| Theodora | |
|---|---|
| Augusta | |
&sq=Facebook&lang=en&file=File:Theodora_mosaic_-_Basilica_San_Vitale_(Ravenna)_v2.jpg) Depiction from a contemporary portrait mosaic in the Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna | |
| Byzantine empress | |
| Tenure | 1 April 527 – 28 June 548 |
| Born | c. 490-500 |
| Died | 28 June 548 (aged 58) Constantinople, Byzantine Empire |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Justinian I |
| Dynasty | Justinian |
| Religion | Non-Chalcedonian Christianity |
Theodora (/ˌθiːəˈdɔːrə/; Greek: Θεοδώρα; c. 490/500 – 28 June 548)[1] was a Byzantine empress and wife of emperor Justinian I. She was from humble origins and became empress when her husband became emperor in 527. She was one of his chief advisers. Theodora is a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Oriental Orthodox Church, commemorated on 14 November.[2]
- ^ Karagianni 2013, p. 22. Estimates of her birth date vary. Foss suggests a range from about 483 to 512 (C. Foss, "The Empress Theodora," Byzantion, vol. 72, no. 1 (2000) pp. 141, 142, 165; Britannica indicates ca. 497 ("Theodora," Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theodora-Byzantine-empress-died-548; and the Brooklyn Museum says ca. 500 https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/eascfa/dinner_party/place_settings/theodora.
- ^ Seregi Grau, "Theodora: a (not so) Holy Harlot: Procopius' 'Secret History' and the Hagiographic Narrative," Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies vol. 63 (2023), pp. 447, 449.