Theodora
At a glance:
- Series: Dictionary of World Biography: Middle Ages
- Categories: Government and Politics, Women’s Issues, Social Issues, Reform, and Protest, Royalty, Rulers, Nobility
- Subcategories: Politicians, Diplomats, Empires, Dynasties, Emperors, Caesars, Khans, Byzantine Empire
- Curriculum: Women’s History, Medieval History/Middle Ages, Middle Eastern History
Article abstract: Theodora used her privileged position as consort of the great Byzantine emperor Justinian to demonstrate the ability of a woman to administer the complex political machinery of an empire. Although a formidable political opponent, she was sympathetic to the needs of women in an age when this was unheard of, and she succeeded in defending the religious rights of the persecuted Monophysite religious sect against the Orthodox majority in the early Christian era. An empress in more than title, she took an active part in political decision making and social...
[The entire page is 2120 words long]
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