How Did Theodora Become Empress Of The Byzantine Empire

Theodora was the wife of the Byzantine Emperor. She had immense power, as she was her husband's steely adviser. Theodora had restored icons to Eastern Churches in 843. Theodora had become an actress and had been well known in her teens. The Byzantine’s future ruler had met her and had fallen in love, but she had been an actress, it had meant that they could not marry because there was a law that said actresses could not marry. He had her named as a member of the noble class, and it had changed so it no longer applied to former actresses. They had married and then two years later they had become Emperor and Empress of the Byzantine Empire. She had worked alongside him for more than 20 years. She had made divorce laws more favorable for women.

She had joined a sect called the Monophysites at a younger age. She had wanted to win tolerance for the Monophysites, but he felt he had to favor Orthodox Christianity because he thought it would help restore the empire to its former size. She had persuaded him to practice tolerance to the Monophysites to keep them happy. During the Nika Rebellion, she had made a famous speech. In 548, Theodora had died of cancer and had been buried in one of the churches built, where Justinian had joined her years later.