Byzantine Ivory Panel Depicting the Adoration of the Magi, by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (CC BY-NC-SA), In 797 CE Irene took back the throne for herself & blinded her son, doing so in the same purple chamber of the, by Metropolitan Museum of Art (Copyright). Seized by his attendants on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus, Constantine was carried back to the palace at Constantinople. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2021) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens. Her uncle, a patrician and stragegos of Hellas, allowed for Irene to be a prudent choice for the wife of a future emperor. A similar plan had already been attempted when Irene had arranged for her late son to marry Rotrud, the daughter of Charlemagne, but Irene had broken off the engagement in 787 CE. Michael Nicholson/Corbis via Getty Images Irene ruled Byzantine in some capacity from 780 to 802 AD. However, the new approach to join the two families met fierce opposition, especially from the powerful eunuch Aetios in Constantinople. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Having chosen Tarasios, one of her partisans and her former secretary, as Patriarch of Constantinople in 784, she summoned two church councils. Her son Constantine VI is made sole ruler. His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. Irene was eventually deposed by her finance minister. Her son Constantine VI is made sole ruler. She was born into a noble family and was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V in 769 AD to marry his son, Leo IV. This license lets others remix, tweak, and build upon this content non-commercially, as long as they credit the author and license their new creations under the identical terms. Irene sent a fleet, which succeeded in defeating the Sicilians. Early life and rise to power. The pope would not recognize a woman as ruler, and in 800, crowned Charlemagne as imperial ruler over the entire Roman territory, including Byzantium. Constantine’s unpopularity with his people and the Byzantine establishment meant that he had no friends left to block his removal from power by his own mother. "Empress Irene." By her marriage to Emperor Leo IV the Khazar, Irene had only one son Constantine VI, whom she succeeded on the throne. Leo’s short reign came to an end when he died of fever, aged 30, while campaigning against the Bulgars, but Irene’s appetite for power needed further feeding. Retrieved from https://www.ancient.eu/Empress_Irene/. It was a rare moment of decision, but it was too little, too late. For only $5 per month you can become a member and support our mission to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. According to tradition, he discovered icons concealed among Irene’s possessions and refused to share the marriage bed with her thereafter. The clergy and nobles attending the ceremony proclaimed Charlemagne as “Emperor of the Roman Empire.” In support of Charlemagne’s coronation, some argued that the imperial position was actually vacant, deeming a woman unfit to be emperor. Four years later, Constantine V “the dragon slayer”, died, and Leo IV was crowned emperor. Genealogy profile for Irene of Athens, Byzantine Empress Irene Sarantapechaina (c.752 - 803) - Genealogy Genealogy for Irene Sarantapechaina (c.752 - 803) family tree on Geni, with over 200 million profiles of ancestors and living relatives. Irene of Athens (c. 752–803)First woman to be sole ruler of the Byzantine empire who ruled for ten years, displaying firmness and intelligence, and summoned the council at Nicaea in 787, which formally revived the adoration of images and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome. Irene of Athens was an orphan from a noble family, and was married to the son of the current emperor, Leo IV, in 768. Image from “Pala d’Oro,” Venice, c. 10th century. In effect, they ruled jointly for the next five years, but Irene soon began to plot against her son. The woman he chose was Irene of Athens who then was barely 17 years old. https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-textbook/, Analyze the significance of Emperor Irene. Irene was almost immediately confronted with a conspiracy that tried to raise Caesar Nikephoros, a half-brother of Leo IV, to the throne. But her biggest power grab came after her son, Constantine VI, had overthrown her and attempted to gain power for himself. During this time, Charlemagne was at war with the Saxons, and would later become the new king of the Franks. Although it is often asserted that, as monarch, Irene called herself “basileus” (emperor), rather than “basilissa” (empress), in fact there are only three instances where it is known that she used the title “basileus“: two legal documents in which she signed herself as “Emperor of the Romans,” and a gold coin of hers found in Sicily bearing the title of “basileus.” She used the title “basilissa” in all other documents, coins, and seals. The Empress was not to be deterred, though, and she swiftly stationed the troublemakers to Asia Minor under the guise of preparations for a new military campaign. Current Obituaries Athens Health. Once abroad the army was disbanded and their positions of authority back home taken by those more loyal to the Empress. Instead, they were permitted to repent of their sins and welcomed back into the Church now glittering once again with its precious icons. Irene married Charles Flowers on January 1, 1947. She continued to take an interest in all matters of her empire: politics, warfare, and religion combined and tried to win favour by announcing reductions in taxes for her people. As imperial regent, Irene subdued rebellions and fought the Arabs with mixed success. