The Iron Lady of the Bosporus: Empress Irene's Reign

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the tumultuous reign of Empress Irene of Athens, the first woman to rule the Roman Empire in her own right. They discuss her rise from an Athenian orphan to empress consort, her ruthless seizure of power by blinding her own son Constantine VI, and her controversial role in ending the first iconoclasm at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. The conversation covers the political intrigue of the Byzantine court, the military campaigns against the Arabs and Bulgars, and Irene's short-lived claim to be empress regnant before being deposed and exiled. Lucas also touches on the historiographical debates surrounding her legacy—was she a shrewd stateswoman or a power-hungry tyrant? Drawing on sources like Theophanes the Confessor and modern scholarship, the episode offers a nuanced portrait of a woman who defied patriarchal norms to rule an empire.

#EmpressIrene #ByzantineEmpire #Iconoclasm #SecondCouncilOfNicaea #ConstantineVI #Charlemagne #Theophanes #Eirene #ByzantinePolitics #WomenInHistory #MiddleAges #EighthCentury #Iconodules #Iconoclasts #Constantinople #OrthodoxChurch #History #FexingoHistory #Istanbul #OttomanEmpire

Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo