Those who know the history of the East-Roman Empire are not unaware of the role that women played at court and elsewhere, sometimes for good, sometimes for evil, often for both. Judith Herrin's 2004 book
Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium looked at three of them: Irene, Theodora, and Euphrosyne. Now a new book examines two of them: James Allan Evans,
The Power Game in Byzantium: Antonina and the Empress Theodora (Continuum, 2011), 288pp.
About this book, the publisher tells us:
A fascinating exploration of the corridors of power in Byzantium
of the time of Justinian (527-565), this book reveals how Empress
Theodora and Antonina, both alumnae of the theatre, were remarkable
examples of social mobility, moving into positions of power and
influence, becoming wives of key figures. Theodora had three aims: to
protect those Christians who would not accept the Chalcedonian Creed;
to advance the careers of her family and friends; and to defend the poor
and assist the defenceless and, in particular, women – a mission which
she claimed publicly. Finally, there was the allure of power, and though
the exercise of power cannot be qualified as an ‘aim’, there can be no
doubt that Theodora loved authority: she made and unmade marriage
contracts, and appointed men to office, or destroyed them if they got in
her way. Antonina was both friend and agent, and equally ruthless. She
managed her husband, Belisarius, and advanced his career, though she was
unfaithful to the marriage bed, and would outlive the main players of
the age of Justinian.
We are also given the table of contents:
Preface 1. The Background of the Story \ 2. The Scum of Society \
3. The Rise to Power \ 4. The Remarkable Career of the Young Belisarius
\ 5. Antonina in Love \ 6. Victory and Defeat in the Ecclesiastical
Arena \ 7. Theodora’s Riposte \ 8. The Fall of John the Cappadocian \ 9.
The Theodosius and Antonina Affair Continued \ 10. Plague and Intrigue\
11. Theodora Helps to Found an Anti-Chalcedonian Church\ 12. The Agony
of Italy \ 13. Postlude: The Ending of the Era of Reconquest \ Appendix
I: Two Contemporary Witnesses \ Sources \ Bibliography \ Index
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