Theodora & Elizabeth Empress Theodora rose from a low class background to becoming the Empress of the Byzantine Empire. Also Queen Elizabeth I helped England become more powerful. Both Empress Theodora, and Queen Elizabeth I made changes during their reigns that impacted their citizens.
First of all, Empress Theodora was a woman of great importance. For example, Theodora helped conditions for female children, “The custom of abandoning infants, most often girls, to die of exposure was outlawed,” (Almanac 5). This shows that Theodora makes an impact for female children. Theodora’s low class background allows her to consider all people as equal in her empire. This proves that Theodora is a good leader by improving life for her people.
Theodora’s story starts with a distinctive start. Her father was a bear trainer that worked in the Hippodrome in Constantinople and she grew up in the entertainment spotlight (Craig/Graham/Kagan/Ozment /Turner, 355, 2009). She was a mime and when she was older, she became an actress (Koeller, 1996). So, she not only lived in a circus, she also became a child star. Who would not want her childhood? But, back in that day, an actress was not a highly looked upon career for a women, therefore the term ‘actress’ was interchanged with ‘prostitute’ (Koeller, 1996). So, it might not have been the best...
Elizabeth I was the queen of England from 1558 to 1603. Elizabeth I had many qualities of an absolute ruler and these qualities helped her to make a stronger England. Among the areas that Elizabeth I had absolute power were, her total control of politics in her country, her complete ability to use the military to keep and increase her power, and her complete influence over the social and cultural situation of England.
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.
Hill, Barbara. Imperial Women in Byzantium 1025-1204: Power, patronage and ideology. New York: Longman, 1999. Print.
Procopious specifically in the text signifies the role of women in men’s lives such as an advisor and as well as they were seen. As told before Theodora played role in Justinian rule as being an advisor, but signifies that women had as much power as the emperor even in some cases even more. As a result many decisions were a result of Theodora’s advising which reflected upon on Justinian. However, in some instances, it is shown that women were very manipulated and always getting what they desired. Procopious mention such act when his general Belisarious caught his wife,Antonina, having an intimate relation with Theodosius he didn 't do anything as far punishment. In such a weird way he accepted this because he saw that his wife was happy and didn 't want this news to surface in the public(Procpious,2).Even so he was unwilling to do so because he a strong attachment with Antonina. Which comes to another thing that Procopious touches upon and is the image that elite individuals. Belisarious although keeping this a secret surfacing to the public was still seen negatively from the people around him. This gave Belisarious a reputation of a coward and was even called by the Persian a man who does what a woman asks him to do( Procopious,6). Another thing in the culture of the Byzantine Empire was the acceptance of prostitution. Procpious reveals that most of the elites where involves with
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.
During her life, Eleanor married two kings, participates in the second Crusade, played an active role in both the French and British governments, and contributed to the rules of courtly love. Eleanor further saw that her daughters were married to men of high power, and helped two of her sons become King of England, thus assuring her place in history as the greatest queen that ever lived. Eleanor encouraged poeple of Aquitaine to get an education, at the time when people did not usaually care if they could read or not. The reason why Eleanor was and still important is because women of her era were not known to play such an important political roles and many queens who also ruled during the medieval time would not have influenced both the French and British courts. In fact, there was not a lot of information about the others queens of England and France.
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
...ide throughout history and to this day. In addition, the Elizabethan Settlement has demonstrated to the world the peace that can emerge from religious compromise and toleration between specific conflicting views. Lastly, the Privy Council, cabinet-type, advisory group that was first most prominently used by Elizabeth has been adopted by many thriving nations, such as the United States today. Ultimately, from all of these actions during her forty-six year reign, Queen Elizabeth I has truly been a molder of England, artistically, religiously, and politically.
Despite his adherence to deeply gendered tradition, the stories he relates help detail the fundamental roles women played in the history of the empire. One of the earliest examples of this is found in the account of the Sabine women. This series of events shows the importance of women in forming alliances and linking families, something that could not happen if women were not at least moderately valued. Perhaps most importantly, the intervention of Romulus’ wife, Hersilia, in the battle following the abduction of the Sabine women displays the influence Roman women held within their families. Because these men appreciated and respected their wives and daughters, they listened to their pleas to halt the violence before too many lives were lost. This shows that while women may not have been considered equals, they were not discounted as
Queen Elizabeth I was said to be one of the best rulers of England. Unlike rulers before her, she was a Protestant and not a Catholic. She was not stupid though. She did go to church and did everything that Catholics did to prevent getting her head cut off under the rules of her sister Mary. Elizabeth was very young when she came to rule. She was only 17 years old when her sister Mary died and she took over.
During that whole time men were only written about riding and taming these creatures, not women. Ancient Greece was a civilization where men did all the rough tasks while women stayed home caring for kids and cleaning. In a world characterized by male dominance, one woman stood out. Kyniska of Sparta was the most important visionary for women’s’ rights because of her understanding of class structure through participating in the Olympic Games. She became the first woman ever to win the four-horse chariot race with her own bred and tamed horses.
Greek women, as depicted as in their history and literature, endure many hardships and struggle to establish a meaningful status in their society. In the Odyssey, Penelope’s only role in the epic is to support Odysseus and remain loyal to him. She is at home and struggles to keep her family intact while Odysseus is away trying to return to his native land. The cultural role of women is depicted as being supportive of man and nothing more. Yet what women in ancient Greece did long ago was by far more impressive than what men did.
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...
From a feminist perspective, Empress Cixi can be considered a role model. In a society where women were not considered equals, Cixi became extremely influential, and controlled what many women today cannot. Though she could not truly take advantage of her power as openly as a man would have, she did not let her gender hinder her.