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Empress theodora and her attendants essay
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Empress Theodora was not an average woman in the Byzantine Empire, rather she was the most powerful empress of the Byzantine Empire. She met every requirement to be a great leader, but instead she ruled with her husband, Justinian. Theodora had beauty, intelligence, glamour, and was pleasing with intelligence that helped change the empire in many ways.
Theodora was empress of the Byzantine Empire. She was born in 497 CE in Constantinople, which is modern day Istanbul, Turkey. Theodora’s intelligence and political acuity made her the most powerful and influential empress in all of Byzantine history. Also known as the wife of Justinian, Theodora was well trusted and her power and influence gave her the ability to promote social and religious
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Her father was the animal keeper who died when she was a young child. Her mother, who was in need of money, introduced Theodora to the field of entertainment as an actress, which later evolved into a life as a prostitute and mistress of Hecebolus. When Hecebolus was governor of African Pentapolis, Theodora made use of her many talents and gifts as she worked her way to Constantinople. Theodora had two sisters, Comitona and Anastasia. When Theodora was a child, she started work as a stage mime with her sisters before becoming an actress. By her teens, she was famous everywhere she went. At the age of fifteen, Theodora was a beautiful dancer and actress. She began as a comic actress in a burlesque theater and was recognized for her animal acts. She became popular on and off stage due to revealing her body to the public. During this era, an “actress” was also known as a “prostitute.” Along with this, she was also known for her amazing wool-spinning ability. Before meeting her husband, she was a mistress of a wealthy man whom became the father of her first unwanted …show more content…
Early Byzantine emperors has many treasures from ancient life, mainly between the fourth and sixth centuries. In 532 riots destroyed the city but it was reconstructed with amazing sculptures. Theodora and Justinian transformed Constantinople into a gorgeous city and referred to it as “The City.” It was the center of Christian civilization and included the greatest church. Its great dome was decorated with marble and mosaics to attract visitors for many years. At age eighteen, she ended her career and became a mistress. She later joined the ascetic community in Alexandria, experiencing religious views to branch Christianity. At age 21, She returned to the capital and met Justinian, who became the emperor after his father died. Theodora’s achievements in power consisted of attempting to stop pimps making their money off of prostitutes, making marriage and life safe for women, and setting up houses where they can thrive in peace. Theodora’s laws banned brothel-keepers in Constantinople and other major cities around the empire. Many of her life achievements are what made her widely known for having great
Did Justinian impact life as we know it because he is such a great ruler, or is he just a follower who keeps trying to hold on to the loose threads of a fallen empire? Some might say that without Justinian, humanity is a step further back. Others may argue evermore that Justinian is a two-faced liar who you cannot trust (Doc. 2). Contrary to many beliefs, Justinian creates a new Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome that is influential to many different cultures, more advanced and educated than Rome, and more economically thriving than the Roman Empire.
Theodora was the empress of the Byzantine Empire. She was married to Justinian. They both had similar ideas about how to rule an empire. But what is her past? What do we know about Theodora? What even was the Byznatine Empire? After learning about this empire and the empress, I am very interested in learning more about this unique ruler. Her past and her views on women’s rights are very extraordinary traits of an Empress at this time in history.
A rise of Seljuk Turks who were a Muslim nomadic warrior group and asserted their political control. Seljuk Turks not only expanded their political control they also took half the Byzantine Empire with them. Byzantine Emperor named Alexius Comnena asked Pope Urban II for assistance to regain former territory the Byzantines had lost. During this time period Emperor Alexius had his daughter Anna
Emperor Justinian of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire, was one of Rome’s greatest leaders. By building numerous churches, schools, and hospitals throughout the empire, Justinian not only managed to revive Roman society, but he also preserved Roman culture for over a thousand years. Justinian’s brilliant leadership led the Roman Empire to conquer lands in Europe and Africa and expand to its greatest size. Additionally, he unified and strengthened the empire by moving the capital to Constantinople and establishing a single faith. After his death, Justinian left a legacy that allowed Rome to continue thriving. Under Justinian’s rule, Rome flourished into a culturally rich civilization.
Roman Emperor Constantine I founded the Byzantine Empire in 330 CE as a continuation of the Roman Empire in the east. The characteristics of the empire led to the modern definition of “Byzantine,” which means “strangely complicated.” This was true, as in the Byzantine Empire was very chaotic, complex, and strange at times, but it was very massive and influential worldwide. The empire heavily influenced modern religion, laws, and engineering making it worthwhile learning about the empire.
