#Zoë Porphyrogenita

[horizon-verizon]

Interesting note: "Only three women reigned in their own right between 476 and 1100, all in Byzantium, where there was much less emphasis on the military role. Irene (797–802), initially acted as regent for her son, Constantine VI (780–797), but usurped the crown, reigning for 5 years before her deposition.

In 1028 Zoe succeeded her father, Constantine VIII. She did not rule in isolation, but successively elevated three husbands and an adopted son to be her co-emperors.

5 From 1042 she was forced to recognise her sister, Theodora, as co-empress, and Theodora reigned briefly alone in 1055–1056"

"In medieval times a woman could not bear arms; therefore a woman could not take on a role which, even symbolically, required her to carry arms. In medieval times a woman who took on an overt military role was an aberration;"

"Stephen’s biographer, Donald Matthew, places the designation of Matilda in its immediate historical context.

Designating Matilda was a short-term measure designed to secure her a powerful husband who could defend England against the William Clito.

Huneycutt, considering contemporary writings in detail, concludes that Matilda’s supporters saw her primarily as the conduit through which hereditary right passed from Henry to his grandson, and that she deprived herself of considerable support by seeking the throne for herself.

Matthew suggests that her failure in 1141 was in no small measure due to her insisting ‘on her right to exercise power in person’ and inability because of her sex to act as a military commander, along with her unfortunate character traits of arrogance and disregard of advice."

Lyon, A. (2006). The place of women in European royal succession in the middle ages.

Those Women You Mention

Irene of Athens

This is all under the context of women not being seen as fit for rule--by the Pope, by councillors (men), by her son, etc->

About 6 weeks after her husband the emperor, Leo IV, death Irene was also faced a conspiracy to raise Caesar Nikephoros, (her husband's half-brother) to the throne. Irene had Bardas (a former strategos, Gregory (the logothete of the dromos), and a count of the excubitors) scourged, tonsured, and banished and replaced all of them with those she trusted or were who were loyal to her. Then she made Nikephoros and his other priests so they would be forever disqualified them from ruling. Immediately afterward, Irene returned the crown her husband had removed in a procession(Lynda Garland--1999--"Irene [769–802], Byzantine Empresses: Women and Power in Byzantium, AD 527–1204). While her son was ruler, it was clear that she and she served as his regent, it's also clear that she acted more like his co-ruler than a regent. And when he tried to move away from her and establish himself (Brittanica):

As Constantine approached maturity, he grew resentful of his mother’s controlling influence in the empire. An attempt to seize power was crushed by the Empress, who demanded that the military oath of fidelity should recognize her as senior ruler. Anger at the demand prompted the themes (administrative divisions) of Asia Minor to open resistance in 790. Constantine VI was proclaimed sole ruler and his mother banished from court. In January 792, however, Irene was allowed to return to court and even to resume her position as co-ruler. By skillful intrigues with the bishops and courtiers she organized a conspiracy against Constantine, who was arrested and blinded at his mother’s orders (797).

She's also attributed to ending the First Iconoclasm.

*EDIT* Finally, she eventually became an "empress regnant" (a ruling empress with her own autonomous powers), or just "emporer", for 5 or so years after she had her son-emporer blinded. Until some conspirators ousted her into exile. *END OF EDIT*

Zoë Porphyrogenita 

She herself was never the only empress regnant/Emporer and co-ruled with different people at a time. One of them was her former lover, Constantine (IX) Monomachos, who ruled from 1042 to 1055 at her own invitation/actions, and they married, but he also brought his mistress Maria Skleraina.

This woman, he eventually married after Zoë's death and was given the honorific of Sebastē "to render the Roman imperial title of Augustus", but before then, Constantine's clear favoritism for Maria lead to an uprising by Constantinople's citizens in 1044 that almost lead to his own harm while he lead a religious procession (John Julius Norwich--1993)--Byzantium: The Apogee).

She and her other co-ruling relative had to appear in front of the crowds so reassure them that they were safe from an assassination plot, so I think we can say they (or just her) were pretty popular.

Matilda (famous activity 1100-1150s)

All sorts of succession traditions existed simultaneously in Europe and in England. In France, it was traditional for the king to crown his successor while he was still alive, but in England a noble usually do was to identify a pool of legitimate heirs and left them to leaving them to challenge each other and dispute the inheritance after his death. (Fiona Tolhurst--2013--Geoffrey of Monmouth and the Translation of Female Kingship). And in some parts of France, male primogeniture was becoming more popular.

Matilda was the daughter of Henry I of England. Matilda's younger and only full brother, William Adelin, died in the White Ship disaster. After her Holy Roman Emporer husband's death-- Henry V-- her father Henry I called her back to the Normandy court to marry Geoffrey of Anjou to an alliance so he could defend his southern borders. Despite his own second marriage to Adeliza of Louvain, Henry I had no further legitimate children and before he died, he made Matilda his heir, making the court swear an oath of loyalty to her and her successors. This decision wasn't favored in court, and later those Anglo-Norman barons would rise up against her and her husband.

