Theodora

Theodora PDF Author: Paolo Cesaretti
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 0865652805
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description
An Italian historian’s prize-winning biography of the sixth-century Byzantine empress. Theodora of Byzantium rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful women of the ancient world. As the wife of Emperor Justinian, she was more than a mere figurehead, acting as Justinian’s partner in both politics and life. Though she was ruthlessly criticized by her contemporaries, historian and biographer Paolo Cesaretti shows her to be an ambitious woman and brilliant ruler whose cunning saved the empire time and again. She defied the conventions of her time and triumphed over those who sought to defame and destroy her. This meticulously researched and richly detailed biography won Italy’s prestigious Ginzano Cavour Prize.

Theodora

Theodora PDF Author: Paolo Cesaretti
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 0865652805
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 524

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Book Description
An Italian historian’s prize-winning biography of the sixth-century Byzantine empress. Theodora of Byzantium rose from humble beginnings to become one of the most powerful women of the ancient world. As the wife of Emperor Justinian, she was more than a mere figurehead, acting as Justinian’s partner in both politics and life. Though she was ruthlessly criticized by her contemporaries, historian and biographer Paolo Cesaretti shows her to be an ambitious woman and brilliant ruler whose cunning saved the empire time and again. She defied the conventions of her time and triumphed over those who sought to defame and destroy her. This meticulously researched and richly detailed biography won Italy’s prestigious Ginzano Cavour Prize.

The Power Game in Byzantium

The Power Game in Byzantium PDF Author: James Allan Evans
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 1441140786
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 284

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Book Description
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Theodora, Empress of Byzantium

Theodora, Empress of Byzantium PDF Author: Charles Diehl
Publisher: Frederick Ungar
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Theodora

Theodora PDF Author: David Potter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199392390
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Two of the most famous mosaics from the ancient world, in the church of San Vitale in Ravenna, depict the sixth-century emperor Justinian and, on the wall facing him, his wife, Theodora (497-548). This majestic portrait gives no inkling of Theodora's very humble beginnings or her improbable rise to fame and power. Raised in a family of circus performers near Constantinople's Hippodrome, she abandoned a successful acting career in her late teens to follow a lover whom she was legally forbidden to marry. When he left her, she was a single mother who built a new life for herself as a secret agent, in which role she met the heir to the throne. To the shock of the ruling elite, the two were married, and when Justinian assumed power in 527, they ruled the Eastern Roman Empire together. Their reign was the most celebrated in Byzantine history, bringing wealth, prestige, and even Rome itself back to the Empire. Theodora was one of the dominant political figures of her era, helping shape imperial foreign and domestic policy and twice saving her husband from threatened deposition. She played a central role trying to solve the religious disputes of her era and proactively assisted women who were being trafficked. An extraordinarily able politician, she excited admiration and hatred from those around her. Enemies wrote extensively and imaginatively about her presumed early career as a prostitute, while supporters elevated her, quite literally, to sainthood. Theodora's is a tale of a woman of exceptional talent who overcame immense obstacles to achieve incredible power, which she exercised without ever forgetting where she had come from. In Theodora: Actress, Empress, Saint, David Potter penetrates the highly biased accounts of her found in the writings of her contemporaries and takes advantage of the latest research on early Byzantium to craft a modern, well-rounded, and engaging narrative of Theodora's life. This fascinating portrait will intrigue all readers with an interest in ancient and women's history.

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore PDF Author: Stella Duffy
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101552662
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 279

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Book Description
"A bravura performance: a witty, moving, sexy book that bursts with as much color and excitement as the city of Constantinople itself." -Financial Times Roman historian Procopius publicly praised Theodora of Constantinople for her piety-while secretly detailing her salacious stage act and maligning her as ruthless and power hungry. So who was this woman who rose from humble beginnings as a dancer to become the empress of Rome and a saint in the Orthodox Church? Award-winning novelist Stella Duffy vividly recreates the life and times of a woman who left her mark on one of the ancient world's most powerful empires. Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore is a sexy, captivating novel that resurrects an extraordinary, little-known figure from the dusty pages of history.

The Secret History

The Secret History PDF Author: Procopius
Publisher: Cosimo, Inc.
ISBN: 1602065381
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 153

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The Secret History

The Secret History PDF Author: Stephanie Thornton
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 1101607661
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
Where Theodora went, trouble followed…. In sixth-century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds and rose from common theater tart to empress of a great kingdom, the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know. The woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told…. After her father dies suddenly, Theodora and her sisters face starvation and a life on the streets. Determined to survive, Theodora makes a living any way she can—first on her back with every man who will have her, then on the stage in a scandalous dramatization of her own invention. When her daring performance grants her a backdoor entry into the halls of power, she seizes the chance to win a wealthy protector—only to face heartbreak and betrayal. Ever resilient, Theodora rises above such trials and, by a twist of fate, meets her most passionate admirer yet: the emperor’s nephew. She thrives as his confidant and courtesan, but many challenges lie ahead. For one day this man will hand her a crown. And all the empire will wonder—is she bold enough, shrewd enough, and strong enough to keep it? READERS GUIDE INCLUDED

Who in the World Was the Acrobatic Empress

Who in the World Was the Acrobatic Empress PDF Author: Robin Phillips
Publisher: Peace Hill Press
ISBN: 0972860398
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
Covers the life of Theodora, the wife of Justinian, ruler of the Byzantine Empire, from her acrobatic childhood in the Hippodrome to her majestic reign in the Imperial Palace.

Theodora

Theodora PDF Author: Antony Bridge
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
ISBN: 1613734808
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
“First rate popular history/biography, evoking the Byzantine empire at its peak. A remarkable story in an entertaining, informative book.” —The Wall Street Journal This is the biography of a Byzantine courtesan who rose from the gutter to the throne of an empire. It is a romantic and improbable story, and Theodora is an extraordinary woman, indeed. Her background and her many actions were scandalous, but she had qualities of greatness and this book sets the record straight. This account of her life is a pageant in which Emperors and barbarian kings, Popes and Patriarchs, eunuchs and generals, heretics and orthodox opponents, charioteers and ladies of easy virtue, saints and sinners move in a formal and splendid rhythm. This formality was often marred by violence: one of the worst riots in Byzantine history took place when Theodora had been empress for a short time, and during much of her reign there was war in Italy, marked by appalling suffering and barbarity. Toward the end of her life, Constantinople was devastated by Bubonic plague. Yet Theodora triumphed over every adverse circumstance, tough and clever to the end. “ . . . Bridge’s book, with its exceptionally vivid and evocative style, brings the period alive.” —Library Journal “Puts [Theodora] in her own time and place in the vast panorama of the golden age of an empire which lasted 1,100 years.” —Boston Herald “Conveys the passion and the fervor of the sixth century A.D.” —Los Angeles Herald Examiner

The Empresses of Constantinople

The Empresses of Constantinople PDF Author: Joseph McCabe
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 410

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Book Description
The Empresses of Constantinople by Joseph McCabe, first published in 1913, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it.