Irene of Athens (c. 752–803)

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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. Name variations: Irene the Great; Eirene. Pronunciation: EYE-REE-nee. Born in Athens around 752; died on August 9, 803, on Lesbos; parents unknown, probably noble; grew up an Athenian orphan; married Leo IV the Khazar, Byzantine emperor (r. 775–780), in December 769; children: son, Constantine VI (b. 771), emperor of Byzantium (r. 780–797).

Regent of and co-emperor with Constantine VI (780–790); organized Seventh Ecumenical Council (Second Council of Nicaea, 787); deposed (790–792); reinstated as co-emperor with Constantine VI (792–797); was sole emperor (797–802); sought as wife by Charlemagne (800); overthrown and exiled (802).

In the middle of the eighth century, Athens was a hotbed of opposition to the policies of the Byzantine emperor Constantine V. For a mixture of political and religious reasons, his father Leo III had begun the policy of banning religious images (icons) of Christ, his disciples and saints, in favor of the symbolism of the cross. The cross signified the empire's strength and prosperity since the time of Constantine the Great. Leo's policy initiated the first wave of iconoclasm in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and it met with strong resistance in Irene's hometown, which tried to break away from the empire along with the rest of Greece. About the time Irene of Athens was born, Constantine V had begun his persecution of the "image worshippers," torturing and martyring monks and nuns, and condoning acts of public humiliation by his armies. This, at least, is the account of later historians who looked favorably upon the use of icons. Whether or not Irene and her family were supporters of the imperial policy, it is likely that her devotion to the images developed when she was young. With this in mind, it is difficult to say why Constantine V chose Irene to marry his eldest son, Leo IV. There may have been many reasons: a sensed need to align the imperial house more closely with mainland Greece rather than the East; a chance to gain firmer control over an unruly area; a gesture of reconciliation toward the empire's icon-loving (iconophile) inhabitants; or even that Leo, who was sickly, would not likely become emperor, so it would have mattered little who his wife was. Another complication is that Irene may have been given the name Irene only when she married, and Irene means "peace."

Leo IV had sworn to continue his father's iconoclastic policy, but when he ascended the throne in 775, he seems to have tolerated the iconophiles. For the first three years of his reign, the abandoned monasteries and nunneries began to fill again, and iconophile monks held high positions in the court. Many historians attribute this period of tolerance to Irene's influence. Nevertheless, in the final year of his reign, Leo began persecuting iconophiles again and, some say, even locked Irene out of their bedroom because she refused to give up some icons she had hidden under her pillow. Leo's premature death brought an end to the first phase of iconoclasm.

In September 780, Irene was made regent and co-emperor with her son Constantine VI who was not yet ten years old. In the words of the chronicler Theophanes: "On September 8 God unexpectedly entrusted the rule to the most pious Irene and her son Constantine, so He could work a miracle through a widow-woman and an orphan child."

Strong-willed and independent, capable of pursuing and holding power herself, Irene was extremely active in administering her own affairs. In her first years, she put down a conspiracy by her brothers-in-law and replaced some rebellious generals who were strong supporters of Leo's and Constantine's later iconoclasm. She replaced the generals with her favorites, who were also iconophiles, and started the process whereby she slowly lost the support of the army. Internal struggles were also weakening the army and the boundaries of the empire.

Irene turned her attention to other matters. In 782, in a bold move, she proposed to betroth Rotrude , the daughter of Charlemagne, to her son Constantine. Charlemagne agreed. A tutor was left behind to teach Rotrude Greek and "the customs of the Roman Empire." Irene was forging a link between East and West that could have far-reaching consequences for both halves of the Roman Empire.

In 783, the patriarch, Paul of Cyprus, abdicated and renounced his former vow against the icons. When he died shortly thereafter, Irene had the opportunity to name a new patriarch, one who openly supported the veneration of icons, the learned man Tarasios. Tarasios accepted only on the condition that an ecumenical council be held on the subject of icons. With the possibility of bringing the church back to unity, Irene heartily agreed and issued a call to the bishops of the other three apostolic sees (Rome, Antioch, and Alexandria) to send legations. Though the council began on August 27, 786, it was soon disturbed by the still strongly iconoclastic soldiers, and Irene was unable to hold them back. The soldiers broke up the council and departed.