Matilda's cousin Stephen of Blois (the same Stephen you talk about) took the throne (he was not and never considered heir) with some barons' and the English Church's support. This civil war is called the Anarchy, which also had several lords chose to support neither side. Stephen had to accrue

With her half-brother and uncle's armies, she captured Stephen and her coronation at Westminster failed when opposing London crowds interrupted it. So she was never made a Queen Regnant of England and instead was referred to as the "Lady of the English". Robert of Gloucester (the brother) was captured in 1141, and Matilda agreed to exchange him for Stephen. Her husband eventually won his war of conquest for Normandy, and she became a sort of resting Queen regent or at least administrative advisor for her son, Henry II, King of England.

Within this context, Matilda and her rise to power itself is obviously the inspiration for Rhaenyra, and all those women you mention, their stories clearly just emphasize how the misogyny removed clearly women regardless of their capability, support from the masses/nobles, or closer blood ties to eh previous ruler or official claims to the previous ruler. And when you bring up Donald Matthew and Stephen, isn't it very clear how Stephen--Matilda/Gregory/Henry II's political opponent--had to buttress himself by using the already sexist precedents against Matilda? So, of course, he'd use her sex and the historical sexism against her, just as Alicent and the greens did. And again, apparently, many lords refused to support him or Matilda.

Finally, she had plenty of support (husband, uncle, brother's forces, and those Anglo-Norman lords who did support her), but was ousted by crowds, but why were these crowds against her? Of course partially because of what you mention "a woman could not take on a role which, even symbolically, required her to carry arms. In medieval times a woman who took on an overt military role was an aberration", AND because some of the captured Stephen and his wife Queen Matilda's supporters were around and inside London (Marjorie Chibnall--1991--The Empress Matilda: Queen Consort, Queen Mother and Lady of the English). Their belief she wouldn't be able to handle it (b/c she was a woman) or protect the city, etc. lead to the hostility against her coronation.

So it's pretty narrow-minded and sexist for Donald Matthew to adopt the feudalist patriarchal interpretation of general women-rule and say "her failure in 1141 was in no small measure due to her insisting ‘on her right to exercise power in person’ and inability because of her sex to act as a military commander, along with her unfortunate character traits of arrogance and disregard of advice.", when like Rhaenyra, she is really just pressing for a claim that some precedents and her own father's word assured her. Plus, once again, several precedents and succession traditions existed in the EU and England simultaneously that preceded and existed with the burgeoning male primogeniture.

And before one tries to say "France and England are different!", well this asker just gave me women from two very different time periods and countries to bring up a particular point about MEDIEVAL societies and their views about female rulers.

Women I Would Like to Mention

Urraca de León (reigned 1109 – 1126)

The first ever autonomously reigning woman in European history.

Despite being called "the Reckless", apparently she was very pragmatic and was contemporaneously considered "prudent, modest, and with the good sense" in the Historia Compostelana (an anonymously-written historical document account by a writer in the circle of Diego Gelmírez, a bishop).

According to Bernard F. Reilly, writes in his 1982 The Kingdom of León-Castilla under Queen Urraca, 1109–1126 (wiki):

the Historia Compostelana also attributes her "failings" to her gender, "the weakness and changeability of women, feminine perversity, and calls her a Jezebel" for her liaisons with her leading magnates, with at least one relationship producing an illegitimate son. These observations were hardly neutral or dispassionate, according to Reilly, who wrote: "[T]here is no question that the queen is in control, perhaps all too much in control, of events.""

Urraca claimed the title "Empress of All Spain" after she became Queen of León, Castile, and Galicia. Her father was Alfonso VI of León and Castile and her mother was Constance of Burgundy, Alfonso's second wife. Zaida of Seville (Bernard F. Reilly--1995--The Contest of Christian and Muslim Spain) became his third, and together they had Sancho Alfónsez, their illegitimate but still-named-heir son since Zaida had was still Alfonso's concubine then and not his legal wife. Urraca and her first husband and "Count of Galicia", Raymond of Burgundy's, influence and power diminished further when Alfonso granted the Portugal "county" to his illegitimate daughter Theresa and her husband Henry of Burgundy.

