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Women in Purple : Rulers of Medieval Byzantium by Judith Herrin is a nonfiction available to read on EtoBox.

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In the eighth and ninth centuries, three Byzantine empresses--Irene, Euphrosyne, and Theodora--changed history. Their combined efforts restored the veneration of icons, saving Byzantium from a purely symbolic and decorative art and ensuring its influence for centuries to come. In this exhilarating and highly entertaining account, one of the foremost historians of the medieval period tells the story of how these fascinating women exercised imperial sovereignty with consummate skill and sometimes ruthless tactics. Though they gained access to the all-pervasive authority of the Byzantine ruling dynasty through marriage, all three continued to wear the imperial purple and wield tremendous power as widows. From Constantinople, their own Queen City, the empresses undermined competitors and governed like men. They conducted diplomacy across the known world, negotiating with the likes of Charlemagne, Roman popes, and the great Arab caliph Harun al Rashid. Vehemently rejecting the ban on holy images instituted by their male relatives, Irene and Theodora used craft and power to reverse the official iconoclasm and restore icons to their place of adoration in the Eastern Church. In so doing, t

Who reads Women in Purple : Rulers of Medieval Byzantium?

Author

Judith Herrin

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Published

2021

Language

EN

ISBN

9781400843220

Category

nonfiction

Subjects

History, Humanities

Rating

3.81 / 5 (81 ratings)

Updated

2026-03-14