirt by nature, and before marrying Ophia, he hooked up with several ladies. After Ophia gave birth to the crown prince, the emperor broke up with his mistresses to show his respect for the empress. However, not long after, during Ophia's second pregnancy, the emperor began his affair again, sleeping with Minnee, Countess of Mandhaw, the wife of his favorite official, but this was kept secret from Ophia until January 1054, when Minnee gave birth to a daughter, Sumavatti, and his relationship with Minnee became public. The emperor had known and had an affair with his future fourth wife, Asha Vanni, at least before 1053, and in June 1053, Asha Vanni was made Countess of Kungpen and served as a lady-in-waiting to the empress. The empress was not aware of Asha Vanni's relationship with the emperor at first, so she was very friendly to her and tried to arrange a marriage for her, but Asha Vanni refused all the young talents the empress had found for her. The Empress was intrigued and at the same time greatly appreciated her, and once praised her to the emperor, "What a rare quality that Countess Asha Vanni does not care at all for worldly love." Soon after Ophia gave birth to her daughter in April 1054, she finally discovered that her husband had been unfaithful to her, that she had tolerated one, Minnee, and in return her husband's aggressive behavior drove her mad, and she decided to get even with her husband and his mistresses who had been cheating on her. The first to suffer was the Countess of Mandhaw, whose daughter was taken away by the empress and brought to the harem, while the Countess of Mandhaw was forbidden to enter the palace, in other words, she could not see her daughter and had no place to stay at court; she had to go back to her husband, the Count of Mandhaw did not give his cheating wife a good attitude, and later the Countess of Mandhaw lived for decades in cold violence and misery. The next person Ophia had to deal with was Asha Vanni, whom she hated even more than others because she felt that Asha Vanni had been taunting her, cheating her and insulting her. Slipping into madness, Ophia bluntly said in front of her attendants that she wanted to kill Asha Vanni, which made Asha Vanni to be careful everywhere, avoiding the empress and not daring to meet with her.

Plot and death
In May, perhaps sensing the tense atmosphere between his wife and his mistress, Thusuaye I personally intervened to reconcile the two, organizing a banquet for Asha Vanni to meet the empress in a submissive position and for the empress to show her friendship to Asha Vanni, and the two thawed the ice. It is not clear whether Asha Vanni was really willing to make peace with the empress, but the empress was obviously pretending, she still held a grudge against Asha Vanni, and tried to get rid of her. On 29 June, a banquet was held at the court for the consecration of Thusuaye the Crown Prince, attended by almost all the nobles in the capital, including Asha Vanni, and Ophia seized the opportunity to get rid of her rival. Perhaps the attendant misunderstood the empress's meaning, perhaps the empress's crony misrepresented the order, or perhaps Asha Vanni had already learned of the poisoning plan and tried to revenge, but in any case, the poisoned wine was finally delivered to the empress, and Ophia thus drank the poisoned wine that she herself had poisoned. After a while, the empress suddenly covered her stomach and screamed, then began to vomit blood, she was urgently transferred to the bedchamber and treated by the royal doctor. After about 2 hours, Empress Ophia passed away. Her death was so gruesome, with distorted features, stiff limbs, and black blood flowing from her body, that her maids did not dare to coffin her body, but finally found a special mortician to fix her appearance.

Thusuaye I was very shocked by his wife's death, and he was sad and frightened because his previous wives had not ended decently, which made him wonder if he had been punished by gods, and he also feared that gods might suddenly take away his beloved son Thusuaye-- his fears came true when the crown prince died suddenly in his prime. Ophia's funeral took place on 12 July 1054, and she was entombed in the royal mausoleum at Yanimen, next to Thusuaye I's first wife, Isovanasi, while her mausoleum was much more luxurious and richly furnished than Isovarnasi's. Ophia's tomb was vandalized during the reign of Minsi III, and her coffin was lost during the wars of the 13th century, and now her tomb has only a frame, with no structural decoration, etc. inside.