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on November 1, 769, and was married to his son Leo IV on December 17. Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. Even though she brought some noteworthy changes to the empire like improving relations between the Orthodox Church and the Church of … She also ended the First Iconoclasm in the Eastern Church. The second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the veneration of icons and reunited the Eastern Church with that of Rome. Irene was not to be so easily ushered to the wings of power, either, and she returned to the court in 792 CE, invited by her son as a last-ditch attempt to restore some order to his reign. To make the situation even worse, Irene had exempted all monasteries from all taxation. In 769, Emperor Constantine V brought her to Constantinople to marry his son, the future emperor Leo IV. Irene was born in 752 to the House of Sarantapechos, the daughter of Theophylaktos Sarantapechos, and she married Emperor Leo IV of Byzantium. A person appointed to administer a state because the monarch is a minor, is absent, or is incapacitated. Irene was born to a noble Greek family of Athens, the Sarantapechos family.Although she was an orphan, her uncle, Constantine Sarantapechos, was a patrician and possibly strategos of the theme of Hellas. These farms were taken over by the largest land owner in the Byzantine Empire, the monasteries. Key Points. She negotiated a marriage between her son, Constantine, and Rotrude, a daughter of Charlemagne by his third wife, Hildegard. Nov 9, 2014 - Captain Janeway was referred to as "Sir," despite clearly not being a man. Before that, Irene was empress consort from 775 to 780, and empress dowager and regent from 780 to 797. The first woman ever to hold the throne of the Roman Caesars in her own right, however illegally, the empress Irene was born to an obscure but noble Greek family of Athens. Early life and rise to power. Thus, the army was weakened and was unable to protect Anatolia from the Arab raids. 803- Irene and Charlemagne's son, Theodosius, is born. In spite of these reverses, Irene’s military efforts met with some success: in 782 her favored courtier, Staurakios, subdued the Slavs of the Balkans and laid the foundations of Byzantine expansion and re-Hellenization in the area. When Irene made it be known that she intended to rule above her son Constantine no matter how old he was, many of those who opposed the restoration of icons, saw the dangers to the empire’s army strength Irene’s purges had threatened, and who believed Constantine had the rightful claim to the throne alone, rallied around the young emperor. Perhaps she was taking cues from Marcy from Peanuts, who called Peppermint Patty "Sir There was not going to be another rebellion against her rule. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens.Although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin Constantine Sarantapechos was a patrician and was possibly strategos of the theme of Hellas at the end of the 8th century. It simply would not do for a Byzantine emperor to marry an illiterate barbarian, even if he had been blessed by the Pope and wore spectacular red tights. 10 Jan 2021. Religious affairs seem always to have been foremost in the regent’s plans, and in 784 CE she made her former secretary Tarasios the Patriarch (Bishop) of Constantinople, despite him not yet being ordained. On 14 January 771, Irene gave birth to a son, the future Constantine VI. Web. English: Saint Irene (Greek: Ειρήνη, Eirēnē) (c. 752 – August 9, 803) was Byzantine empress from 797 to 802. 792–793: Rebellion of the Armeniacs against the restoration of Irene of Athens as co-ruler by Constantine VI. The cycle of royal assassinations that Irene began with the murder of her son would keep on turning so that the Byzantines would see six emperors in the space of 15 years. Many of the remaining farmers of Anatolia were driven from the farm to settle in the city of Byzantium, further reducing the army’s ability to raise soldiers. One led by Constantine’s uncle Nikephoros was quashed, and the emperor blinded the ringleader in an all too familiar act of imperial Byzantine brutality. 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