Exactly three years later, however, in January 795, Constantine shocked public opinion by repudiating his empress-wife, placing her in a convent, and, on October 7, 796, entering into an irregular marriage with Theodote, one of her ladies-in-waiting. The chief argument against the creation of images— that the practice violated the second commandment—was easily rejected by iconophiles on the grounds that the biblical injunction referred to images of false gods—idols—and that having revealed himself in the person of Christ and having bestowed His sanctity upon the Virgin and all His saints, the representation of real and tangible personages was valid. In 788, she arranged for Constantine to marry a certain Maria of Amnia, the daughter of a well-to-do but otherwise obscure family of Paphlagonia (supposedly as the result of a beauty contest held to select the bride). Irene of Athens was one of the most ruthless, ambitious, and forceful women ever to hold a throne and, in her determination to prevent her son from reigning and her boldness in daring to become the first woman ever to hold the Roman throne, she ranks with Queen Hatshepsut of Egypt and Catherine the Great as a profound breaker with dynastic tradition. Several patricians positioned themselves so that they or their relatives would become emperor after Irene's death. Thus, it was on Christmas Day, in the year 800, during a visit of Charlemagne to Rome that the pope—undoubtedly with the king's prior knowledge and acquiescence—placed on his head an imperial crown, bestowing upon Charlemagne the title "Holy Roman Emperor" and thereby recognizing his vast realm as the restoration of the Roman Empire in the West. [1] Although it was said of Irene that she had the mind of a man, she was not a competent ruler and much of her reign was dominated by the struggle between her favorite eunuchs. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens. Charlemagne agreed. Jenkins, Romilly. Her body was moved to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople later in the 9th century. Being now 17 years old, he felt he should begin to assume more of the imperial duties. Born in Athens of a Greek noble family, between the years of 750 and 755, little is known regarding Irene Sarantapechaina's life before ascending to the Byzantine throne. From this time forward, it seems Irene schemed against her son, never forgiving him for ousting her. Source for information on Irene, Byzantine Empress: New Catholic Encyclopedia dictionary. Their son was born just a little over a year after the marriage. Called “Irene of Athens” in honor of her birthplace, Irene is mainly remembered for two dramatic events. Irene of Athens, (Εἰρήνη ἡ Ἀθηναία) died on August 9, 803 AD. Captured as he attempted to reach the East, where loyal troops might be secured, he was brought to the palace to the Porphyry Chamber, where he had been born but 27 years before. Upon request guests love our private guided tours in Athens. Byzantine empress, Isaurian Dynasty, Pala D'oro, Venice are important aspects of Irene of Athens life. In the words of the chronicler Theophanes: "On September 8 God unexpectedly entrusted the rule to the most pious Irene and her son Constantine, so He could work a miracle through a widow-woman and an orphan child.". This caused a great public outcry by the pious, and, in the next year, several prominent religious men broke from communion with Tarasios because he had sanctioned the affair. In Western eyes, that meant that there was only one emperor, since the West did not recognize a woman as emperor. She was married by Constantine V, ruler of the Eastern Empire, to his son, the future Leo IV, in 769. On 14 January 771, Irene gave birth to a son, the future Constantine VI. Her usurpation of the imperial throne created a theoretical justification for the coronation of Charlemagne. Prior to becoming empress regnant, Irene was empress consort from 775 to 780, and empress dowager and regent from 780 to 797. Empress Irene of Athens was the first female ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988. There, on August 15, 797, he was blinded at his mother's orders, a frequently practiced maneuver that by Byzantine norms rendered a member of the imperial family unfit to reign. It is also possible that all Irene wanted to do was restore the icons to their rightful place in the church. Byzantium the Imperial Centuries AD 610–1071. She did so but was then exiled to a nunnery on one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. Instead, with Leo's agreement, Charlemagne was asked to preside over the pope's hearing. Empress Irene of Athens was the first female ruler of the Byzantine Empire. The first woman ever to hold the throne of the Roman Caesars in her own right, she is also known as Irene Sarantapechaina and was a Byzantine Empress from 797 to 802. The army was demoralized and alienated by her conduct of affairs; the Arabs invaded Asia Minor as far as Ephesus and ravaged the frontier provinces until peace was obtained by the payment of a large tribute to the caliph, Harun al-Rashid. Now Irene was Autokrator, the first time a woman held the title. 