Eliana of Loha, Queen of Sayamati

Eliana of Loha (945/950-November 972) was queen consort of Sayamati as the first spouse of Oraj III, as well as mother of Diagar I. Her marriage with Oraj III made Sayamati annex the County of Forle.

Life
There are two different accounts of Eliana's birth year. When she was married to Oraj III, some opponents suggested that she was 4 years older than the king, the king was underage, but Eliana had grown up, and the marriage between the two was not suitable. According to this statement, Eliana was born in 945. In Forle's chronicle, Eliana was said to be 1 year younger than her fiancé. If the fiancé here refered to Oraj III, then Eliana was born in 950. Many historians agreed with the year 945. They believed that the "fiancé" in Forle's chronicle should not be Oraj III. According to this view, Eliana had betrothed with other people before marrying Oraj III. But there is no documentation about it, so her birth year is still uncertain.

Eliana was the only daughter of Reramonsi VI, Duke of Loha, and his second wife, Sumaneta, Countess of Forle. Her father and first wife, Eliana of Hullijeau, had 6 sons, so Eliana was not the heir to the Duchy of Loha, but through her mother she was the heir to the County of Forle. Her mother, Sumaneta, was a famous beauty at the time, which was one of the reasons why Reramonsi VI married her (although the main reason was to annex the county of Forle). Unfortunately, Eliana did not inherit her mother's beauty, she was considered mediocre and more like her father. Although Sumaneta was beautiful in appearance, her character was inferior. She cruelly treated the children left by her husband's first wife, creating conspiracies in the court, and put several of her stepsons in a state of nervousness. Her stepdaughter all lived in the temple, and because of Sumaneta's obstruction, they seldom came into the palace. Sumaneta put together with Empress Hentherine of Forle, Joana Manrez, Duchess of Salin, and Eliana Moshacca Mihadela, later queen of Maharapura, who were all considered vicious stepmothers. Reramonsi VI was more partial to Sumaneta, but when she can't give birth to a son, he warned his wife not to think that he would give the duchy to a girl to rule.

Reramonsi VI allied with Joan Sacario, Marquess of Borïaun, the regent of Sayamati, who decided to let his nephew, King Oraj III and Reramonsi VI's daughter gets married. Reramonsi VI originally wanted to marry his first wife's daughter Anmariela to Oraj III, but Sumaneta did not want to see her disgusted stepdaughter become queen, so she asked her husband to let Eliana replaced Anmariela to marry the king, and Reramonsi VI hesitated, but the Marquess of Borïaun found that Eliana was the heir of the County of Forle, so he also proposed to let Eliana marry the king. Eliana married Oraj III on 30 May 963, a wedding that exacerbated the conflict between Sumaneta and her stepsons, as she took away their sister's chance to become queen, and it is said that Sumaneta took part of the inheritance of Eliana of Hullijeau as her daughter's dowry. The wedding also aroused dissatisfaction among the nobles of the Sayamati, because Eliana's mother had a bad reputation. The king's mother, Ophia of Aguilette, the exiled queen mother, took the opportunity to write to the nobles, inciting them to help the king free himself from the regency of the Marquess of Borïaun. On 17 July 963, Eliana was crowned Queen of Sayamati at the Temple of El Bahal.

Eliana was considered kind, docile, and having a mediocre beauty, but her husband did not appreciate her. Oraj III was very young and very close to some male friends, and there was a high possibility that there was a homosexual relationship between him and these male friends. Marquess of Borïaun was very satisfied with Eliana because she was not strong. In 965, Oraj III expelled the marquess, who responded with a rebellion. The king's mother, Ophia, returned to Sayamadi, and although she at first disliked Eliana because she was chosen by her enemy the Marquess of Borïaun, she soon began to appreciate the humility of her daughter-in-law and the toughness beneath her weak exterior. In March 966, Oraj III beheaded the marquess during the battle, then he found that the queen's father had provided weapons for the marquess in this struggle, and he was so furious that he wanted to divorce Eliana and banish her to the temple. But the queen has a good reputation, and the nobles and the queen dowager do not support the divorce of the king and the queen, and Eliana walked through the entire Fwabosi barefoot to ask for forgiveness, and received the sympathy and support of the citizens. Oraj III finally withdrew the resolution to divorce Eliana. After all, divorce with her would mean losing the County of Forle.

On 17 September 967, Eliana finally gave birth to her first son, the future Diagar I. After that, she gave birth to 4 sons and 1 daughter at an average frequency of one child per year. In November 972, she gave birth to a son and a daughter. The birth of her daughter, Ophia Anna, was smooth, but the birth of her son, Reramonsio, was very difficult. This production also killed Eliana. Eliana died on the birth bed before Reramonsio was fully born. Reramonsio was subsequently removed, but died 2 days after birth. Ophia Anna also only lived 6 months. Among Eliana's five sons and one daughter, only the eldest son, Diagar and the third son, Isacca Muhataño, had grown up, and only Diagar had legitimate descendants.

Shortly after Eliana's death, her father also died, and her half-brother Nanjamin II became Duke of Loha, and in retaliation he drove out his stepmother Sumaneta. When Oraj III found out that Sumaneta was going to remarry, he was afraid that Sumaneta would give birth to a son in the new marriage, so that he and Eliana's son would not be able to inherit the County of Forle, so he kidnapped Sumaneta, imprisoned her in the Grand Royal Temple, and forced her to become a nun. After Sumaneta's death, Diagar became the Count of Forle, and after he became King of Sayamti, he officially signed the document to incorporate the county into Sayamati.

Issue
Eliana had 5 sons and 1 daughter.

1. Diagar (17 September 967-2 April 1003), later Diagar I, King of Sayamati, married Madharia Anna of Palarra, with whom he had issue.

2. Lebinande Reneto (8 December 968-27 February 981), later Lebinande II, Duke of Theebo, engaged with Sirica of Maharapura.

3. Isacca Muhatanio (29 May 970-2 April 1009), later Isacca IV, Duke of Theebo, remained unmarried.

4. Oraj (9 August 971-973), died in infancy.

5. Ophia Anna (November 972-May 973), died in infancy.

6. Reramonsio (November 972), died 2 days after birth.