Theodora’s ByzantiumJUSTINIAN AND THEODORA IN CONSTANTINOPLE

THEODORA

Born in 500 C.EHer father ,Acasius,

was a bear trainer at the hippodrome in

Constantinople

Her father supported the green faction

Her mother was a

dancer and acrobat Her father died. Her mother remarried a man and begged for his job from the Blue

faction.

Theodora and her family were now fiercely Blue

HippodromeSituated alongside the palace in the city center . Chariot races, circuses, and various entertainment offered there. Chariot race fans divided into factions of blues and greens.

Blues vs. Greens

Blue Proponents of religious

orthodoxy Favored by the ruling

class Conservative

Green Proponents of

Monophysitism Party of the people Liberal

Theodora actress and prostitute

“often in the theater too she would throw off her clothe sand stand naked in their midst…she would spread herself out and lie face upwards. Servants would sprinkle barley grains over her private parts and let trained geese pick them off one by one with their bills and swallow them.. Theodora ,so far from blushing, when she stood up again actually seemed to be proud of this performance”(Procopius Secret History 9.10-22)

Procopius was an historian and later a scribe for Belisarius and accompanied him in wars. He hated and feared Theodora

Theodora’s humor, beauty and fearlessness made her famous. She was much like Lucille Ball in that she didn’t care about breaking boundaries and making fun of herself. In this way she could support her family.

Theodora in love.

At 18,Theodora left her career and became the lover of Hecebolus, the governor of what is now Libya.

Shortly after arriving in Apollonia, the relationship broke up.

Theodora joined a religious sect as a way to get back to Byzantium.

Theodora has a “spiritual experience” and becomes a convert to Monophysitism

She travelled to Antioch (Syria) and began working with Macedonia (dancer and spy)

Early Christianity Divided politically and spiritually

Monophysitism Under attack by the state at the time

of Theodora Dogma centered on the belief that

Christ was purely divine and of one nature. Ignored his humanness.

Questioned the supremacy of Constantinople

Orthodox Christianity Recognized by the state Chalcedonian Creed 451C.E. Belief centered on the fact that

Christ had two natures: human and divine

Central belief in Constantinople

Theodora meets JustinianTheodora is 21 years old when she meets Justinian She was recruited by Macedonia to spy for Justinian Theodora granted patrician statusJustinian respected Theodora’s intelligence and wit Justinian tolerated Theodora’s religious beliefs and listened to her when she acted on behalf of Mare, abbot of St. Johns monastery were starving in the desert . Justinian allowed them to make their way to Egypt

Who was Justinian

• Farmer’s son from Serbia who went to Constantinople at age 11 to work for his uncle Justin.

• Justin was an imperial guard and ensured Justinian's education• When Justin became emperor in 518, Justinian was a powerful

influence in guiding policy of his uncle. He was legally adopted by Justin and held important offices. In 525 he received the title of Caesar and, on April 4, 527, was made co-emperor with the rank of Augustus

• Two important facets of Justinian’s foreign policy were his continuation of the war with Persia and his attempt to regain the former Roman provinces in the West from the control of barbarian invaders.

• With the help of Belisarius and Narses recaptured land and expanded the empire

• Bubonic Plague hindered his armies in the west against the Persians

Byzantine Empire under Justinian

The Last Roman General first enlisted in the army under the Byzantine Emperor Justin I . Justinian I, awarded Belisarius full command of the army.won many victories with limited resources of men and funds Master of military strategy and tactics. Popular with his men. Justinian grew suspicious because Belisarius was so popular among his men as well as among those conquered. He put down the Nika uprising in Constantinople in 532 CE, slaughtering between twenty and thirty thousand people in the Hippodrome

NarsesNarses became commander of the imperial bodyguard of eunuchs and eventually rose to be grand chamberlain.his greatest achievement was the conquest of the Ostrogoth (Ravenna) kingdom in Italy for Byzantium. In 538 he became imperial treasurer and was sent to Italy to assist Belisarius, commander of an expedition for the conquering of Italy, but was also ordered to spy upon him.  During Nika riots in 532, Narses helped save Justinian’s throne both by military action and by political bribes.Narses ruled Italy from Ravenna with the title of prefect.1 He rebuilt Milan and other cities destroyed in the Gothic War; Two inscriptions on the Salarian bridge at Rome have preserved to modern times the record of repairs effected by him in the year 564.

