The Vampire Diaries Wiki
Register
Advertisement
The Vampire Diaries Wiki

The Petrova Family (Bulgarian: Петър) is one of the main families in The Vampire Diaries. The main significance of the family in the series is that the bloodline that descends from Amara has the potential for a doppelgänger to appear approximately every 500 years. The blood of a doppelgänger is coveted for its magical properties, namely for its use as a binding agent in spells performed by witches. The blood of a Petrova doppelgänger, in particular, was one of the elements used to cast a curse on the vampire Klaus, and thus was required to break it. The Petrova Family has been linked to both the Salvatore Family and the Bennett Family since 1st century B.C. According to Qetsiyah, Petrova Doppelgängers are destined to meet and fall in love with the Salvatore Doppelgängers century after century, as the Petrova and Salvatore Doppelganger's are spawned from Silas (the Original Salvatore) and Amara (the Original Petrova), who were destined true love and became the world's first immortal beings.

Family Members

  • Amara: Amara (Ancient Greek: Αμάρα) was born some time in the 1st century B.C. Her origins are from Ancient Greece. She is the earliest known ancestor of the Petrova family bloodline. Amara was the very first immortal woman in the world. She was also the true love of the world's very first immortal man, Silas. Back during 1st century B.C., Amara fell deeply in love with a young, gifted and powerful warlock named Silas. Although Amara and Silas loved each other, their love was highly forbidden as Amara was the handmaiden to a powerful witch, Qetsiyah and Silas was engaged to be married to Qetsiyah, who was also in love with Silas. Silas' love for Amara was so powerful that it motivated him to wanting to live for eternity with her. However, in order to get help in order to create the spell of immortality, Silas told Qetsiyah that he wanted to spend forever with her but secretly, he intended to spend it with Amara. Believing that Silas wanted to be with her forever, Qetsiyah created the very first immortality spell out of love for Silas. Qetsiyah had made the immortality spell for she and Silas to consume on their wedding night. However, everything turned awry for Qetsiyah when she realized Silas had stolen the immortality elixir and had betrayed and abandoned her on their wedding night. Silas had made himself and Amara the first immortal beings. Enraged by Silas' betrayal, she tracked him down, and discovered he had given her immortality elixir to her own handmaiden, Amara. Qetsiyah then created two doses of the cure for immortality as a "gift" for Silas and Amara. She cured Amara of her immortality and then killed her by slitting her throat and cutting her heart out. Silas found out what Qetsiyah had done and he was completely devastated. After Amara was killed, Qetsiyah lured Silas to an isolated island and entombed him in darkness, burying him with the second dose of the cure for immortality, hoping that Silas would take the cure, die a mortal death and cross over to The Other Side, which is a purgatory meant for supernatural beings after they die. Qetsiyah's motivation behind creating the Other Side was to prevent Silas from ever reuniting with Amara in true death on the earth's metaphysical plane, which is the place where human souls go after they die. Therefore, Amara has been on the metaphysical plane alone and unable to be reunited with Silas, her true love, in death. However, this was from both the legend of Silas and from Qetsiyah's point of view and was not wholely the truth of what happened. It was revealed that Qetsiyah in fact did not kill Amara, but instead, dessicated and entombed her body. It was also revealed that Qetsiyah used Amara as the physical anchor for The Other Side, as Qetsiyah needed an anchor that was both eternal and indestructible, hence Amara, who was an immortal being and could not die or be killed. Amara, as a result, ended up being trapped in her own body for over 2,000+ years, suffering without her true love Silas, plus seeing endless dead supernatural beings due to being bound as an anchor for The Other Side. As a result or price of being the anchor for such a place, it is clear that Amara has suffered serious emotional, mental and psychological trauma over the many centuries; she had suffered a similar fate to that of Silas, whom Qetsiyah had entombed on a desolate island in darkness to starve and dessicate for eternity. Amara has reunited with Silas for the first time in over two millennia but she is extremely petrified and overwhelmed. Amara consumes the cure for immortality via drinking Silas' blood, which contains the cure. Amara tells Silas that she deeply loves him but that she cannot live for another day, that she desires to die and be at peace more than anything else due to the endless suffering she endured for centuries and centuries. Amara decides to kill herself by stabbing herself. Before she dies, Amara tells Silas that she loves him and that she will always love him, but that she cannot live anymore. Amara dies and crosses over to the Earth's metaphysical plane, where dead human souls go to after they die. Tessa transfers the anchor from Amara  to her descendent Bonnie, with Bonnie taking Amara's place of being the anchor to The Other Side. Silas is stabbed and killed by Stefan, his doppelganger and descendant and he ends up crossing over to The Other Side. Tessa then kills herself by cutting herself. Tessa dies after extreme blood lost and crosses over to the Other Side, where she claims that Silas is "awaiting her on The Other Side". This means that Tessa accomplished her 2,000+ year old goal; to separate the two fates, the soulmates and the star crossed lovers for eternity. This means that Amara has to spend an eternity alone on the metaphysical plane without her one true love, Silas, for eternity, while Silas suffers the same fate as Amara on The Other Side. When Amara became a truly immortal being, nature immediately had to restore the balance, meaning nature needed a version or mortal versions of Amara that could die. Thus, shadow selves, doppelgängers or a doppelgänger bloodline of Amara was created as a way to restore the balance. Amara is recently known as the Original Petrova and is known as the progenitor of the Petrova doppelgänger bloodline. She is also the earliest known ancestor of Tatia, Katherine and Elena, all of whom are doppelgängers of her. Amara is also an ancestor to all of the Petrova women.
