This lady was the Empress consort
of the Byzantine Empire from 797 to 802
She was born in Athens, Greece, she married the Byzantine Emperor Leo IV in 768
and became empress consort when he ascended to the throne in 775.
After Leo’s death in 780, she became regent for her son,
Constantine VI, but eventually deposed him
and took the throne for herself in 797.
As Empress she was known for her efforts to restore the use of icons
in the Byzantine Empire, which had been banned by Leo III in 726.
She also made efforts to strengthen the empire’s diplomatic
relations with other countries, including the Holy Roman Empire.
However, her reign was also marked by political and religious turmoil,
including conflict with the papacy and a failed marriage proposal
to Charlemagne, the King of the Franks.
In 802, Irene was deposed by her own minister of finance, Nikephoros
I, and was exiled to the island
of Lesbos, where she evntually died.
Despite her tumultuous reign, she is remembered as one of the most
powerful and influential women in Byzantine history.
Join me now as we look back on the life of Irene of Athens.
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Irene, an individual hailing from Athens,
Greece, entered this world sometime between 750 and 756.
She belonged to the illustrious Sarantapechos family,
which held substantial political clout in the heart of mainland Greece.
Despite being deprived of her parents, her relative,
Constantine, who held the title of nobleman,
as well as being a military general, for the district of Hellas
during the close of the eighth century, offered his guardianship.
On 1 November in the year 769, Irene was summoned to the imperial city
of Constantinople by the then-ruler, Emperor Constantine V.
Within three days of her arrival; she was joined in holy matrimony
to his son, Leo IV, in a lavish ceremony.
A few weeks later, on 17 December,
Irene was crowned in a grand and regal event.
The motivation behind her selection
as the bride of the young Leo IV remains uncertain.
It has prompted some scholars to theorize
that Irene might have been picked through a bride show.
In this tradition, qualified young women were displayed
before the groom until one was eventually chosen.
If that were the case,
she would be the first imperial bride to be selected this way.
There is no solid evidence to support this theory
except for the unusual circumstance of Irene being chosen as Leo IV’s spouse.
In the first month of the year
771, Irene welcomed a bundle of joy into the world -
a son who was given the name Constantine VI in honour of his grandfather,
who as it happened was also the father-in-law of Irene.
A few years later, in September 775,
tragedy struck when Constantine V passed away.
As a result, Leo IV, who was only 25 years old, was catapulted to the throne,
with Irene assuming the title of Empress.
Although a disbeliever in religous icons like his father,
Leo IV followed a moderation policy,
he was the ruler at the time, was keen on reversing
some of the harsh policies that his father implemented.
As part of his reforms, he eliminated the penalties imposed on monasteries.
Additionally, he went ahead and started to appoint monks to the role of bishops.
Tragedy struck in 780
when Patriarch Nicetas I of Constantinople breathed his last.
Leo IV handpicked a confident Paul of Cyprus
to fill the vacant position, known to be
sympathetic to the iconophile cause.
However, during Lent of 780, Leo IV’s policies on iconophiles
became more severe.
After catching several notable courtiers venerating icons,
he had them apprehended, beaten, and tortured.
Leo had also found two icons hidden under Irene’s pillow.
He initiated an investigation
and uncovered the individuals who had brought the icons, Irene
was reprimanded for violating the law and betraying her faith.
But she insisted that she was unaware that the icons were there.
But Leo refused to engage in any further marital activities with her
after the incident.
Upon the passing of
Leo IV on 8 September 780, his wife Irene
ascended as the regent for their young son Constantine VI.
A mere six weeks later, in October, Irene
faced a conspiracy organized by distinguished dignitaries
who aimed to install Caesar Nikephoros, Leo
IV’s half-brother, as the new emperor.
Irene had Bardas the former military governor
of the Armeniac Theme, Gregory the chief accountant of the imperial courier
service, and Konstantinos the commander of the imperial bodyguard
punished by whipping, shaving their heads, and exiling them.
She replaced them with dignitaries who were loyal to her.
Irene had Nikephoros and his four siblings ordained as priests,
rendering them ineligible to rule.
Empress Irene of the Byzantine Empire broke from the traditional expectations
of female regents and claimed power beyond what was deemed acceptable.
