irene of athens son

The emperor had lost the support of the one group he could always depend on; the iconophiles. Serious and immediate defeats against the Bulgars and a shameful truce against the Arabs did nothing to aid his popularity, and conspiracies at court were rife. 803- Irene and Charlemagne's son, Theodosius, is born. The wedding took place in 769 CE, and she immediately influenced state policy by tempering her husband’s attacks on the Church’s veneration of icons. His special interests include pottery, architecture, world mythology and discovering the ideas that all civilizations share in common. Unfortunately, the young emperor was not actually up to the task. Please note that content linked from this page may have different licensing terms. Ancient History Encyclopedia. When Constantine V died in September 775, Leo succeeded to the throne at the age of twenty-five years. Ancient History Encyclopedia. According to tradition, he discovered icons concealed among Irene’s possessions and refused to share the marriage bed with her thereafter. 801- Wedding of Empress Irene of Athens and Charlemagne, starting the union between Byzantium and the Carolingian Empire. 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. In 771 AD she gave birth to the future Emperor Constantine VI and she became his regent when he inherited the throne at age nine on Leo's death in 780 AD. However, influential members of the army were against such a move, and they organised a riot which forced the closure of the council meetings. 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. When Leo died in 780, Irene became regent for their nine-year-old son, Constantine, who was too young to rule as emperor, thereby giving her administrative control over the empire. He holds an MA in Political Philosophy and is the Publishing Director at AHE. In 783 CE Staurakios sent a Byzantine army to fight the Slavs in Greece, and the next year Irene enjoyed the first military successes of her reign against both Slav and Arab armies. Irene of Athens was an orphan from a noble family, and was married to the son of the current emperor, Leo IV, in 768. Relations between the two empires remained difficult. From 797 to 802 CE she ruled as emperor in her own right, the first woman to do so in Byzantine history. Constantine died shortly afterwards, almost certainly as a result of his injuries, which were intended to kill not maim. 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). Name variations: Irene the Great; Eirene. When Leo died in 780, Irene became regent for their nine-year-old son, Constantine, who was too young to rule as emperor, thereby … Irene went as far as to send an official to instruct the Frankish princess in Greek; however, Irene herself broke off the engagement in 787, against her son’s wishes. In October 802 CE the highest court officials in Constantinople convened in the Hippodrome and declared the Empress surplus to requirements. Empress Irene. The woman he chose was Irene of Athens who then was barely 17 years old. Byzantine Empress. Irene & 350 bishops finally ruled to restore the orthodoxy of the veneration of icons in the Christian Church. With the army opposition dealt with, Staurakios accompanied Irene to the Seventh Ecumenical Council at Nicaea in September 787 CE. During Irene’s reign, the Arabs were continuing to raid into and despoil the small farms of the Anatolian section of the empire. 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. Ancient History Encyclopedia Limited is a non-profit company registered in the United Kingdom. License. Her son Constantine VI is made sole ruler. Mark is a history writer based in Italy. Although it is often asserted that, as monarch, Irene called herself “emperor” rather than “empress,” in fact she used “empress” in most of her documents, coins, and seals. Elizabeth (Irene) Flowers, of Kilvert, Ohio, 93, died on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in The Laurels of Athens. During her lacklustre reign, Irene ruthlessly schemed and plotted to keep the throne she would lose and regain three times, but she is chiefly remembered for restoring the Christian veneration of icons, which her predecessors of the Isaurian dynasty had sought so vehemently to repress. 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. Irene sent a fleet, which succeeded in defeating the Sicilians. Irene became to be the Empress in 797 and at that point Louis the Pious, Charlemagne´s successor was almost 20 years old. There was not going to be another rebellion against her rule. https://www.boundless.com/world-history/textbooks/boundless-world-history-textbook/, Analyze the significance of Emperor Irene. Troubled times were in store for Byzantium’s most ambitious and ruthless of sovereigns. After the latter's early death, his widow, Irene of Athens, as regent for her son, began its restoration for personal inclination and political considerations. As Constantine approached maturity, he began to grow restless under her autocratic sway. She went to great extents to keep the throne all to herself. When Constantine became old enough to become emperor proper, he eventually rebelled against Irene, although he let her keep the title of empress. