The Empress Theodora: Partner of Justinian

Even by modern standards, the Empress Theodora (?-548) had a remarkable rise to power. Born into the lowest class of Byzantine society, she worked as an actress in burlesque theater and also, her enemies whispered, as a prostitute. Yet she attracted the love of the future emperor Justinian, who, to the astonishment of proper society, made her not only his wife but also his partner in government. Justinian's respect for and trust in Theodora gave her power in her own right unmatched by almost any other Roman or Byzantine empress. In this book, James Allan Evans provides a scholarly, yet highly accessible account of the life and times of the Empress Theodora. He follows the whole course of her life, from her childhood as the daughter of a Hippodrome bear-keeper to her imperial roles as Justinian's most trusted counselor and as an effective and powerful advocate for the downtrodden. In particular, he focuses on the ways in which Theodora worked to improve the lives of women and to remove some of the disabilities that affected women in the theater. He also explores the pivotal role Theodora played in the great religious controversy of her time, involving a breach in the Christian church between sects known as the Chalcedonians and the Monophysites. This biography adds significantly to our understanding of an important era in which the Roman Empire was partially restored, bubonic plague wiped out 40 percent of Europe's population, and the Christian church suffered a lasting breach. Likewise, it sheds new light on a complex, powerful woman who has fascinated historians and the reading public alike from her time to ours.