Justinian marries Theodora 525 C.E.

Marriage took place while Justinian was co-regent with Justin

Justinian’s adoptive mother Euphemia was opposed to marriage because she considered Theodora a heretic.

Justin with Justinian’s assistance modified the law that said an actress and man of status could not marry

Nika Riots532, unemployment swellsGrowing urban population due to small farms losing land because of heavy taxationJohn the Cappadocian was minister of finance and collected taxes by any means necessaryJohn’s agents were "cruel and duplicitous” (Evans 71)Greens come To hippodrome to voice complaint about murders of their gang members The accused Justinian of these murders

Nika Riots Cont.Imperial decree that all rioter’s be punished alikeBlues and greens join forces against regime when Justinian failed to pardon 2 criminals who had escaped execution to St. Lawrence church.Justinian ousts three ministers to appease rioters. Rioters and old establishment view this as opportunity to topple Theodora and Justinian Hagia Sophia burned by riotersSenate wants to install Hypatius as emperor

Theodora’s Speech

“Whether or not a woman should give an example of courage to men is neither here nor there. At a moment of desperate danger one must do what one can. I think that flight even if it brings us to safety, is not in our interest. Every man born to see the light of day must die. But the one who has been emperor should become an exile I cannot bear. May I never be without the purple I wear, nor live to see the day when men do not call me “Your Majesty". If you wish safety, my lord, that is an easy matter. We are rich and there is the sea, and yonder your ships. But consider whether if you reach safety that you do not desire to exchange that safety for death. As for me, I like the old saying that purple is the noblest shroud. (Procopius, History of the Wars I 24. 33-37)

Nika Riots EndBelisarius and his men kill 30,000.Hypatious and his brother put to death and bodies thrown into the sea.During the riots Narses bribed senators to be loyal to the regimeSenators who participated in riot and were not killed were exiled and their property confiscated

Justinian CodeOverhaul of Roman lawsOrdered scholars to review and condense lawsCode consists of 4 books Code: useful Roman lawsDigest: summary of legal opinionInstitutes: a guide for law studentsNovellae: Laws passed after 534 C.E.

Laws influenced by Theodora

Justinian passed laws making it illegal to beat your wifeA woman could divorce her husband and own property.A widow would not have to surrender her children to a male relativeAnti-rape legislationLaws that banished brothel-keepers from all major cities in the empire

Theodora Dies

June 28th,548 C.E. Died of cancer or gangrene No new laws passed after her death, showing her influence on Justinian

and the empire. Elevated to status of saint as many leaders were. Leaders were said to

be appointed by God in Christianity rather than being gods themselves as in pagan communities

Buried in Church of the Holy Apostles Justinian never got over her death

More about Theodora

Set up safe places for child prostitutes Set up safe havens for Monophyte monks Was ruthless and brutal to anyone who opposed her resorting to torture

and assassinations, even poisoning She had 2 sisters Made it illegal to kill children through exposure

Hagia Sophia Anthemius and Isidore the

Elder. They built the Hagia Sophia

in less than six years. It took nearly a century for medieval builders to construct the Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

Roof collapsed about 20 years after construction. Isidore the Younger to built a new domed roof. It has lasted, with some repairs, nearly 1,400 years, down to the present day.

Obelisk of Theodosiuos

The obelisk was erected during the 18th dynasty by Pharaoh Thutmose III (1479–1425 BCE) In Alexandria until 390, when Theodosius  I had it transported to Constantinople and put up on the spina of the Hippodrome.

 

In Conclusion

Justinian expanded the Empire, but was at constant war Taxes high and people suffered People who weren’t homeless lived in substandard housing of one or

two rooms. If it had 2 stories the animals were stored in the lower level Women were property until Theodora People’s diets depended on affordability and the region in which you

lived. If you were a farmer you had meat and milk. If you lived on the coast you had fish and olives

Christianity has never been united

Resources

Evans, J. A. S. The Power Game in Byzantium: Antonina and the Empress Theodora. London: Continuum, 2011. Print.Browning, Robert. Justinian and Theodora. New York: Praeger, 1971. Print."Theodora." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, Dec. 2016.Duffy, Stella. "1." Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore. New York: Penguin, 2011. Print.Ambrose, Chris. "Explore Byzantium." Explore Byzantium. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.