Some commentators, including Procopius, allege that their differences were more pretense than a reality, presumably to keep the church from having too much power.She sometimes explicitly worked against her husband's support of Chalcedonian Christianity in the ongoing struggle for the predominance of each faction, especially at the edges of the empire.
Another excommunicated monophysite, Anthimus, was still hiding in the women's quarters when Theodora died, 12 years after the excommunication order.Her mother remarried and started Theodora's acting career.
Before the day was over, many public buildings were in flames. The female part of the empress’ retinue includes six women, obviously arranged according to their welfare: the less luxurious the garment of the woman is, the farther she is placed from Theodora. Empress Theodora And Retinue This Mosaic is found in the Basilica of San Vitale. They simply showed their respect by lying face down and touching the instep of each of her feet with their lips; there was no opportunity to speak or to make any request unless she told them to do so. Justinian had failed to head off the situation, and most of his advisers urged him to flee. The wording of her famous speech is devised by Procopius, changing the term "tyranny" from an ancient saying to "royal purple", which likely reflects Procopius' desire to link Justinian to ancient tyrants.As the emperor and his counsellors were still preparing their project, Theodora interrupted them and claimed :Not even the government officials could approach the Empress without expending much time and effort. They also carefully supervised the magistrates, much more so than previous emperors, possibly to reduce bureaucratic corruption.Interpretations that Justinian never forgot that it was Theodora who had saved his throne depend on seeing Procopius' account as a straightforward report, and not framed to impugn Justinian with the implication that he was more cowardly than his wife.
She became empress upon Justinian's accession in 527 and was one of his chief advisers, albeit from humble origins.
They were treated like servants and kept waiting in a small, stuffy room for an endless time. No other children were born to the imperial couple.
Theodora had two sisters, Comitona and Anastasia, and as a child she worked on stage as a mime with older sister Comitona before becoming a full-fledged actress, though in that day much of what was termed acting would later be euphemistically called "adult" entertainment.
This church contains mosaics of Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora. Justinian wrote that he had consulted Theodora when he promulgated a constitution that included reforms meant to end corruption by public officials.Theodora had given birth to a daughter, either before she met Justinian or early in their marriage, but the girl didn't live long. At the end of his life, Justinian was said to have moved significantly toward monophysitism, though he took no official action to promote it.Justinian's uncle and adoptive father, Emperor Justin I, died on August 1, 527, the date that Justinian's reign is usually said to have begun, though modern scholars believe that he actually took over the government as early as 518. She was born into the Macedonian dynasty that ruled the Byzantine Empire for almost two hundred years.
When Italy was under Ostrogothic rule the church was commissioned by Ecclesius, a local bishop. After she sat down, the men looked at each other and the generals began to discuss military plans. Theodora, Byzantine empress known for her intelligence and political acumen.
Most mosaics are offerings to Christ from rulers. Because of her disreputable background, special legislation was required to legalize such a marriage.