The Early Middle Ages are commonly referred to by historians as the “Dark Ages”, due to several factors, including the lack of written documents that would reveal important details about the lives of people during this time, as well as the state of political unrest and civil uprising that was at play, because of the recent collapse of the Roman Empire in Western Europe. This was a time during which nations and alliances were constantly forming and shifting, resulting in many wars and battles. (Averkorn, 2008) The nature of this time period tends to cloak the contributions of women, and their military and political successes are often overlooked, as this was an age where their roles were dictated by biblical texts that pushed them …show more content…
Justinian ruled during a quite unstable time in Byzantine history, because of the recent shift of the Roman Empire to Eastern Europe. (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.) Nevertheless, Theodora remained a steady source of support and help to her husband, and she is widely regarded as being much more politically adept then him (Averkorn, 2008) Her intelligence and knowledge of politics made her Justinian’s most trusted advisor when it came to difficult decisions and enabled her to use his power and influence to promote religious and social policies that favoured her interests. (Lewis, 2016) Theodora is remembered as one of the first rulers to recognize the rights of women, passing strict laws to prohibit the traffic of young girls and altering divorce laws to give greater benefits to women. (Averkorn, 2008) Her importance in Byzantine political life is clearly illustrated by the fact that little significant legislation dates from the period between her death and that of Justinian, when he would have ruled on his own. (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.) Like many women during that time, Theodora had to overcome several major obstacles in order to reach a position of power and become the wife of Justinian the Great. Laws had to be changed just for her to be allowed to marry him. (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.) Once she became …show more content…
She was stubborn, bold, level-headed and strong-minded, making her and ideal consort and Queen. She married King Edward I of England, and was never content to play the part of a passive queen. She acted as an advisor and confidante to her equally strong-minded husband. (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.) Over the course of her husband’s reign Eleanor made decisions that shocked many people, which included accompanying Edward on crusades, for which she was criticized heavily by those who believed the journey to be “unwomanly” To these critics, she replied "Nothing must part them whom God has joined, and the way to heaven is as near if not nearer from Syria as from England or my native Spain." (Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d.) As queen of a hot-tempered king, Eleanor has been credited with calming Edward and with offering sound advice, which he often acted upon. They were a devoted couple, which was quite rare during the Middle Ages, as most marriages, especially for the nobility, were purely political transactions. The success that Eleanor and Edward had achieved presents the argument that During their thirty-six years of marriage she bore him sixteen children. (Medieval Queens, n.d.) When she died, Edward was disconsolate. After her death, he wrote of his wife "whom living we dearly cherished, and whom dead we cannot cease to love." (Encyclopedia
Theodora, or Empress Theodora was born on circa 497. She was married to Justinian I who was the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire in 527 AD. She was very smart and intelligent. Theodora was very supportive of Justinian’s choices and ideas. She was also very helpful to Justinian and he accepted her advice. She was very powerful and influenced plenty of people. She is remembered as one of the first rulers to truly understand women's rights.
Theodora was Justinian’s wife when he was ruling. She helped him make decisions and gave him laws to pass. One thing Theodora strived for was equal rights for woman. Another thing she fought for was the punishment for adultery to be raised to death since it was such a big deal. A final thing she did was encourage her husband after the Nika riots when the Hagia Sophia was burned down and had to be rebuilt. A negative thing about Theodora was that she caused political corruption in the empire. The main way that she caused political corruption in the empire was by telling her husband Justinian what laws to make and what to do which gave her the power to get her way even if it wasn't what was best for the
Theodora was the empress of the Byzantine Empire and wife of Emperor Justinian. She is known for her strong influence towards her husband Justinian during the ruling of the Byzantine Empire. In the beginning of her life she was known as an actress. When Justinian met Theodora he fell in love but could not marry her because at the time his uncle, Uncle Justin I, along with a roman law prevented government officials from marrying actresses. Soon after his uncle died and Justinian took over as emperor he changed the law so he could marry Theodora. As a woman in the Byzantine time she had no real power over the empire. But through her husband she was able to help rule the Byzantine Empire. Theodora was known for many influential reforms. “Through
As a woman in Roman society, Theodora would have been married and her life controlled by her husband. As a woman in the imperial court, Theodora’s power and influence over the general public would have been restricted. Even with the limited public influence, there were ways for women to demonstrate authority. One of the most common and traditional ways that women demonstrated power in the sixth century was imperial patronage. Imperial patronage could include ‘building a home for the poor or a lavish church, having a cross
Theodora I, the wife of Justinian I, is generally remembered as having played an essential role in the development of the Byzantine Empire and in enforcing her husband's position over his subjects. Procopius was her contemporary and his writings made it possible for the whole world to acknowledge her contributions to the Empire and the attitude that she employed regarding concepts that she appreciated. In spite of the fact that there is much controversy regarding her personae, the Byzantine Empress was probably one of the most influential individuals in the history of the Roman Empire, considering that she is responsible for having prevented her husband from losing authority in the Empire.