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens and was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on 1 November 768 and was married to his son Leo IV. After her death, she became a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Empress’ gold coins reveal much of her duplicitous character for, uniquely, they carried a portrait of herself on both sides. Her son Constantine VI is made sole ruler. Irene of Athens from the Byzantine Empire was a ruthless power-hungry lady to say the least. Constantine VI ruled from 780 to 797 CE, inheriting his title aged just nine. The Ancient History Encyclopedia logo is a registered EU trademark. 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. Irene’s unprecedented position as an empress ruling in her own right was emphasized by the coincidental rise of the Carolingian Empire in western Europe, which rivaled Irene’s Byzantium in size and power. Thus, the army was weakened and was unable to protect Anatolia from the Arab raids. 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. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on November 1, 769, and was married to his son Leo IV on December 17. https://www.ancient.eu/Empress_Irene/. Irene was born in Athens, sometime between 750-755. It was a rare moment of decision, but it was too little, too late. 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. Irene responded by throwing him in prison, but by 790 CE the army came to Constantine’s support and released him. Byzantine Ivory Panel Depicting the Adoration of the Magiby Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (CC BY-NC-SA). We have also been recommended for educational use by the following publications: Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization registered in Canada. 792–793: Rebellion of the Armeniacs against the restoration of Irene of Athens as co-ruler by Constantine VI. The second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the veneration of icons and reunited the Eastern Church with that of Rome. Irene was always scared of loosing her new status, she knew that in order to secure her position she needed to bear a child a soon as possible, at age 19, she gave birth to her only son who was named Constantine VI in honor to his grand father Constantine V. Leo, though an iconoclast, pursued a policy of moderation towards iconodules, but his policies became much harsher in August 780, when a number of courtiers were punished for venerating icons. Her beauty alone seems to have gained her the marriage to Leo, son of the Emperor Constantine V Copronymus (740-75). 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. Irene was born in roughly 752 A.D. to a distinguished Athenian family. She was not without her troubles, though, as rebellion was still in the air and was given focus by the surviving, albeit maimed, sons of Constantine V. The Arabs had to be paid off to avoid further invasion, all but bankrupting the state, and the people could never quite forgive her for her crimes, even if she did provide soup kitchens for the poor and accommodation for the elderly. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Empress Irene was born between 750 and 755 into a noble family of Athens. Elpidius fled to Africa, where he defected to the Abbasid Caliphate. B. orn into an aristocratic Athenian family in 755 CE, the young Irene was well known for her exceptional beauty, which is likely the reason Constantine V chose her as a bride for his son Leo IV. The discontent that this occasioned swelled in 790 into open resistance, and the soldiers, headed by the army of the Armeniacs, formally proclaimed Constantine VI as the sole ruler. In early 802 CE, Irene attempted a marriage of alliance with the Franks' king Charlemagne, who was also the newly declared Emperor of the Romans in the west, and who, likewise, was in favour of once more unifying the two halves of the old Roman empire. Once her son was heireless and Constantine VI himself was removed from her path from one way or another, Irene of Athens became the first Empress of such a vast empire alone. Irene of Athens was the wife of the Byzantine Emperor Leo IV and mother of Constantine VI, both strong iconoclasts.She ruled jointly with her son, Constantine, after the death of her husband Leo. The iconodule (icon worship) policy drove these farmers out of the army, and thus off their farms. Nov 9, 2014 - Captain Janeway was referred to as "Sir," despite clearly not being a man. Ruling as regent for her young son over the next decade, Irene quashed a rebellion led by the sons of Constantine V, dismissed ministers and military men whose loyalty was questionable and made use of the experience of two court eunuchs, in particular, Staurakios and Aetios. After the success of Constantine V’s general, Michael Lachanodrakon, who foiled an Abbasid attack on the eastern frontiers, a huge Abbasid army under Harun al-Rashid invaded Anatolia in summer 782. 