Powerful Woman in the Byzantine History - Theodora - Essay Example

The most powerful women in the Byzantine history, Theodora was the wife of one of the most significant emperors of the Eastern Roman Empire, Justinian I. Daughter of a bear and animal keeper at the Hippodrome, Theodora was both an actress and an Empress. She was introduced to acting by her mother after her father’s death. She gradually grew up to be a prostitute and the mistress of Hecebolus. When she became a Monophysite, she drew the attention of Jutsinian who was the nephew and heir of Emperor Justin. Theodora became the mistress of Justinian and when the law was changed that allowed patricians from marrying an actress, she got married to Justinian. She was a monophysite Christian while her husband was an orthodox Christian. The fact that law had to be changed proves that Theodora came from a lowly background but despite her background her influence on others was immense. Despite her background she could exert tremendous influence on her husband, on Byzantine politics and law. She first influenced Justinian with her wit, beauty and insight. There were difficulties in marrying her because of her background so he made her his mistress. She could influence the then emperor Justin in to changing the laws so that she could marry Justinian. Thus she earned the respect of her husband. She had tremendous influence on various people, issues and particularly workings of the state. She exerted significant influence on matters of law pertaining to women. She was treated as an intellectual partner and her suggestions had strong influence on the political decisions of the empire. For instance, when two factions came into existence and threatened to end Justinian’s rule, she influenced the generals and the officials to stay in the city and take strong action to suppress the rebellion. She was consulted when they wanted to introduce reforms to end corruption by public officials. She is even credited with supporting her husband in providing advice during the Nika revolt. She exerted influence by participating in making the laws and handling diplomatic functions usually reserved for the emperor. Several achievements and accomplishments show how powerful a woman Theodora was of her time. The Nika Revolt was the first incident that brought her to limelight. This full scale revolt almost toppled the regime. When there was debate whether to run away in ships or to remain where they were, Theodora rose to speak. Her speech was such that it could be compared to a speech made by the senator to the insurgents. She acknowledged that her action to stand up and speak would not be taken in the right spirit as she was a woman but nevertheless, the need of the hour urged her to stand up against the situation. She narrated an ancient maxim that said, ‘tyranny made a good shroud’. Her words woke up Justinian who until this moment was unnerved. He took immediate action against the attackers. Most of her reforms were concerned with the welfare of the women as she considered them to be the most affected in the society. This concern for women may have been due to the probability that she gave birth to at least one child out of wedlock and that she herself suffered. She fought for the cause of women which included divorce and property rights. She allowed mothers guardianship rights over their children, closed brothels and created convents for the sake of the women who wanted to give up prostitution. She ensured strict laws were passed which would stop trafficking in young girls. The convents helped the women to support themselves and find some other occupation and get settled in life. She forbade the killing of a wife who had committed adultery. She could also influence and enable mitigating of laws against the monophysites. When the members of monophysite were accused of heresy, she protected them. She supported the moderate Monophysite Severus and when he was excommunicated and exiled, she obtained Justinian’s approval and helped him to settle down in Egypt. She worked till the end the persecution of her fellow monophysites. Theodora’s influence on her husband was such that even though through out he remained an orthodox Christian while she was a monophysite, after her death he too became a monophysite. They had difference of opinion through out on religion but they agreed to disagree. Nevertheless, Theodora’s influence was such that she made Justinian promise that he would protect her little community of monophysite refugees, and he kept the promise. Theodora can be compared to Lucy Stone who was a woman to have several ‘firsts’ to her credit. She was the first woman in Massachusetts to earn a college degree and the first woman in the United States to keep her maiden name after marriage. Like Theodora, she too was a good speaker and both these women fought for women’s rights. Just as Theodora’s speech had awakened Justinian, Stone’s speech also converted Susan Anthony to the suffrage cause. Both these women did not like the atrocities and discrimination against women and they rose up to fight against it. Both could influence people around them. Theodora had already influenced several people and causes and Stone too could influence people through her speech. She gave numerous speeches on abolition and women’s rights. Apart from Anthony, Stone’s speech also moved John Stuart Mill and Harriet Taylor. She could also convince Julia Ward Howe to adopt woman’s rights as a cause along with abolition. Stone also challenged the rules in churches that she found to be unfair to women. She fought against the refusal to recognize women as voting members of congregations. She fought against the discrimination that she had to undergo at home when her father refused to support her education while her brother was educated. Both the women fought till the end and died of cancer. Both lived for one cause – to raise the status of women in the society. Both had the conviction and the confidence in their pursuits and both emerged victorious. Read More