  • Unknown Woman born during 5th century (1st Petrova Doppelganger): This unknown lady is assumed to be Amara's very 1st Petrova doppelganger. She is a descendent of Amara. Nothing is known about her background or history. Her doppelganger is Tatia. 
  • Tatia (2nd Petrova Doppelganger): Tatia was born during the 10th century. Tatia was assumed to be Amara's 2nd Petrova doppelgänger. She is a descendent of Amara, the world's first immortal woman. She lived in what would be America during the 11th century and was a contemporary of the Mikaelson family. Tatia is first mentioned by Rebekah, though not by name, when she comments humorously that the original Petrova was much prettier than Elena. In Bringing Out The DeadKlaus and Elijah reveal Tatia's name while dining with Damon and Stefan Salvatore. Tatia's doppelganger is Katherine Pierce.
  • Tatia's Child (Name Unknown): He/She was born around the turn of the 11th century. According to Elijah, Tatia had the child out of wedlock. Eventually, either it or its descendants migrated to Europe. 
  • Katerina's Father (Mr. Petrov): He was a Bulgarian man who lived during the 15th century. He watched his daughter, Katerina, give birth to a daughter in the year 1490. He took the baby away from Katerina moments after she was born, ashamed of his daughter for bearing a child out of wedlock. He disowned Katerina and banished her to England. He was murdered by Klaus.
  • Katerina's Mother (Mrs. Petrova): She was a Bulgarian woman who lived during the 15th century. She helped her daughter, Katerina, give birth to a daughter in the year 1490. Although Katerina's mother was more sympathetic towards her daughter, Katerina's father immediately took the child away, ashamed of his daughter for having a child out of wedlock. her husband disowned Katerina and banished her to England. When Katerina returned to Bulgaria in the year 1492, she discovered that her mother, along with the rest of her family, had been murdered by Klaus.
  • Katerina's Sister: She was a Bulgarian girl who lived during the 15th century. She helped her sister, Katerina, give birth to her daughter in 1490. When Katerina returned to Bulgaria in 1492, she discovered that her sister, along with the rest of her family, had been murdered by Klaus. She is a distant descendant of Amara. 
  • Katerina Petrova (a.k.a. Katherine Pierce, 3rd Petrova Doppelganger): Katerina Petrova, or Katherine Pierce (Bulgarian and Russian: Катерина Петрова) was born June 5th, 1473, in Bulgaria. She is assumed to be Amara's 3rd Petrova doppelganger. She is a distant descendant of the world's first immortal woman, Amara. In 1490, Katerina gave birth to a daughter, continuing the Petrova bloodline, but she was disowned for having a baby out of wedlock and the child was given away. She was then banished to England, where in 1492 she met the Lord Niklaus and his elder brother, the Lord Elijah. She made their acquaintance and was friendly toward them, unaware that the brothers were vampires and Klaus intended to use her in a sacrifice. Eventually Katerina discovered the truth about Klaus and his plan and fled. In order to thwart the plan to murder her, Katerina orchestrated her own death and transformed into a vampire. Having escaped England, she returned to Bulgaria later that year, only to discover that Klaus had murdered her entire family as revenge for her escape and suicide. Many centuries later, near the end of the American Civil War in the year 1864, Katerina had assumed the name Katherine Pierce and moved to Mystic Falls, where she lived with the Salvatore Family. The brothers Damon and Stefan competed for her affections, sparking a lifelong rivalry between them. Katherine eventually faked her own death in the interest of her lifelong career of evading Klaus, and managed to lay low for 145 years before returning to Mystic Falls. Her return to the town was motivated by the desire to secure the moonstone and the doppelgänger, both of which she intended to hand over to Klaus in exchange for her freedom. Katherine was recently turned back into a witch by her descendant; Elena. Katherine is the doppelganger of Tatia and Katherine's doppelganger is Elena Gilbert.
  • Nadia Petrova: Nadia (Bulgarian: Надя Петрова, Russian: Надежда Петрова, Greek: Νάντια Πέτροβα) was born in the year 1490 in Bulgaria. Katerina gave birth to her when she was a teenager between the ages of seventeen and eighteen. The daughter was born out of wedlock, much to Katerina's parent's disapproval, and she was given away to an unknown family. Her existence remained unknown throughout the supernatural world for many centuries; those concerned with the Petrova doppelgänger bloodline (namely Klaus) believed the line had ended when Katerina died and became a vampire. The truth did not emerge until the existence of another Petrova doppelgänger was discovered. She is shown to still be alive as a vampire for over 500 years. She made her identity known to Katherine in Monster's Ball.
  • Isobel Flemming: Isobel was a distant descendant of Katerina Petrova, and thus Amara, the world's first immortal woman. Born in 1978, she grew up in Mystic Falls and as a teenager had a child by John Gilbert. She gave her daughter up for adoption to John's brother Grayson and his wife Miranda, who named the girl Elena. Years later, Isobel was married to Alaric Saltzman when she asked Damon Salvatore to turn her into a vampire. After she became a vampire, Isobel went looking for Katherine, who helped her get a Lapis Lazuli necklace so she could walk in the daylight unharmed. Isobel helped Katherine research about the tomb vampires and got the Gilbert Device for John Gilbert to destroy the tomb vampires so that Katherine could return to Mystic Falls. Isobel was later compelled by Klaus to betray Katherine and then kill herself. She removed her daylight necklace in front of Elena and burned to death in the sun, ironically in front of her own tombstone.
  • Elena Gilbert (4th Petrova Doppelganger): Elena was born on June 22, 1992, in Mystic Falls, Virginia. She is assumed to be Amara's 4th Petrova doppelganger. Elena is a very distant descendant of the world's first immortal woman, Amara. She is the biological daughter of John Gilbert and Isobel Flemming, and is therefore a descendant of Katherine Pierce, to whom she bears a striking physical resemblance. Elena is also the final descendant of Amara, the originator of the Petrova doppelgänger bloodline. Elena's death and transition into a vampire ended the Petrova doppelgänger bloodline, as she has no descendants, though it is possible that Katherine's reinstated human status may allow another branch of the bloodline to continue. Elena is the doppelganger of Katherine Pierce.