The birth of an eastern circus woman attracted no attention at all in mid-millennium year 500. No one could ever imagine that this baby would grow up to be one of the most remarkable women in history of the World. She was the daughter of the bear keeper, a public performer,wife of Justinian, Empress of the Byzantine Empire and a natural beauty whose name became the one name in the voluminous annals of the Byzantine empire known to almost everyone; Theodora. Once the former show girl settled down to respectable married life, she touched every branch of life in the Empire. She had her finger on everything including military campaigns, architectural developments, and government policy and law reforms. With her intelligence and charm and her indomitable willpower she became the backbone of Justinian by being the partner in power. Her supremacy and authority over Justinian and her role in the empire made her a significant woman in the history and the empress of one of the great civilizations of the world. She brought Justinian a stabilizing influence and helped him shaped his policies and became the foreground of every picture of the period. For all the long series of masterful empresses none is as astonishing and stunning as the consort of Justinian. This essay will analyze the dynamic of the marriage between Justinian and Theodora and it will argue the importance of this marriage for the strength of the Byzantine Empire.
First, Empress Theodora was a person of great importance to her empire. For example, she helped build, “hostels to shelter the homeless,” (Almanac 7). This shows Theodora was not only concerned with the upper classes. This allows her to improve living conditions for her people. In addition, she helped improve equality for women, “Divorced women were granted rights such as the ability to remain guardians of
The Significance of Women in the Imperial Family During the time of the Roman Empire women were not allowed to play any part of the political life of the empire. However, women were still able to influence powerful men and manipulate them to use their power. for the wants of the woman. The most powerful woman in the Roman society was either the wife of a principal or the mother of one. Examples of influential women in the imperial family include Livia Drusilla, Julia.
2. Procopius starts this document stating that Theodora is nothing more than a prostitute. He goes on to say that she was not of class or had any dignity, because she would perform on stage almost completely nude. Procopius portrays her as someone who is ruthless and will do whatever she needs to do to accomplish her goals. Justinian would fall in love with her, but was not allowed to marry her because of his social status, because
Justinian was one of the most influential rulers of Byzantium. When he came into power in 527 AD, he inherited a civilization in disarray. Justinian had a positive impact on the Byzantine Empire. Most notably, he introduced an improved set of laws and conquered many surrounding nations, nearly restoring the former glory of the Roman Empire. In addition to these contributions, Justinian also made advances with the Christian Church and Byzantine architecture.
The Ottoman Empire were Muslims and included Hungary, Syria, Egypt, Bulgaria, and Albania, and they marched on land. The Ottoman Empire is said to have first appeared somewhere around the 1300’s, and can be related to the decline of the Byzantine Empire. They began conquering Christian lands and by the late 1600’s all Christians were afraid of the “terrible Turk”. It is no wonder that many other people were afraid of the Ottoman Empire since they seem to be really rather powerful and they conquered a lot of land. It was in the 1330’s when the Morroccan Abu Abdallah Ibn Battuta passed through Constantinople and became impressed with the Ottomans who seemed to be gaining power rather quickly, he noticed that they had close to 100 forts and
The religion of Islam spread and the Franks rose to power (The Reign of Justinian). Among other things, Justinian’s rule saw a flourishment in the areas of architecture, the arts, and literature. It was a time of re-building for the empire. Justinian pursued an ambitious dream of restoring the old Roman Empire. In fact, Justinian led the Byzantine army in many wars to regain this land.
Byzantine culture begins with the establishment of the city Constantinople by Emperor Constantine in 330 AD. This is considered by some historians to be the beginning of Byzantium, the term for the Eastern Roman Empire. Other historians argue that Byzantium was only established after the fall of the empire in the West in 476 (Loverance 6). The Byzantines continued many Roman traditions, but as time went on, Byzantine culture became more and more distant from that of the Romans.
Homer describes Helen as the worlds most beautiful women at the time. She is the daughter of the Olympian god, Zeus and her mother is known to be Leda. When she was young Greek mythology states that Helen was rescued by her brothers when she was taken by Theseus. Helen`s sister, Clytemnestra was married to Agamemnon. Helen was the most desired woman by all men from all over Greek, she had many suitors come for her hand but Menelaus, the younger brother of her sister’s husband, Agamemnon was the lucky one. Helen choose Menelaus as her suitor and married him and became his Queen. As he was king of Sparta.
She gained power because she had been prepared all her life to be a successful ruler by being very educated in studies, languages, charm, and even in relationships. She studied natural sciences and mathematics all her life. She was even taught from her servants how to be charming. In fact, they say her beauty was not all that striking but it was actually her charm and character that made others admire her. She learned how to speak several languages and was described to be so thoroughly fluent that she did not any need the help from an interpreter. She could easily speak to anyone, from the Ethiopians, Troglodytes, Hebrews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes, or even the Parthians. Despite her Macedonian descent, she was also able to g...