| Theodora - Byzantine Empress |
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Married Justinian, 523 or 525. Empress from April 4, 527.
Theodora, empress of Byzantium from 527-548, was probably the most influential and powerful woman in the empire's history.
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According to Procopius, Theodora's father was the bear and animal keeper at the Hippodrome, and her mother, after her husband died, started Theodora's acting career, which evolved into a life as a prostitute and mistress of Hecebolus, whom she soon left. She became a Monophysite, and, still working as an actress, or as a wool-spinner, she came to the attention of Justinian, nephew and heir of the emperor Justin. Justin's wife may also have been a prostitute; she changed her name to Euphemia upon becoming empress. Theodora first became the mistress of Justinian; then Justin accommodated his heir's attraction to Theodora by changing the law that forbid a patrician from marrying an actress. That there is an independent record of this law being changed lends weight to at least the general outline of Procopius' story of Theodora's lowly origins.
Whatever her origins, Theodora had the respect of her new husband. In 532, when two factions (known as the Blues and the Greens) threatened to end Justinian's rule, she is credited with getting Justinian and his generals and officials to stay in the city and take strong action to suppress the rebellion.
Through her relationship with her husband, who seems to have treated her as his intellectual partner, Theodora had a real effect on the political decisions of the empire. Justinian writes, for instance, that he consulted Theodora when he promulgated a constitution which included reforms meant to end corruption by public officials. She is credited with influencing many other reforms, including some which expanded the rights of women in divorce and property ownership, forbid exposure of unwanted infants, gave mothers some guardianship rights over their children, and forbid the killing of a wife who committed adultery. She closed brothels and created convents where the ex-prostitutes could support themselves.
Theodora remained a monophysite Christian, and her husband remained an orthodox Christian. Some commentators -- including Procopius -- allege that their differences were more a pretense than a reality, presumably to keep the church from having too much power. She was known as a protector of members of the Monophysite faction when they were accused of heresy. She supported the moderate Monophysite Severus and, when he was excommunicated and exiled -- with Justinian's approval -- Theodorus helped him to settle in Egypt. Another excommunicated Monophysite, Anthimus, was still hiding in the women's quarters when Theodora died, twelve years after the excommunication order. She sometimes explicitly worked against her husband's support of Chalcedonian Christianity in the ongoing struggle for the predominance of each faction, especially at the edges of the empire.
Theodora died in 548, probably of cancer. At the end of his life, Constantine, too, converted to Monophysitism.
Although Theodora had a daughter when she married Justinian, they had no children together. She married her niece to Justinian's heir, Justin II.
Theodora on the web
Related topics
on the web|
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- Procopius of Caesarea: The Secret History - about a 6th century source for information on Theodora and Justinian. Introduction and notes by Paul Halsall. Includes extensive bibliography, including of fictional works.
- Bibliography on Women in Byzantium - a bibliography, compiled from many different contributors. Includes primary sources and secondary sources.
- Women in Late Antiquity - A Bibliography - by Antti Arjava, University of Helsinki
- Women's dress / Les vêtements feminins / Frauenkleider - Byzantium women's clothing
- Life of St. Theodora of Thessalonike (812-892) - translated by Alice-Mary Talbot. A 79-page PDF file (Adobe Acrobat Reader required, available free from www.adobe.com). From Holy Women of Byzantium: Ten Saints' Lives in English Translation. Alice-Mary Talbot, editor. 1996. (This is a different Theodora who lived three centuries after the Empress Theodora.)
About Theodora
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- Categories: Empress, actress
- Places: Constantinople, Byzantium, Alexandria
- Period: 6th century
- Religious Associations: Monophysite Christianity
Also on this site
Print Bibliography
- Bridge, Anthony. Theodora: Portrait in a Byzantine Landscape. 1978. Reprint, 1993.
- Browning, Robert. Justinian and Theodora. 1987.
- Diehl, C. Theodora: Empress of Byzantium. 1972.
- Garland, Lynda. Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium AD 527 - 1204. 1999. (Reviewed by Barry Baldwin)
- Holmes, W. G. The Age of Justinian and Theodora. 1912. 2 volumes.
- Procopius. The Secret History. G. A. Williamson, translator. 1966.
- Procopius. The Secret History. Richard Atwater, translator. 1927. Reprint, 1961.
- Underhill, Clara. Theodora: The Courtesan of Constantinople. 1932.
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Text copyright 1999-2006 © Jone Johnson Lewis.
