Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 432-466).

published_or_final_version / Chinese Historical Studies / Master / Master of Arts

The scholarship on female basileia in the Byzantine Empire is generally spilt into two polarized camps, divided over how to reconcile female agency within a patriarchal society. The crux of the issue is how these women achieved power and how their power was perceived. Did the emulation of men elevate these women or was their imperial worth tied exclusively to their aspects of their femininity? The disparity in contemporary scholarship often ignores the idea of a middle ground. Imperial women achieved a remarkable degree of power, yet they still existed within a male centered, almost misogynistic context. The frequency and relative consistency with which these powerful women appear in the historical record bars them from being categorized as anomalies. In approaching the issue of early Byzantine empresses, I was very aware of the parallels in gender construction with female saints. The simultaneous masculinization and feminization of these women served to further distinguish them from women as a whole. They were unattainable paragons, their success largely determined by their adherence to a feminine version of the imperial persona. While emperors had long since developed a public persona to favorably communicate their imperial power, it wasn’t until the advent of the Christian Empire in the East that we see a pattern of imperial women with access to genuine imperial power. Though still existing within a relentlessly androcentric society, imperial women were able to negotiate rather than negate their gender to secure power within a Christian imperial structure. I examine three empresses, Pulcheria (398-453 CE), Theodora (500-548 CE), and Irene (752-803 CE), in the hopes of illuminating their claims to imperial power while also placing them in the context of a larger historical tradition.

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Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-91). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duke University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Waseda Daigaku, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Thesis (doctoral)--Waseda Daigaku, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Les 124 protagonistes, réelles ou fictives, de cette étude furent toutes des impératrices romaines ou des membres de la domus diuina. Notre projet débute en 193 de notre ère, date à laquelle Iulia Domna, épouse de Septime Sévère, fut élevée au rang d'impératrice. Il se clôt au début du Vème siècle ap. J.-C. avec un groupe de femmes gravitant autour de Salvina, épouse de Nebridius, un neveu de Théodose I. A une première partie consacrée à la biographie de chacune de ces femmes, succède un commentaire synthétique dans lequel nous nous attachons à montrer comment ces personnes furent représentées. Nous entendons par ce terme non seulement l'image iconographique, visuelle, mais aussi la perception que les contemporains avaient d'elles. Au-delà d'une image officielle, élément clef d'une propagande plus ou moins rodée, la réalité du pouvoir et de la place occupée par les Augustae et les autres femmes de l'entourage impérial permet de mieux appréhender la complexité et la diversité des situations. Pour peu que certaines d'entre elles s'écartent de la place traditionnelle de la femme dans la société romaine, leur image s'en retrouve très vite écornée. La place grandissante du christianisme amena les membres féminins de la domus diuina à jouer un rôle nouveau dont la perception manichéenne ajoute un élément de complexité à leur portrait. / The 124 main characters of this work are roman empresses and members of the domus diuina. Our work begins in 193 A.D., when Iulia Domna, Severus' wife, became empress. It ends at the beginning of the 5th century, with a group of women including Salvina, niece by marriage of Theodosius I. The first part of our work consists of a set of biographical notes. The second part consists of a commentary that gives an overall picture of these women and the way they are representated. We deal with their representation thanks to iconographic sources, but also thanks to numismatic, epigraphic and literary ones. Beyond the official picture which is the most important component of the propaganda, the reality of the roman empresses' power allows us to grasp the complexity and the variety of the different situations. If some of these women played a non-conventional part, they are run down quickly. As Christianity holded a place more and more important in society, empresses and the other female members of the domus diuina took a new part, but their representation among the authors became more Manichean.

Coronae, stephanai e diademata sono gli attributi più evidenti nella ritrattistica femminile di età imperiale e si configurano non solo come gioielli, ma anche come veicolo di informazioni. Obiettivo del presente lavoro è dimostrare come tali manufatti siano significativi indizi del rango e della posizione delle donne della famiglia imperiale, poiché legati al titolo di Augusta e alla legittimazione del potere grazie al ruolo delle donne come madri. Attraverso lo studio di un campione di ritratti pertinenti alla statuaria, alla glittica e alla numismatica, si propone una tipologia degli attributi e si affronta la loro analisi in relazione ai singoli soggetti, alle diverse dinastie e ai contesti in cui sono utilizzati. La ricerca ha sviluppo diacronico e copre il periodo compreso fra Livia ed Elia Ariadne. / Coronae, stephanai and diademata are the clearest feautures in Roman female portraiture and they emerge not only as jewels, but also as a way to convey information. Aim of this work is to demonstrate how these artifacts are substantial clues to understand roles and positions of the female part of Roman Imperial families, since they are connected to the title of Augusta and to the dynastic legitimacy, thanks to female role as mothers of emperors. A catalogue of portraits from statuary, glyptic and numismatic leads to a tipology of these objects and to their analysis regarding single persons, dynasties and backgrounds. The study goes from Livia to Aelia Ariadne.