Sancho died while Alfonso was still alive in the Battle of Uclés of 1108. Urraca had always been Alfonso's only legitimate child and had a better claim than her illegitimate sister (at least in this comparatively topsy-turvy world). Before he died, through several documents, Alfonso showed that he only wanted his son, despite his illegitimacy, to rule after him, but many clerics of the Church opposed the rise of an illegitimate man over legitimate children (Ángel G. Gordo Molina & Melo Carrasco, Diego Melo Carrasco--2018--La reina Urraca I (1109–1126): La práctica del concepto de imperium legionese en la primera mitad del siglo XII). The same sources have her coronated successfully as Alfonso's heir/Queen regnant in a gathering of "almost all nobles and counts of Spain" shortly before her father died. Despite her father considering her son by Raymund,  Alfonso Raimúndez, hsi heir upon her remarriage, as Raymund had since died (Maria del Carmen Pallares & Portela, Ermelindo Portela--2006--La Reina Urraca). the same source also tells us that she took a Castilian noble, Gómez González, as her lover not long during her husband's later life/after her husband's death and before her coronation.

Earliest documents a day after her father's funeral, referred to her as "queen of whole Spain" and various powerful Leonese, Castilian, and Galician aristocrats and 12 bishops witnessed said documents, which show that the realm's elite acknowledged her as a lawful monarch. (Molina & Melo Carrasco). However, she was also forced to marry her cousin Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre--different sources disagree on who exactly forced her-- and went under his "tutelage". One contemporary source reports that it was the Leonese nobles who saw her as unable to defend the realm against the Almoravids and were generally still unconvinced that a woman could rule to their own satisfaction and interests (Pallares & Portela). The usually accepted and alternative account written by Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada says that her father started the negotiated her second marriage to prevent Urraca from marrying Gómez González. In the marriage document, Urraca stipulated that Alfonso should respect her "like a good husband his good wife" and he could not request an annulment using either their familial relationship or excommunication. The same document confirmed the right of Urraca's son by her first marriage to inherit León in case the couple died without kids (Pallares & Portela).

But Alfonso I was a reputed misogynist who hated her son and publicly shamed her and hit her in public. In a letter of grant to the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Siloss, we find the earliest evidence of her desire to get rid of her husband's authority and tutelage, while styling herself "queen of whole Spain and daughter of Emperor Alfonso". And several nobles of other regions protested her marriage with her cousin/abusive husband anyway, so she and her first son came out as the most desirable persons to rule by the time she officially left her husband in 1110, and in Galicia, there were several rebellions and two main factions formed: one headed by Archbishop Diego Gelmírez of Santiago de Compostela (who defending Alfonso Raimúndez as Urraca's successor) and the other led by Count Pedro Fróilaz de Traba (the tutor of the young prince and wanting Galicia's independence) (Michael E. Gerli --2013--Medieval Iberia: An Encyclopedia).

Finally, there were open wars between the Leonese-Castilians (same side) and the Aragonese. Gómez González was killed and replaced in both roles of political supporter and lover by another noble, Pedro González de Lara, who fathered at least two more illegitimate children by her. In 1112, there was a truce was brokered between Urraca and Alfonso with their marriage annulled by virtue of their kinship, but Alfonso kept trying to accrue power from her and held control over Castile, where a lot of her support. Similar to Rhaenyra's situation and as Reilly states (wiki):

"the measure of success for Urraca’s rule was her ability to restore and protect the base of her claim/inheritance and transmit that inheritance in full to her own heir (Jacaerys to Rhaenyra) AND the circumstance of her gender added a distinctive role-reversal, since he assured her own right to rule by being her first legitimate male child.

And like Cleopatra, the last Ptolemaic ruler of Egypt, Urraca also had to contend with the her sister Theresa and her husband's machinations for the throne and their own son.

Margaret I (of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden from 1387 to 1412)

She was queen consort of Norway from 1363 to 1380 and of Sweden from 1363 to 1364 through her marriage to Haakon VI of Norway (who controlled both). After her father, Valdemar IV of Denmark, died in 1375, she arranged an election for her infant son Olaf as king of Denmark. Meanwhile her older sister Ingeborg's husband the Duke Henry III of Mecklenburg pressed for their son Albert. She thus became the queen regent de facto, but when he died in 1387 when he turned 17 she became so semi-de jure, and had already accrued respect and favor from many for several different diplomatic and otherwise actions.

She was called "King Breechless", one of several nicknames her rival Albert of Mecklenburg invented (Margareta Skantze's Drottning Margaretas historia) but was also known by her subjects as "Lady King", which became widely used in recognition of her capabilities. Knut Gjerset calls her "the first great ruling queen in European history."

For brevity's sake, the wiki:

Sweden, where mutinous nobles, led by Birger [...] were already in arms against their unpopular King Albert [the one that called her "breechless", or "pantless"]. Several of the powerful nobles wrote to Margaret that if she would help rid Sweden of Albert, she would become their regent. She quickly gathered an army and invaded Sweden. At a conference held at Dalaborg Castle in March 1388, the Swedes were compelled to accept all of Margaret's conditions, elected her "Sovereign Lady and Ruler", and committed themselves to accept any king she chose to appoint. Albert [...] returned from Mecklenburg with an army of mercenaries. On 24 February 1389, the decisive battle took place at either Aasle or Falan near Falköping. General Henrik Parow, the Mecklenburger commander of Margaret's forces, was killed in battle, but he managed to win it for her. Margaret was now the omnipotent mistress of three kingdoms.