Rotrude (c. 778–after 839)

Frankish princess. Name variations: Hrotrud or Hrotrude; (Greek) Erythro. Born around 778; died after 839; daughter of Charles I also known as Charlemagne (742–814), king of the Franks (r. 768–814), Holy Roman emperor (r. 800–814), and Hildegarde of Swabia (c. 757–783); sister of Gisella of Chelles (781–814); married Count Rorico, around 800; children: Louis (b. around 800), abbott of St. Denis.

But Irene, who still wanted the council to meet, retained some of the ambassadors and worked on a plan to sidetrack the empire's army. In the spring of 783, she sent the troops east against some supposed Arab aggression, but when they were safely away she had her men order them to give up their weapons. She then exiled them and their families from the city and forced them to return to their native towns. In May, she again summoned the bishops to Nicaea. On October 11, 787, the Seventh Ecumenical Council was convened by the Patriarch Tarasios with 350 bishops in attendance. The Synod restored the icons and renounced those who had practiced iconoclasm. Irene signed the Synod's decree with her own hand. It was the last Ecumenical Council so recognized by the Orthodox Church.

In 788, for reasons unknown, Irene suddenly decided to break off the engagement of Rotrude and Constantine, then arranged a marriage with a young woman named Maria of Amnia , from Armenia. Constantine seems to have been distressed over this, since he was in love with Rotrude. Being now 17 years old, he felt he should begin to assume more of the imperial duties. But Irene would not yield the reins. She had her name put first on imperial documents. When Constantine formed a conspiracy to oust his mother, Irene learned of the plot and punished all involved. She beat her son and confined him to the palace for several days. She then made the army swear that it would not support her son as ruler as long as she lived. But part of the army had gone to Cyprus to stave off an Arab attack, and when it returned it helped Constantine to power. Irene was deposed in 790 and settled in the palace of Eleutherios in Constantinople.

Constantine ruled as Autokrator for just over a year before he called Irene back. He had engaged in some wars against the Arabs and Bulgars, which he lost, and seems to have been incapable of ruling on his own. In January 792, Irene was acclaimed co-emperor with Constantine, but his name came first on official documents once again. From this time forward, it seems Irene schemed against her son, never forgiving him for ousting her. When a conspiracy was discovered among the palace guards to replace Constantine with his uncle Nicephorus, Irene suggested the punishment. Constantine blinded Nicephorus and another important man, then cut out the tongues of his other four uncles. Theophanes writes: "The punishment took place on a Saturday in August …, but not for long did God's avenging justice permit this unjust act. For, five years later, Constantine [would be] blinded by his own mother on a Saturday of the same month."

Constantine now fell in love with a serving woman named Theodota (c. 775-early 800s), but extramarital affairs were harshly condemned by the church. Therefore, in January 795, he forced Maria to become a nun. According to Theophanes: "[H]e hated her because of the insinuations of his mother, who was aiming at the rule: Irene did this to make everyone accuse him." In August of the same year, he made Theodota his wife with the coerced blessing of the patriarch. This caused a great public outcry by the pious, and, in the next year, several prominent religious men broke from communion with Tarasios because he had sanctioned the affair. Constantine reacted with swift punishment for those who opposed him. Irene could now play on negative opinion against Constantine and plot to depose him. On August 15, 797, Constantine was trapped in the Purple Chamber, where he had been born, and on Irene's orders was blinded with the intention of killing him. Now Irene was Autokrator, the first time a woman held the title.