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. Numerous educational institutions recommend us, including Oxford University and Michigan State University and University of Missouri. On 14 January 771, Irene gave birth to a son, the future Constantine VI. Ancient History Encyclopedia Foundation is a non-profit organization. Given the financial ruin into which the empire was headed, it was no wonder, then, that Irene was, eventually, deposed by her own minister of finance. 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. Leo IV was married to Irene of the Sarantapechos family of Athens and their son was Constantine VI (r. 780-797). Once abroad the army was disbanded and their positions of authority back home taken by those more loyal to the Empress. The strategos of the Bucellarian Theme, Tatzates, defected to the Abbasids, and Irene, in exchange for a three-year truce, had to agree to pay an annual tribute of 70,000 or 90,000 dinars to the Abbasids, give them 10,000 silk garments, and provide them with guides, provisions, and access to markets during their withdrawal. 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. Michael Nicholson/Corbis via Getty Images Irene ruled Byzantine in some capacity from 780 to 802 AD. Irene was removed, exiled to a monastery on Lesbos and succeeded by Nikephoros I, one of the Empress’ former finance ministers. And Irene of Athens was anything but a common woman. Early life and rise to power. Nevertheless, when Leo died on September 8, 780, Irene became regent for their nine-year-old son, Constantine, thereby giving her administrative control over the empire. Constantine could only flee for aid to the provinces, but even there participants in the plot surrounded him. Born to the wealthy Sarantapechos family in Athens, Irene was an orphan raised by her uncle, Constantine Sarantapechos. Current Obituaries Athens Health. Instead, they were permitted to repent of their sins and welcomed back into the Church now glittering once again with its precious icons. 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. The former was logothetes tou dromou or chief minister with a wide range of powers. Irene of Athens, Irene Sarantapechaina, 752-803, and son Constantinus, Konstantinus, 771-805. After a decade in the shadows, Constantine took his rightful place at the apex of Byzantine government. In 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor by Pope Leo III, on Christmas Day. Irene of Byzantium (752-9 August 803) was the Empress of the Byzantine Empire from 797 to 802, succeeding Constantine VI of Byzantium and preceding Nicephorus I of Byzantium. Since Irene didn’t have any siblings, she must have had quite a … Byzantine Empress Irene and Emperor Constantine VI. Irene was around 45 years old so it would have been unlikely that she could have another baby because of her age. Before that, Irene was empress consort from 775 to 780, and empress dowager and regent from 780 to 797. The historian J. J. Norwich gives this grim assessment of Irene’s reign: Scheming and duplicitous, consumed by ambition and ever thirsty for power, she brought dissension and disaster to the Empire, being additionally guilty of one of the foulest murders that even Byzantine history records. Irene was born in 752 to the House of Sarantapechos, the daughter of Theophylaktos Sarantapechos, and she married Emperor Leo IV of Byzantium. KILVERT, OH – Elizabeth (Irene) Flowers of Kilvert, OH, 93, died on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020 in The Laurels of Athens. 9th century [edit | edit source] 803: Revolt of Bardanes Tourkos Cartwright, Mark. In 769, Emperor Constantine V brought her to Constantinople to marry his son, the future emperor Leo IV. 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. Even though she brought some noteworthy changes to the empire like improving relations between the Orthodox Church and the Church of … Irene’s most notable act was the restoration of the veneration of icons, thereby ending the First Iconoclasm of the Eastern Church. English: Saint Irene (Greek: Ειρήνη, Eirēnē) (c. 752 – August 9, 803) was Byzantine empress from 797 to 802. Related Content 10 Jan 2021. Key Points. Two monks were especially vociferous in their outrage at the emperor’s behaviour as head of the Church, Plato of Sakkoudion and Theodore of Stoudios, who both claimed that his divorce was illegal and so in marrying again the emperor had committed adultery. Significantly, Constantine could no longer call on the support of Michael Lachanodrakon, the general having been killed that year while campaigning against the Bulgars. In effect, they ruled jointly for the next five years, but Irene soon began to plot against her son. A military governor in the Byzantine Empire. 