Albert--the one who nicknamed her "pantless"--had also been previously elected by Swedish nobles following the 1364 deposition of Margaret's husband King Haakon from the Swedish throne and elected him as king of Sweden by virtue of him being the great-nephew of Magnus IV through his mother. He became very unpopular, though.

So she became de facto queen regnant of all three Scandanavian regions while also adopting In 1389 she proclaimed her great-nephew, Eric of Pomerania the king of Norway, having adopted him and his sister Catherine before he came of age. Margaret again assumed the regency during his minority. And simultaneously, many Swedish lords expressed a willingness to to independent rule even without a male heir (Richard White--2010--These Stones Bear Witness).

Wu Zetian (reigned 690 to 705)

Though not European, similarly took complete control as a sort of "Empress Regnant" in a patriarchal imperial society. She first was Empress consort to Emperor Gaozong, then ruled de facto through other people: Emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong before establishing her own  Wu Zhou dynasty, which was and still regarded as a true and legitimate dynasty. even while her husband was alive and she was still one of his concubines, she displayed more decisiveness and advised him. Despite the coup that pushed her out, she is attributed to one of the best and most peaceful reigns of Chinese imperial history. Really, there is so much about her, and this post is getting too long, so I leave it to others to research her.

Conclusions

We get many examples of women ruling in contest with them being considered unfit or fit according to mainly other men/rival sisters and female relatives' own interests and thus several instances of them attempting to discredit them. Even forcing them into marriages. And form the women's POV, much of the legitimacy of their rule came from their ties to men: father, son, husband even (the two Catherine and the Elizabeth of Russia). While these women obviously displayed political acumen, they either also had to "prove" to have that before ruling with not-as-much impediment OR they were forced into positions of power and marriages for their fathers' benefit.

So you get a complex of what makes a woman "right" to rule in Europe and really any feudalist/imperial/absolutist territory because the issue has always centered around her being a woman and being one at the right place at the right time more than her just getting power autonomously because she is as much an heir as a male.

It's important to consider the tone AND interests of the historical writers--both contemporary and modern--and to have several to compare.

[constantinethe12th]

rip romanos iii and zoë porphyrogenita you would've loved gwyneth paltrow's weird vagina crystals

[mary-tudor]

A few depictions of the Byzantine Empress,  Zoë Porphyrogenita. [c.978-1050]

[divine-thrills]

behind the name | Zoé (Ζωη in Ancient Greek) ~ life

meaning & history: Means “life” in Greek. From early times it was adopted by Hellenized Jews as a calque translation of Biblical Hebrew Hava or Eve (חַוָּה). 

The name was cherished in the Eastern Roman Empire, most notably thanks to the 11th century ruler Zoë Porphyrogenita who reigned as Byzantine Empress alongside her sister Theodora.  As an English name, Zoe has only been in use since the 1800s. It has generally been far more common among Slavic Christians, with various spellings attesting to its popularity.

related names: Eve, Zoey, Zoya, Zoja

[doctorcolubra]

This is a day late for International Women’s Day but under the cut, please enjoy me telling my wife about two Byzantine empresses (sisters!) who hated each other but hated men and/or the world even more: Zoe and Theodora Porphyrogenita. Pretend it’s a transcript from your favourite podcast hosts!

(That’s Zoe on the right, pictured with her very good friend Jesus and one of her useless husbands)

