How will these resources help you?

The history of the Byzantine Empire and its royal women and empresses is often overlooked in a school’s curricula. However, looking at the women of the Byzantine Empire provides excellent opportunities to not only demonstrate the political agency of women in the middle ages, but also to link to the wider topics of medieval politics and culture. The empress Theodora is a useful case study for the early middle ages, establishing a new status quo after the fall of Rome. The Empress Irene is a great example of a female ruler who was a contemporary (and nearly bride) of Charlemagne. Anna Komnene, Byzantine princess, provides a sage contemporary viewpoint on the early Crusades. These women, and many others, are well worth weaving into lesson plans to add a new dimension to medieval history and bring women to the fore of the narrative.