Mujeres en púrpura

Over several generations, Irene, Euphronise, and Theodora exercised imperial sovereignty with consummate skill in their own way: Irene blinded her son to ensure her power; her granddaughter Eufrosine was rescued from exile to legitimize a usurping and iconoclastic emperor; and Theodora, forever reasserted the traditional role of images in the Christian East. The empresses ruled like men, directing the world's diplomacy: they negotiated with Charlemagne, the Roman popes or the great caliph Harun al Rashid. This work evokes the complex and rich religious world of Constantinople, revives its monuments and palaces, court ceremonies and rituals, the role of eunuchs and the influence of monks and patriarchs. It offers us a new perspective on a fascinating empire that lasted a thousand years and, above all, it contemplates the relationship between women and power.