Tal: so the sisters are Zoe (the hot one) and Theodora (the ugly one), and their dad keeps trying to marry them off to other rulers but nothing's working out, and he eventually just gives up and leaves them to rot in the women's quarters together for like, most of their adult life Tal: no one really knows why but they started to haaaaaaate each other Tal: Dad dies, and the two sisters are the only heirs to the dynasty, so now the whole court is trying to marry them off to local Byzantine aristocrats Clare: "NO FUCK YOU" Tal: the mayor of Constantinople is the big pick, but Theo is like "a) he's already married and b) he's my third cousin, so no" and Zoe says "yeah whatever I'll marry him" Tal: the mayor (Romanos Argyros) has his wife have an "accident" and he's free Clare: oh fuckin what Clare: this clown over here like "idk what happened, she just slipped and fell down forty-seven flights of my steps that are inset with jewels" Tal: Zoe now accuses Theo of conspiring against her, and has her dragged off into a monastery against her will Clare: WAIT A MONASTERY FOR A WOMAN WHAT Tal: but Zoe is like, almost 50, and she's trying to conceive but she CAN'T, she's trying potions and charms and shit, OH YEAH monastery is the term for both men and women in the East, a lot of the time Tal: Byzantines loooved to force people into taking vows Clare: OKAY CONTINUE Clare: (I know next to nothing about the Byzantine Empire actually so this is great) Tal: so Zoe can't get pregnant and Romanos is tired of her, so she's furious and starts fucking a servant, really flagrantly in front of everybody Clare: ride 'em cowboy Tal: Romanos goes "k" and takes his own mistress Clare: well at least he didn't "accident" Zoe I guess (YET) Tal: but then people start saying (correctly) that Zoe and her new boytoy want to kill him, and he is "concerned" but doesn't really do anything about it, he's kind of a weak dude Clare: he sounds like a real champ from what you've said, defs Tal: so Zoe and her lover drown him in the bathtub Clare: YESSSS Clare: GET SOME ZOE Tal: NOW plot twist, the servant loverboy's eunuch brother is the chamberlain of the palace, and he's this Machiavellian character, John Orphanotrophos Tal: with his brother fucking the empress, John is like OH BOY HERE'S MY CHANCE Tal: so as soon as his brother (Michael) is married to Zoe, John's like "okay uh let's...put her somewhere, she is not the most reliable lady" Clare: in a monastery Tal: NOT YET Michael puts her back in the women's quarters for now, where she conspires against the dudes in vain Clare: Michael u dum Tal: BUT Michael is epileptic and pretty soon his health is failing, John's basically running the empire from behind the scenes Clare: jesus christ Tal: his brother's dying, so John gets his nephew lined up to be the next emperor, and when Zoe protests, boom, monastery Clare: (WHERE IS THEO IN ALL THIS) Tal: THEO'S COMIN Tal: so Zoe's been sworn in at the monastery on an island, but the people of Constantinople decide they don't care for that, and they fuckin RIOT Clare: YEAAAAHHHHHH Tal: the mob dethrones John's relative and demands ZOE AND THEODORA BACK IN TOWN Clare: i just wanna imagine all of them screaming like frat dudes, YEAAAAHHHHHHH Tal: Zoe tries to make it all about her and send Theo back to HER monastery Tal: but the people ain't having it Clare: EXCUSE YOU LADY YOU JUST GOT A REPRIEVE HDU Tal: Theo demands that the emperor be blinded (Byzantines loooved to blind people) and have HIM sent to a monastery, and I think at the same time they also get rid of John by blinding him and castrating all his male relatives Clare: I KNEW THE BLINDING THING WEIRDLY ENOUGH Clare: that shit made it into [Mormon] scripture someplace or something, I knew that one BUT JESUS Y'ALL ARE SO SAVAGE Tal: HELLA so the Orthodox have a rule that you can only marry twice, you can't be a black widow for too long over there Tal: Zoe and Theo need husbands for heirs and they don't want to fuck it up this time Clare: oh god I'm so afraid Tal: Zoe wants this one dude who she had a broken engagement with yeeeeears ago, but then she meets him again and she's like "you know what I DON'T LIKE YOUR TONE" and scratches him off the list Tal: she tries another former fling, but he gets mysteriously poisoned by his wife, like "NOT GONNA DIVORCE ME FOR THE EMPRESS, BITCH" Clare: and then Zoe marries that wife Clare: because they would rule Clare: ...sorry I just made that up GO ON Tal: she finally finds a guy who's supposed to have been "handsome and urbane", and at this point I want to mention that all three of these men were named Constantine Clare: JESUS ZOE Clare: BRANCH OUT Tal: she marries him, he becomes Emperor, Zoe is still Empress but also so is Theo, and there are already court factions breaking out between them Clare: also she over 50, whh Clare: how is babby formed Tal: right, like girl IT AIN'T HAPPENING Tal: HOWEVER Constantine #3 wants to bring a fourth into their polycule Clare: k ya big weirdo Tal: he has a long-standing mistress named Maria and he demands that she be allowed to go everywhere with them and have a title of her own and all this shit Clare: "this isn't enough drama I WANT MORE OF IT MORE OF THE DRAMA" Tal: "The 64-year-old Zoë did not object to sharing her bed and her throne with Maria Skleraina." Clare: the 64-year-old Zoe had a li'l boner for Maria Skleraina neh Tal: so idk maybe she was cool with it but the public thought it was kinda weird, so now there are rumours that Maria wants to poison BOTH Zoe and Theo Tal: so there is another riot Tal: Constantinople does not take shit lying down Clare: that's what we do in our spare time btw, all of us women with husbands and no jobs Clare: we think about poisoning Clare: everything Clare: everyone Tal: I mean I get it Clare: (poisoning someone is the bitchiest move in history and I love it every time GO ON) Tal: that was basically it for Zoe, she let her husband have the power and she focused herself on developing a line of beauty products Clare: ....you're fucking with me Tal: “Zoë recognised her own beauty and its use as a tool of statecraft. Attempting to maximise and prolong its effect she had a variety of creams and treatments prepared in the gynaeceum, and was said to have carried out experiments attempting to improve their efficacy. She operated a cosmetics laboratory in her rooms in the palace, where perfumes and unguents were constantly being prepared. Psellus reports that her face looked youthful into her sixties.” Clare: YOU WERE NOT FUCKING WITH ME Clare: I'M SCREAMING Tal: RIGHT Tal: now after Zoe died, Theo wasn't done yet Clare: you know what I want tho, you know what I want Clare: I want Theo to be poisoned by one of Zoe's neck creams Tal: IT DID NOT HAPPEN, ALAS Clare: just standing over her as she dies like THIS IS THE LONG CON, SISTER MINE Tal: Zoe died first (of presumably natural causes) and Theo basically made the dudes recognise her not as empress but as EMPEROR Clare: oh gosh I like her Tal: she got the senate and the imperial guard on her side Clare: oh I like her so much Tal: and then SHE PURGED Clare: that is such a power move that is such a Cersei Lannister move oh my god Tal: all the officials she didn't trust, all the guys that were being suggested for her position instead of her, DISMISSED AND EXILED Clare: BOOOOOM Tal: she was 76 but she gathered all the power in her own hands as much as she could, she showed up in the senate every day and judged cases herself, she was not here to play Clare: that is fucking fantastic Clare: I wanna marry her Tal: she did finally die but she refused to get married and refused to even name an heir because she knew THAT'S HOW THEY GET YOU, and only on her deathbed did she kind of nod like "I guess" to appoint some civil servant as emperor Tal: who nobody liked but they thought he was easy to control Clare: BOSS ASS BITCH Tal: YUP Clare: aaaaaaamazing Tal: and that is the story of Zoe and Theo, the end Clare: I LOVE THEM