Her early coins depicted herself and her son Constantine VI as co-rulers
rather than with her as the regent and him as the ruler.
Additionally, Irene was portrayed holding the orb instead of Constantine,
and only her name was listed on the front of the coin.
At the same time, Constantine was relegated to the less critical backside.
Irene’s name
also took precedence over her son’s in all forms of communication
and official documents, with her signing orders in her own right
and her name taking priority in the oath of allegiance.
Despite her apparent dominance, Irene remained
conscious of her vulnerability as a female regent.
The previous female regent, Empress Martina, had been exiled
after less than a year in power, and many anticipated a similar fate
for Irene.
Irene, realizing the importance of having solid allies beyond the borders of the Byzantine
Empire, set her sights on forging connections with foreign powers.
In 781, she embarked on a mission to cultivate ties
with the Carolingian dynasty and the Papacy in Rome,
hoping to cement a lasting and beneficial relationship.
She arranged a marriage between Constantine and Rotrude,
the daughter of Charlemagne, who was engaged in a war with the Saxons
and later became the king of the Franks.
Irene even went so far as to send an official
to teach the Frankish princess Greek.
However, Irene ultimately broke off the engagement in
787, much to her son’s anger.
Irene’s most notable achievement was re-establishing
the adoration of icons, which were images depicting Christ or the saints.
Two councils were held to push home Irene's belief in the use of icons.
The first council was held in 786 at Constantinople,
but opposition obstructed it.
The second council, convened in 787, finally gave her wish
and formally restored the veneration of icons
and reunited the Eastern church with the Roman church.
Although this development improved relations with the Papacy,
it did not prevent the outbreak of hostilities with the Franks,
who seized control of Istria and Benevento in 788.
In his coming of age,
Constantine grew increasingly restless under the oppressive rule of his mother,
who continued to hold complete control over the state
despite him now having reached an age of maturity.
He rebelled against his subordinate status
but was met with opposition and defeat by the Empress, who demanded that
all oaths of loyalty be taken in her name alone.
Irene also attempted to garner support from the army to legitimize her
absolute power,
which caused discontent that eventually swelled into open rebellion in 790.
To restore order, Constantine feigned friendship by restoring Irene’s
titles and position as ruler on 15 January 792.
Thus began the Irene-Constantine co-rulership,
though the rivalry between them persisted.
In 797, Irene organized a conspiracy against Constantine
by manipulating the nobles, officers, bishops, and courtiers.
In his quest for support, he fled to the provinces.
However, even in those territories,
those involved in the conspiracy continued to intimidate him.
Constantine was captured by his attendants, loyal to his mother,
on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus.
He was taken back to the palace at Constantinople,
where he was ushered into a cell and blinded on 19 August.
It is unknown if he survived this ordeal.
Irene’s unique status
as an empress who ruled autonomously was accentuated by the coincidental
emergence of the Carolingian Empire in Western Europe,
rivalling Irene’s Byzantium in size and potency.
Ruled by Charlemagne, his early reign witnessed
his invasion of Italy, where he annexed the Lombard kingdom.
He then waged war against the Saxon tribes in northern Germany
for over three decades, annexing their land
and compelling them to convert to Christianity.
On Christmas Day of
800, Charlemagne was crowned Emperor by Pope Leo III.
During the ceremony, the clergy and nobles proclaimed Charlemagne “Augustus.”
To justify Charlemagne’s
coronation, some argued that the imperial position was vacant,
asserting that a woman was unsuited for the role of the emperor; however,
Charlemagne never laid claim to the lands of Irene
and the Eastern Roman Empire.
Yet relations between the two empires remained strained.
In 802, a group of influential noblemen hatched a plot against the then-ruler,
who happened to be a woman. Irene
On the 31 October, they succeeded in overthrowing her and installed Nikephoros,
who had been in charge of the finances, as the new monarch.
The ousted leader, Irene, was banished to the island of Lesbos,
where she had to rely on spinning wool to earn a living.
Tragically, she met her
demise on 9 August of the following year.
She accepted her fall from power, perhaps to save her life
yet given the sudden and complete reversal of circumstances,
it is not unexpected that the former Empress, who was in her fifties
and displaying physical indications of the hardships she had
endured, was in the end overwhelmed by the shock.
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