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. 800: Uprising in Cappadocia, instigated by Staurakios. The leader of this successful revolt against Irene replaced her on the Byzantine throne under the name Nicephorus I. Irene died within a year of losing the throne she had loved so much and clung onto for so long. Web. 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. 790: Military revolt against the regency of Irene of Athens. 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. To overcome this challenge, she had Nikephoros and his co-conspirators ordained as priests, a status which disqualified them from ruling. 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. Irene was eventually deposed by her finance minister. In 797 CE, when Irene took back the throne for herself, she blinded her son, doing so in the same purple chamber of the palace in which he had been born. 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. Books By her marriage to Emperor Leo IV the Khazar, Irene had only one son Constantine VI, whom she succeeded on the throne. Irene married Charles Flowers on January 1, 1947. Seized by his attendants on the Asiatic shore of the Bosphorus, Constantine was carried back to the palace at Constantinople. Irene was almost immediately confronted with a conspiracy that tried to raise Caesar Nikephoros, a half-brother of Leo IV, to the throne. Cartwright, M. (2017, November 15). As empress, Irene made determined efforts to stamp out iconoclasm everywhere in the empire, including within the ranks of the army. However, Charlemagne made no claim to the Byzantine Empire. Constantine VI, (born 770—died after Aug. 15, 797), Byzantine emperor from 780 to 797, grandson of Constantine V.. At 10 years of age Constantine succeeded his father, Leo IV, under the guardianship of his mother, Irene.It was during her regency that the seventh ecumenical Council of Nicaea (787) reestablished the veneration of icons. Ancient History Encyclopedia, 15 Nov 2017. The Ecumenical Council of Nicaea rules an end to iconoclasm in the. Now 19 years of age and keen to remove his interfering mother once and for all from state affairs, Constantine banished her from court along with her closest advisors while he engaged Michael Lachanodrakon, the influential general and governor of the Thrakesion region of the empire. Empress Irene was the wife of Leo IV and, on her husband’s death, she reigned as regent for her son Constantine VI from 780 to 790 CE. "Empress Irene." A final crushing blow to Constantine’s ambitions was the protests following his divorce and subsequent marriage to his mistress Theodote, the so-called Moechian Controversy, in 795 CE. Copperplate engraving from Abraham Bogaert’s De Roomsche Monarchy, The Roman Monarchy, Francois Salma, Utrecht, 1697. Some Rights Reserved (2009-2021) under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license unless otherwise noted. Additionally, the abandoned farms fell from the tax rolls and reduced the amount of income that the government received. 800: Uprising in Cappadocia, instigated by Staurakios. Irene was related to the noble Greek Sarantapechos family of Athens. 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. During this time, Charlemagne was at war with the Saxons, and would later become the new king of the Franks. She was brought to Constantinople by Emperor Constantine V on November 1, 768, and was married to his son, Leo IV, on December 17. She also ended the First Iconoclasm in the Eastern Church. Her uncle, a patrician and stragegos of Hellas, allowed for Irene to be a prudent choice for the wife of a future emperor. These farms were taken over by the largest land owner in the Byzantine Empire, the monasteries. 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. Cite This Work We don’t know much about her parents, but she was very young when they passed, leaving the poor little girl at the mercy of different relatives. There Irene and 350 invited bishops finally ruled to restore the orthodoxy of the veneration of icons in the Christian Church and end iconoclasm. Even this seemingly pious campaign was really only a means for Irene to defeat her enemies and keep power. 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. From 797 to 802 CE she ruled as emperor in her own right, the first woman to do so in Byzantine history. Irene of Athens, the first empress of Byzantium. Image from “Pala d’Oro,” Venice, c. 10th century. Empress Irene. 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. 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. Irene of Athens was an orphan from a noble family, and was married to the son of the current emperor, Leo IV, in 768. 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