[rejectedprincesses]

hey, I was curious if you have covered any Turkish woman? I'm from Turkey and I don't think there is any REALLY inspirational woman because but maybe you would find one I don't know. Your art is amazing and I'm in love with this project by the way :D

I did cover Empress Theodora of the Byzantine Empire in book one:

I got really close to including Turkish feminist Halide Edip Adivar in book two, because she did a lot of cool stuff, but what she did during the Armenian Genocide made me pretty uneasy.

Some other folk who lived in Turkey on my master list that I haven’t covered yet:

Ada of Caria

Aelia Pulcheria

Alice of Antioch

Artemisia II 

Chrysame

Esther Quira

Hypsicratea

Kosem Sultan

Roxelana (who I think was actually born in Crimea…?)

Sparethra

Theodora Augusta

Theophano of Byzantium

Zoë Porphyrogenita

[beethozart]

Hi, thinking about how wonderful ancient women were here. Currently deep into my love of Zoë Porphyrogenita. A Byzantine Empress, she did not marry until age 50 and became increasingly volatile and obsessive with continuing the Macedonian Dynasty. She had affairs, (possibly) poisoned a husband, was banished and then returned to rule of the empire by way of mobs. She co-ruled with a sister, Theodora, whom she loathed. She was known for being a shrewd and intelligent woman, and a woman whom many considered above her male peers.  I’d like to go into further detail, but this is the only solid information I have without using a reference biography I seem to have displaced. 

[t3chr3ad3r]

Character Questions (tag)

Thank you to @oceanwriter  for the tag!!

Rules: Answer the following questions for one of your characters and then tag as many people as you want!

[Thea]

1) What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

Her name. I just thinking saying Lady Thea over and over. Everything else got built around the idea of where someone with that name could fit into the world.

2) Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

Molly. I knew right away once I created her that she needed the Dot to her Phryne. Molly didn’t stay that way in the story, choosing to take off on her own path than staying on the one I originally thought.

Leslie also came up. I’ve always liked it as a guy’s name, but he seemed to fit in there so well. Especially once I really looked at the origins and remembered about Noël Leslie, Countess of Rothes. Her husband’s family name was Leslie and they were Scottish. A common trend at that time was to give sons the mother’s maiden name as a first or second name. So Leslie became a Scottish noble, which just worked so well with the rest of the story.

Wilhelmina showed up immediately after Molly. It was originally supposed to be the three of them together with like a Charmed dynamic. I always knew she was going to be an American and pictured Molly Brown in Titanic when I was first plotting her backstory.

3) How did you choose their name?

Once I knew my MC’s name would be Thea, I looked at different names that it was short for. I considered leaving it at Thea and some others like Theophila and Theodosia. I eventually settled on Theodora because there were several Byzantine Empresses by that name, but the one in particular that drew me to the name was Theodora Porphyrogenita, who ruled the Byzantine empire with her sister Zoë, and refused to marry. She ruled in her own right after her sister and brother-in-law’s deaths until her own death.

