Maria was a daughter of Troian of Bulgaria by an unnamed Byzantine noblewoman descended from the families of Kontostephanos and Phokas, and a granddaughter of Ivan Vladislav of Bulgaria. Her husband was a son of the Caesar John Doukas, a major power player in Byzantine politics of the era, and Eirene Pelagonitissa.
Maria married Andronikos Doukas well before 1066. Maria was endowed with an inheritance of vast land holdings around Lake Ohrid, and her considerable income was used to support her husband"s lavish lifestyle and political ambitions. As mother of the Empress Irene Doukaina, Maria was a woman of some influence in the early years of the reign of Alexios I Komnenos, although she, as a widow, shunned the Imperial court and chose to live in her Lake Ohrid estate.
Her granddaughter Anna Komnene praises her beauty and wisdom in the Alexiad.
Maria of Bulgaria and Andronikos Doukas had five children:
Michael Doukas
John Doukas
Irene Doukaina, who married Emperor Alexios I Komnenos. Anna Doukaina, who married George Palaiologos
Theodora Doukaina, a nun.
