The last remnant of the castle, which is located in the village of Dafni, is of great historical interest. It is the only surviving tower and it is known as the “Tower of Maro”. Maro, the women from whom the tower got its name, was the wife of Murat II and the daughter of the Serbian ruler Georgios Brakovic. Her mother was from Kantakouzinos’s family, and she was the granddaughter of Matthaios Kantakouzinoos and niece of Helen, wife of David Komnenos, last emperor of Trabzon.
Maros’s sister, Catherine, was the wife of Count De Cilley Ulderich. After the death of Murat II, Mehmed the Conqueror sent Maro’s stepmother to her father George with rich gifts and thus renewed the peace with him.
But later, when he conquered Serbia, Maro was moved to Constantinople, and later she inherited the town of Dafni, whose ancient name was Ezevai. She settled there and lived with many honors and unlimited power.
Although Maro was so far from the Sultan’s court, she still influenced the general politics of Turkey. This made the Turkish officials envy her. They sent people to Dafni to assassinate her. But she managed to escape in time and hid in a neighboring village, where she died some time later.
In the old codex of the Holy Metropolis of Saints Theodoros of Serres, in which the holy vessels and vestments of the Metropolis are recorded, is an “Icon of Mrs. Maro” where she had the holy rood, which shows that she had donated an icon of the Virgin Mary to the Metropolitan church, decorated with holy rood.
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