4) In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

The Edwardian era and all the changes that brought. The world was evolving into something we really recognize. All the new technology changed up the way she lives.

5) Is there any significance behind their hair color?

I wanted her to be plain, or at least view herself that way. So as a result, she looks rather average to herself.

6) Is there any significance behind their eye color?

I don’t think I’ve decided a color.

7) Is there any significance behind their height?

Not really.

8) What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

She’s very into her own head and is comfortable being there.

9) Are they based off of you, in some way?

Only in the fact that I’d love to have been able to experience that era.

10) Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

Yes and no. I originally wrote her with no love interest. Leslie was supposed to be her friend at the time but as soon as she saw him for the first time, she inserted her own opinions to me.

11) What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

Trying to do her justice. She’s a strong woman in a time when women were not strong in the ways we think of a modern woman being. She’s a little out of her era and that makes her feel very insecure.

12) How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

I’ve played with the idea of their lives after Murder on the Flying Scotsman. I’ve wondered what they’re doing at the time when they hear England and Germany have gone to war and what they would be like after Armistice. I imagine Thea and Wilhelmina signing up to serve in whatever capacity they can to help the war effort. Leslie would of course enroll. Molly would do what she could on the home front, but she wouldn’t want to leave England.

13) If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

Keeping her moods constant. Keeping her interactions with everyone else rational.

14) What is something about your OC that can make you laugh?

The way she looks at the world sometimes doesn’t make sense to me. She’ll come up with things out of left field. You always have to laugh when the characters take on a life of their own.

15) What is something about your OC that can make you cry?

Her self-doubts. Because she feels so out of place with the rest of her peers, she looks at everyone like they’re judging her.

16) Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

I regret that her father died before the story. I didn’t plan that at all and then she just started talking about her dead father and her brother inheriting the country house so she had gone with her mother to live in London.

17) What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

She had an aunt (mother’s sister) named Dorothea who really inspired Thea to be who she is today. Dorothea raced automobiles and was a very vibrant person, even more than Wilhelmina. That’s also why she’s drawn to Wilhelmina.

18) What is your favorite fact about your OC?

She tries to be very proper British and fails so epically. She takes off without a chaperone, she’s comfortable looking at dead bodies, she asks people nosy, personal questions. She knows she’s not supposed to be doing these things but does them anyway. She falls very much into the category of “Old enough to know better, but young enough not to care.”

So I’m tagging (if you want): @lindsayjoie , @bymeganwithmeraki , @scribbledwriting , @writerlyheart .

[pineas2]

Im kaiserlichen Purpur gekleidet, gerne aber auch nackt

Die Biografie der Zoë Porphyrogenita – Wikipedia böte Stoff für eine HBO-Serie. Da haben wir eine kaiserliche Prinzessin, die als frühe Feministin ihre Liebhaber nach Aussehen, geistigen Fähigkeiten und ihrem Einfluss auf ihren eigenen Wunsch nach Macht wählt, und Versager per Verschwörung, gedungenem Killer oder schlicht selbst mit Gift eliminiert.  Wir haben Eunuchen, die finstere Pläne…

[italianartsociety]

By Jean Marie Carey

On 12 November 1028 Byzantine Empress Zoë took the imperial throne – for the first time –  as empress consort to Romanos III Argyros. Zoë Porphyrogenita (978 –1050) also reigned alongside her sister Theodora from April to June 1042. She was enthroned as the Empress Consort to a series of co-rulers beginning with Romanos III in 1028 until her death in 1050 while married to Constantine IX.

Zoë was one of the few Byzantine empresses who was Porphyrogenita, or "born into the purple" (that is, she was born to a reigning emperor). She was the second daughter of Constantine VIII and Helena, daughter of Alypius. Zoë lived a life of virtual obscurity in the imperial gynaeceum until circumstances (her dying father not having any sons) forced her into the centre of imperial politics.

In 1033, Zoë became enamoured of her courtier Michael, flaunted her lover openly, and spoke about making him emperor. Hearing the rumours, Romanos was concerned and confronted Michael, but he denied the accusations. On April 11, 1034, Romanos III was found dead in his bath, and there was speculation that Zoë and Michael had conspired to have him poisoned, then strangled or drowned. Zoë married Michael later the same day, and he reigned as Michael IV until his death in 1041. Key members of the court decided that Zoë needed a co-ruler, and that it should be her sister Theodora. A delegation headed by the Patrician Constantine Cabasilas went to the monastery at Petrion to convince Theodora to become co-empress alongside her sister. At an assembly at Hagia Sophia, the people escorted a furious Theodora from Petrion and proclaimed her empress along with Zoë.