Even with all the different events going on in her life, Eleanor was still able to play an active role as the Duchess of Aquitaine. When her marriage to Henry began to fall apart, Eleanor kept busy by contributing to the rules of “courtly love.” She also spent most of her time finding powerful men to marry her daughters. Matilda married Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria ; Eleanor married Alfonso VIII, King of Sicily, and later married Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse. Eleanor also played an active role in the lives of her sons.
Imagine being trap into a small, limited bubble for your whole life. That was what it was like for women in the Byzantine empire until a fine woman spoke up for them. Her name was Empress Theodora and she was one of the greatest people who helped establish rights for women and children. She lived in a low, poor class as the daughter of a bear keeper. Throughout her lifetime, she influenced the belief that women should have equal rights as men. Theodora’s intelligence and passion made her a trusty consultant for Justinian I. She was thought to be the most powerful woman in the history of the Byzantine Empire. Empress Theodora was a strong leader and role model for women and children.
Justinian I was a ruler in the Byzantine Empire from 527 to 565 CE. When he first came into power Justinian I was not favored by the overall population. Procopius, a scholar and historian in the 6th century, described Justinian as a man “both an evil-doer and easily led into evil, the sort of a person whom they call a moral pervert, never of his own accord speaking the truth to those with whom he conversed, but having a deceitful and crafty intent behind every word and action.” Also the Nika Riots were revolts against Justinian’s rule that took place in Constantinople over the span of a week. This resulted in the death of thirty-thousand people. But despite the early animosity towards Justinian’s reign it is clear that Justinian brought prosperity to the Byzantine Empire during and after his rule. Justinian I influenced art specifically
he main historical sources for her life are the works of her contemporary Procopius. The historian offered three contradictory portrayals of the Empress. The Wars of Justinian, largely completed in 545, paints a picture of a courageous and influential empress who saved the throne for Justinian.
Theodora saved kingdom built homeless shelters, passed that allowed women to own property,illegal to throw children out to die of exposure,built hospitals,built bridges to ease transportation,changed laws dealing with marriage,improved social status for women.First of all Empress Theodora was a woman of great importance who improved conditions in her empire. For example,when she gave a speech to convince Justinian to stay and fight,the empress persuaded them”not to flee to the shame of safety but to fight with courage to the death”Almanac 6}.This demonstrates that Theodora persuaded Justinian to fight the
Justinian I Justinian had a very significant role in world history. There are many things that are overlooked when speaking of Justinian. For instance, Justinian was a great architect. Many times we overlook the little characteristics of Justinian and we focus on the code of Justinian.
Most consider Justinian one of the most important late Roman and Byzantine emperors. Justinian’s reign was from 527 to 565 CE. Not a great deal is known about his life. He was adopted at a young age by his uncle and brought to Constantinople for his education’s sake. Justinian aimed to take Italy, Sicily, and Africa by initiated an enormous military enterprise. During his reign he ordered the rebuilding of the Hagia Sophia church (in 532 CE) along with an empire-wide construction drive, ending in new churches, monasteries, forts, water reservoirs, and bridges. Justinian had a legal expert in his court gather together numerous legal documents, commentaries, and laws of the Roman legal system into one book which would hold all laws. This
Justinian began his rule in A.D. 527 to 565. (History.com “Staff Empire under Justinian”) One Justinian’s greatest accomplishment was the code of Justinian which was a set of reformed laws that the entire empire had to rule by and was a stepping stone for many laws created later in history. During Justinian’s rule he had a hunger for reclaiming the lost land that once belonged to his Empire and as such he reclaimed many of them through war and trade. As a consequence this later brought high taxes upon the people of the Byzantine Empire. The fall of Byzantine was a slow and gradual one. Over many years the wares of conquest and what seemed to be a fate of unlucky turns of events brought Byzantine to its knees and eventually to its death. Plague, war, conquest, natural disasters, barbaric raiders and
Born to a bear-keeper of Hippodrome in Constantinople and a miserable early life didn’t prevent Theodora from becoming Justinian’s wife and one of the most powerful empresses in Byzantine history. Theodora was born in the 5th century AD and married Justinian. She was known as empress of Byzantium and was one of the most influential and powerful woman in Byzantine history due to her success of ruling the empire, stunning beauty and quick wits.
Theodora had a major influence on many of the reforms of her husband. Clearly being a feminist, she was one of the first rulers to recognize the rights of women and to end legal concubinage. She helped pass laws to stop the trafficking of young girls. Theodora altered divorce laws so that women had more rights and property ownership, and she allowed it for mothers to have a greater governing role over their children. She disallowed the killing of adulterous wives and she made rape punishable with the death penalty. It can be said that she was so sympathetic towards women of humble birth