771), emperor of Byzantium (r. 780–797). Irene of Athens, (Εἰρήνη ἡ Ἀθηναία) died on August 9, 803 AD. They are considered the most important person in history born with the … Antiquity Origins and early history. Another complication is that Irene may have been given the name Irene only when she married, and Irene means "peace.". Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1982. Although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin, Constantine Sarantapechos, was a patrician and was possibly the strategosof the theme of Hellas at the end of the 8th century. Born around 778; died after 839; daughter of Charles I also known as Charlemagne (742–814), king of the Franks (r. 768–814), Holy Roman emperor (r. 800–814), and Hildegarde of Swabia (c. 757–783); sister of Gisella of Chelles (781–814); married Count Rorico, around 800; children: Louis (b. around 800), abbott of St. Denis. Meanwhile, Charlemagne's envoys were in the city and saw everything. Constantine V died in 775, and Leo IV, known as the Khazar for his maternal heritage, became the emperor, and Irene the empress consort. Retrieved December 22, 2020 from Encyclopedia.com: https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/irene-athens-c-752-803. Nov 9, 2014 - Captain Janeway was referred to as "Sir," despite clearly not being a man. Everyone knew that she called the shots. When Constantine formed a conspiracy to oust his mother, Irene learned of the plot and punished all involved. Although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin Constantine Sarantapechos was a patrician and possibly also a strategos ("general") of the theme of Hellas at the end of the eighth century. On December 23, 800, he did so, and Leo was cleared of all charges. Therefore, in January 795, he forced Maria to become a nun. Encyclopedias almanacs transcripts and maps, Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. However, the date of retrieval is often important. This article is of interest to the following WikiProjects: In the short run, there is no question that the Byzantine government appreciated the support of the monks in favor of iconolatry and, just as they restored the icons, Constantine VI and Irene reversed the policies of Constantine V and Leo III secularizing the enormous monastic estates and limiting the number of monks in the capital. It could have been the age-old desire to reunite the empire. During 800 another great monarch became emperor in the west - Charlemagne. She was the first woman to be rule the Byzantine Empire. Eventually, he compelled her to withdraw to a nunnery. In this way, she changed the course of European history and left a recognizable seal upon it for a millennium after her death. Irene (752 – August 9, 803) came to power as regent for her son (780) in the midst of the iconoclastic controversy which wracked the Empire for a century (726-87, 815-43). To curry favor with the masses, Irene reduced some taxes, especially in the capital, and abolished others, moves that were to prove ruinous coupled with the ravages experienced during the Arab invasion. Byzantine empress. The veneration of sacred images (icons) having grown in intensity and popularity ever since the legalization of Christianity in the fourth century, had developed remarkably in the sixth and seventh centuries, especially encouraged by the emperors of the Heraclid dynasty. Already holding the high court rank of patrikios, through this appointment Staurakios became, in the words of the chronicler Theophanes the Confessor, "the foremost man of his day and in charge of everything" for most of Irene's subsequent reign. dispersed by hostile troops recruited by Constantine VI to guard the capital and the papal representatives returned to Sicily, but Irene shrewdly had Constantine's troops shipped to Asia on the pretext of their being sent on a campaign against the Arabs. The first attempt by Irene to convoke the council occurred in Constantinople on May 31, 786, when a conclave attended by the papal delegates was convened in the Church of the Holy Apostles. her even further, to Lesbos where she was imprisoned, allowed no visitors, and forced to support herself by spinning. Irene reinstalled her advisors, who had been exiled or silenced by Constantine. Irene was born in Athens sometime between 750 and 755. Although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin, Constantine Sarantapechos, was a patrician and was possibly the strategos of the theme of Hellas at the end of the 8th century. On Christmas day, 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III. 2nd ed. On October 31, 802, Nicephorus (I), the minister of public finance, seized his opportunity. In 802, Irene was finally overthrown by a palace coup led by Nicephorus, her own minister of finance. Name variations: Irene the Great; Eirene. Irene of Athens. When a conspiracy was discovered among the palace guards to replace Constantine with his uncle Nicephorus, Irene suggested the punishment. Origins and early history. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on November 1, 768, and was married to his son, Leo IV, on December 17. If you can improve it, please do. An East Roman (Byzantine) empress, Irene of Athens (752-803) convened the Seventh Ecumenical Council and restored the veneration of icons in the Byzantine Empire. Also, to open the posts of this year, certainly later than planned, we begin with the Byzantine Empress Irene of Athens and how important she was to the Orthodox Eastern Church. Athens has been inhabited from Neolithic times, possibly from the end of the fourth millennium BC, or over 5,000 years. Perhaps most important of all, Irene's usurpation of the throne provided the ideological justification for the coronation of Charlemagne the Great as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, an institution that was to survive and to trouble Europe until laid to rest by Napoleon. Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia. Realizing that her fall was final, Irene had the intelligence to step aside gracefully thereby perhaps saving herself from physical harm. The Synod did bring the Eastern and Western churches closer together, but doctrinal differences remained and ultimately split the churches apart in the next century. Unknown manuscript She was older, there was no pressing religious issue to pursue, and there was no clear heir to the throne. 22 Dec. 2020 . Strong-willed and independent, capable of pursuing and holding power herself, Irene was extremely active in administering her own affairs. Her dealings with Charlemagne almost united the Eastern and Western empires and might have had a profound effect on the subsequent history of East and West relations. Charlemagne was astute enough to realize, of course, that Irene's reign would one day end and that he would eventually be faced with an emperor legitimate in Byzantine eyes. Treadgold, Warren. Hussey, J.M., ed. According to Theophanes: "[H]e hated her because of the insinuations of his mother, who was aiming at the rule: Irene did this to make everyone accuse him." By 1412 BC, the settlement had become an important center of the Mycenaean civilization and the Acropolis was the site of a major Mycenaean fortress whose remains can be recognised from sections of the characteristic Cyclopean walls. Irene was born in roughly 752 A.D. to a distinguished Athenian family. The biblical injunction and the excesses of veneration observed among the common people, already cited, were two major ones but not the least were the scorn of the Muslims (and Jews) who accused the Byzantines of idolatry, the hostility of the Monophysite Christians of Egypt and Syria who emphasized the unity of the divine—and hence undepictable—nature of Christ, and the hostility of the army with its vast number of Armenian officers and common soldiers whose national church also rejected such holy pictures. Irene of Athens, Irene Sarantapechaina, 752-803, and son Constantinus, Konstantinus, 771-805. The council was further hallowed in the minds of the Greeks by the fact that it was to become the last Ecumenical Council recognized by the Greek Church. The Senate, the…, Irene, Chionia, and Agape of Thessalonica (d. 304), https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/irene-athens-c-752-803. After her death, she became a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church.. In 788, for reasons unknown, Irene suddenly decided to break off the engagement of Rotrude and Constantine, then arranged a marriage with a young woman named Maria of Amnia , from Armenia. A plot was then hatched to remove Irene from power and have her banished to Sicily, but she learned of this in time and had her son confined in the palace, demanding a direct oath of allegiance to herself from the military. The Roman emperor Vespasian (9-79) was the founder of the Flavian dynasty, which marked the shift from a narrow Roman to a broade…, Type of Government Since a woman could not legally hold any of these positions (least of all that of commander of the army), the idea of a female emperor was a contradiction in terms. Instead, with Leo's agreement, Charlemagne was asked to preside over the pope's hearing. Therefore, be sure to refer to those guidelines when editing your bibliography or works cited list. Each of these women's stories is a great one, wrought with controversy and struggle, but Irene's story is one that is most commonly forgotten. About the time Irene of Athens was born, Constantine V had begun his persecution of the "image worshippers," torturing and martyring monks and nuns, and condoning acts of public humiliation by his armies. Despite the dissatisfaction with her rule, however, Irene had many friends, especially among the monks who adored her, and she was allowed to live out the rest of her life in dignified exile on the island of Lesbos where she died in 803. For, five years later, Constantine [would be] blinded by his own mother on a Saturday of the same month.". Empire. 752-803, and Irene means `` peace. `` Dynasty, Pala D'oro, Venice important. Punishment for those who had practiced iconoclasm seems to have been given the name only., if Nicephorus would allow her to withdraw to a son, never forgiving for... 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