Irene reinstalled her advisors, who had been exiled or silenced by Constantine. But things had changed since she had first assumed power in 780. She was older, there was no pressing religious issue to pursue, and there was no clear heir to the throne. One thing remained the same: she was still unpopular with the military. Once again, Leo IV's brothers conspired for a chance at the throne; once again, they were thwarted. Several patricians positioned themselves so that they or their relatives would become emperor after Irene's death. In March of 799, she put down another conspiracy. In May, she fell ill and thought she would die. Enemies, posing as friends, persuaded her that her favorite eunuch intended to seize power for himself. When Irene recovered, the eunuch convinced her that he had no such intention. The palace was rife with tension and intrigue.

Maria of Amnia (fl. 782)

Byzantine empress. Name variations: Maria of Armenia. Flourished around 782; first wife of Constantine VI Porphyrogenitus (b. 771), emperor of Byzantium (r. 780–797); children: Euphrosyne (c. 790–c. 840, who married Byzantine emperor Michael II of Amorion).

The sweet-tempered Maria of Amnia, who grew up in an impoverished household, was the Byzantine Cinderella. She was chosen to be the wife of Constantine VI by winning a beauty contest held by Irene of Athens . Because Maria had been forced on him, Constantine hated his wife. Eventually, he compelled her to withdraw to a nunnery.

On Christmas day, 800, Charlemagne was crowned emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III. This act made Charlemagne an equal with the Byzantine emperor. In Western eyes, that meant that there was only one emperor, since the West did not recognize a woman as emperor. It is not certain how clear this was to Irene and her court. In the East, there seems to have been little problem accepting Irene as a full emperor. But now Charlemagne proposed to marry her. If he were not de facto sole emperor, his marriage to Irene would make him so, since the whole Byzantine Empire would then be under his control. Irene seems to have favored the idea. She had earlier sought to unite East and West, first through the marriage between Rotrude and Constantine. The Ecumenical Council may have been another attempt. The Synod did bring the Eastern and Western churches closer together, but doctrinal differences remained and ultimately split the churches apart in the next century. Why Irene had sought a closer connection between East and West is an even tougher question to answer. It could have been the age-old desire to reunite the empire. It is also possible that all Irene wanted to do was restore the icons to their rightful place in the church. The Western Church supported the use of images. Perhaps she felt a closer connection would help her accomplish that goal. And when it was accomplished, she had canceled the engagement with Rotrude.

But in Constantinople several men were angling for a chance to seize the throne for themselves or their relatives. In 801, Irene waived taxes and reduced import and export duties, which won her great support from the people. Still, the army remained a problem, and the generals were ready to capitalize on it. On October 31, 802, Nicephorus (I), the minister of public finance, seized his opportunity. In an elaborate charade, he lied about an attempted coup by the generals and told the palace guards that Irene had proclaimed him emperor in order to ward off the others. The guards bought the lie and proclaimed him emperor. As the chronicler Theophanes represents it, Nicephorus lied his way through several situations in the next few days and fooled everyone into making him emperor.

Irene promised to go quietly, if Nicephorus would allow her to retreat to the Eleutherios palace. He agreed if she would hand over the imperial treasury to him. She did so but was then exiled to a nunnery on one of the Princes' Islands in the Sea of Marmara. Meanwhile, Charlemagne's envoys were in the city and saw everything. Soon, fearing popular pressure to bring back the beloved Irene, Nicephorus exiled

her even further, to Lesbos where she was imprisoned, allowed no visitors, and forced to support herself by spinning. The following year, she died there, on August 9, 803. Her body was moved to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople later in the 9th century.

Irene of Athens was the first woman to be sole ruler (Autokrator) of the Byzantine empire. Her zeal for the restoration of icons put an end to the most virulent phase of iconoclasm in the Byzantine empire and paved the way for the permanent acceptance of icons in the Orthodox Church. Hated by her political and religious enemies, she was nevertheless adored by the icon-loving Orthodox believers and received favorable treatment from Byzantine historians. Unfortunately, favorable as well as unfavorable accounts provide little insight to her reasoning or motives. Nevertheless, her abiding zeal for the icons is obvious, and her accomplishments in having them readmitted into the Orthodox Church still affect the church. Her dealings with Charlemagne almost united the Eastern and Western empires and might have had a profound effect on the subsequent history of East and West relations.