Until her death in 1050, she enjoyed various amusements, and her rooms in the palace were filled with boiling pots and pans for the manufacture of ointments and perfumes. She had installed a laboratory (myrepseion) in her private quarters, where she prepared various cosmetics. All historical sources agree that she spent much of her time preparing not only perfumes but also drugs and poisons. Her laboratory was very well organized and the fires were burning day and night, while her female servants were helping her at the creation of new fragrances using imported essences from India and Egypt.

Reference: Panas, M., Poulakou-Rebelakou, E., Kalfakis, N. and Vassilopoulos, D. (2012), The Byzantine Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita and the quest for eternal youth. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 11: 245–248. doi:10.1111/j.1473-2165.2012.00629.x

Christ Pantocrator Enthroned between Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos and the Empress Zoe; detail of Zoe. Mosaic, 1028-42 (c. 1030; the head of Constantine was substituted for that of Zoe's first husband, Romanos, c. 1042). Hagia Sophia, Istanbul, Turkey. Photos: Erich Lessing/ART RESOURCE, N.Y. and Shmuel Magal, Sites and Photos.

Theodora and Her Court, c. 526-48. S. Vitale, Ravenna (Italy). Photo: University of California, San Diego.

Personification of Ktisis (Foundation) as a Byzantine Empress. Mosaic, marble, glass, c. 550.  This monumental bust of a richly bejeweled lady who wears large pearls in her ears, a necklace of delicate stones about her throat, and two brooches-one clasping her yellow mantle and another at the tie of her dress-is an example of the exceptional mosaics created throughout the Early Byzantine world in the first half of the sixth century. Both her elaborate diadem and the neckline of her dress are bordered with alternating black and white tesserae meant to suggest pearls. The addition of blue glass to represent sapphires, or "hyacinths," among the red and green glass gemstones on the mosaic is characteristic of sixth-century Byzantine taste. The modeling of the lady's face with small olive-green and beige tesserae highlighted in white and shades of pink and the slightly asymmetrical arrangement of her large, softly staring eyes are typical of Byzantine painting of the period, which survives in the form of icons. Women with similar faces, hairstyles, necklaces, and pearl-bordered diadems carry martyrs' crowns in the early-sixth-century mosaics in the nave at Sant'Apollinare Nuovo in Ravenna. A mosaic image of the archangel Michael, dated to 549, and in the Church of Sant'Apollinare in Classe, near Ravenna, has the same hair and eyes, as does the mid-sixth-century bust of the "Lady of Rank," thought to be from Constantinople, also in the Museum (The Cloisters Collection, 66.25).

The rod that she holds, the measuring tool for the Roman foot, identifies her as a personification of the abstract concept of "Ktisis," or Foundation, and symbolizes the donation, or foundation, of a building. Personifications of abstract ideas, as developed by the Stoic philosophers, remained popular in the Early Christian era. Images of Ktisis inscribed with her name, and often showing her holding the same measure, survive on the floor mosaics of bathhouses as well as churches throughout the Byzantine Empire, from Antioch and Cyprus to such African sites as Qasr-el-Lebia and Ras-el-Hilal. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection, Nr. MMA_.1998.69.

Balance Weight formed as the Bust of a Byzantine Empress, c. 390-400. Among the most striking Byzantine weights to have survived are the imperial weights issued in the late 4th and 5th centuries. Typically they depict the same royal figures seen on coins to promote the legitimacy and stability of the state and to guarantee their validity as "honest weights." Used on balance scales, the weights were sometimes filled with lead to make them heavier. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Nr. 1967.28.

Further Reading: Barbara Hill. Imperial Women in Byzantium 1025-1204: Power, Patronage and Ideology. New York: Pearson, 1999. 

Lars Brownworth. Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization. New York: Broadway Books, 2010. 

[nanshe-of-nina]

Lands of Ice and Fire Moodboards || Free Cities – Volantis

Ancient and glorious, Old Volantis— as the city is oft named— sprawls across one of the four mouths of the Rhoyne, where that mighty river flows into the Summer Sea. The older districts of the city lie upon the eastern banks, the newer on the west, but even the newest areas of Volantis are many centuries old. The two halves of the city are linked by the Long Bridge.

The heart of Old Volantis is the city-within-the-city— an immense labyrinth of ancient palaces, courtyards, towers, temples, cloisters, bridges, and cellars, all contained within the great oval of the Black Walls raised by the Freehold of Valyria in the first flush of its youthful expansion. Two hundred feet tall, and so thick that six four-horse chariots can race along their battlements side by side (as they do each year to celebrate the founding of the city), these seamless walls of fused black dragonstone, harder than steel or diamond, stand in mute testimony to Volantis’s origins as a military outpost.

Only those who can trace their ancestry back to Old Valyria are allowed to dwell within the Black Walls; no slave, freedman, or foreigner is permitted to set foot within without the express invitation of a scion of the Old Blood.