Relatives

  • John Gilbert: John met and fell in love with Isobel Flemming during their teenage years and they dated each other for a while. When Isobel was just 16 in the year 1992, Isobel told John that she was pregnant and John brought her to his older brother, Grayson Gilbert, who was the local pediatrician or OB/GYN, so that she could give birth to a daughter named Elena. Isobel left Elena in the good hands of Grayson and his wife Miranda, who didn't know that John was actually the biological father of Isobel's baby. John later sacrificed himself to resurrect Elena after Klaus had killed her for his ritual to trigger is werewolf gene, having Bonnie Bennett channel his life force into Elena's body once she died. Though John and Isobel never married, he is considered a relative of the family.
  • Alaric Saltzman: Alaric was the history teacher and a vampire hunter is the former husband of Isobel Flemming and the stepfather of Elena Gilbert . It was later revealed that he thinks his wife, Isobel, was killed by a vampire, who he suspects to be Damon. Later he find out that Isobel wanted to become a vampire, and begged Damon to turn her, thus making Isobel a vampire. Isobel later came back and compelled Alaric to move on from her and Alaric begins a new life with Jenna Sommers and takes in Elena and Jeremy as his own by becoming their guardian. Alaric is turned into an Original by Esther. Alaric dies after Elena drowns in season three due to his sired connection to Elena.

Family Tree

The lineage of the Petrova family is anchored by Katerina Petrova and Elena Gilbert, who are doppelgängers of their ancestor Tatia: Tatia lived during the 11th century, Katerina was born in the 15th century, and Elena was born in the 20th century. This bloodline ended with Elena, who died and became a vampire without bearing any children. However, because Katherine has become human again, the bloodline may have the potential to continue.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amara
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unknown Doppelganger
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tatia
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Tatia's Child
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mr. Petrov
 
Mrs. Petrova
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Katerina Petrova
 
Unnamed Daughter
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nadia Petrova
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flemming Family
 
 
Gilbert Family
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alaric Saltzman
 
Isobel Flemming
 
John Gilbert
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Elena Gilbert

Surname

  • Petrov or Petroff (feminine: Petrova) is one of the most common surnames in Russia and Bulgaria.
  • The surname is derived from the given name Pyotr (Пётр, Russian) or Petar (Петър, Bulgarian), both of which are equivalent to the English name Peter. These names derive from the Greek "Πετρος" (Petros), meaning "stone".

Trivia

  • File:Katherine1.png

    Katerina asking to see her daughter.

    In the books, Katherine is a member of the von Swartzschild Family, while in the series, she is a member of the Petrova Family.
  • In the books, the von Swartzchild family is German, but in the series the Petrovas are Bulgarian. This change was made because Nina Dobrev, who plays both Katherine Pierce and Elena Gilbert, has Bulgarian heritage; she was born there and speaks the language.
  • The Petrova family is referred to using the feminine form of the surname (masculine: Petrov) because so far only female members of the family are significant to the show's plot. The bloodline from Tatia to Elena Gilbert could be considered a Matriline.
  • Deleted scenes of the second season show other Petrova family members, but they are not canonical.
  • The Petrova Family is one of the oldest families in the TV Series.
  • It is worth noting that three members of the Petrova family have slept with Damon Salvatore: Katherine, Isobel, and Elena. Also, Elijah Mikaelson has kissed three members of the Petrova ladies: Tatia, Katherine and Elena.

Gallery

See also

Template:VD Characters

Advertisement