Pulcheria

Aelia Pulcheria (/ˈiːliə pʌlˈkɪriə/; Greek: Πουλχερία; 19 January

Pulcheria
398 or 399 – July 453)[1] was an Eastern Roman empress who
advised her brother emperor Theodosius II during his minority and Augusta
then became wife to emperor Marcian from November 450 to her
death in 453.

She was the second (and oldest surviving) child of Eastern Roman
Emperor Arcadius and Empress Aelia Eudoxia. In 414, the fifteen-
year old Pulcheria became the guardian of her younger brother
Theodosius II[2] and was also proclaimed Augusta. Through her
religious devotion and involvement in the contemporary
ecclesiastical scene, Pulcheria had significant, though changing,
influence and political power during her brother's reign. When
Theodosius II died on 26 July 450, Pulcheria married Marcian on
25 November 450, while simultaneously not violating her vow of Solidus of Pulcheria
virginity. She died three years later, in July 453. Roman empress (in the East)
Tenure 25 August 450 – July 453
Pulcheria influenced the Christian Church and its theological
development by being involved in the Council of Ephesus and Born 19 January 398 or 399
guiding the Council of Chalcedon, in which the Church ruled on
Constantinople
christological issues. The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern
(now Istanbul, Turkey)
Orthodox Church subsequently recognized her as a saint.[3]
Died July 453
Probably Constantinople
Early life (aged 53–55)
(now Istanbul, Turkey)
Pulcheria was born into the Theodosian dynasty, whose Eastern
branch in the later Roman Empire ruled in Constantinople. Her Spouse Marcian
parents were eastern Roman emperor Arcadius and empress Aelia House House of Theodosius
Eudoxia. Pulcheria's older sister, Flaccilla, was born in 397 but
Dynasty Theodosian
probably died young. Her younger siblings were Arcadia (born in
400), Theodosius II, the future emperor (born in 401) and Marina Father Arcadius
(born in 401).[4] Mother Aelia Eudoxia

Arcadius' reign experienced the conflict between his wife and the Religion Nicene Christianity
Archbishop of Constantinople John Chrysostom.[5] Sozomen
reports that much of the rivalry was based on a silver statue set up in honour of Eudoxia outside the
cathedral of Constantinople, Hagia Sophia, which Chrysostom condemned: "The silver statue of the
empress … was placed upon a column of porphyry; and the event was celebrated by loud acclamations,
dancing, games, and other manifestations of public rejoicing … John declared that these proceedings
reflected dishonor on the [C]hurch."[6] Also according to Sozomen, Chrysostom had condemned the
empress for her grandiose style in his sermons, which enraged her and resulted in Chrysostom's immediate
deposition. Later in life, Pulcheria returned the relics of John Chrysostom and installed them for the church,
in gratitude for his pious life.[7]

Sister of the emperor

Eudoxia died in 404, and Arcadius in 408. They left behind four young children, including Theodosius II,
then 7 years of age, who had been his father's nominal co-emperor since 402 and was now sole emperor
himself. The praetorian prefect Anthemius at first led government affairs. The imperial chamberlain
Antiochus educated Theodosius in the meantime but the emperor, upon reaching adulthood, dismissed him
from office. In 414, Pulcheria began to act as her brother and his government's guardian:[8] Theodosius
proclaimed Pulcheria Augusta on 4 July 414, Pulcheria was a deo coronata and possessed basileia.[9] At
the same time, Pulcheria and her sisters made vows of virginity,[3] to keep off potential suitors. After this,
the imperial palace assumed a monastic tone more so than the previous regime. Sozomen describes the
pious ways of Pulcheria and her sisters in his Ecclesiastical History:

They all pursue the same mode of life; they are sedulous in their attendance in the house of
prayer, and evince great charity towards strangers and the poor…and pass their days and their
nights together in singing the praises of God.[10]

Rituals within the imperial palace included chanting and reciting passages of sacred scripture and fasting
twice per week.[11] The sisters relinquished luxurious jewelry and apparel which most women of the
imperial court wore. Pulcheria assembled the emperor's imperial announcements and provided many
instruction necessary for Theodosius to be a successful emperor when he would come of age.[12]
According to Sozomen, Pulcheria's training of Theodosius included good deportment, horsemanship, and
how to don clothes.[13] Not only did Pulcheria train her brother in the duties and customs of imperial office,
but she also ensured that Theodosius was trained to become a pious Christian leader. However Theodosius
was accused by some people of providing poor leadership.[14]

Vow of virginity
She also took a vow of virginity in 414, and her sisters followed her example. Sozomen explains that:

She devoted her virginity to God, and instructed her sisters to do likewise. To avoid cause of
scandal and opportunities for intrigue, she permitted no man to enter her palace. In
confirmation of her resolution she took God, the priests, and all the subjects of the Roman
empire as witnesses ...[15]

In a letter from Pope Leo I, a contemporary of Pulcheria, he complimented her great piety and despisal of
the errors of heretics.[16] It is possible that Pulcheria may have had another motive to remain unmarried: she
would have had to relinquish her power to a potential husband. In addition, the husbands of Pulcheria and
her sisters could have wielded overbearing influence on their young brother, or even posed a threat to
him.[17]

Role as Augusta
Pulcheria also attained the title of augusta when she vowed her virginity in 414 and was highly esteemed at
court. In the Byzantine Senate a bust was erected in her honour along with those of other augusti.[18]

Church and Judaism

Many important events occurred during her time as augusta and her brother's reign as Emperor; however,
Pulcheria's influence was mostly ecclesiastical. Pulcheria and her brother potentially harboured anti-Jewish
sentiments, which may have contributed to laws against Jewish worship in the capital. Before the reign of
Theodosius II, synagogues were treated as private property and protected by the imperial government.
Theodosius enacted a law that forbade the construction of synagogues and required the destruction of those
in existence. Pulcheria and Theodosius also ordered the execution of a group of Jews after strife among
Christians emerged in Palestine.[19] Kenneth Holum writes "Pulcheria had long nursed a special hatred for
Jews and Nestorian Christianity, which appeared to contemporaries to be of Jewish origin, no doubt served
to confirm that hatred."[20]

Pulcheria was also famous for her philanthropy. She erected many churches and buildings for the poor in
and around Constantinople.[21] Pulcheria's building projects in Constantinople were so vast that a whole
district was named the Pulcherianai in her honour.[22] As well as contributing new churches and districts to
the city, Pulcheria contributed significantly to the Christian Church by reinstating bishops who were
dismissed and returning the remains of others, such as Flavian, as relics of the church.[23]

War with Persia

Pulcheria's time as Augusta also was marked by war and ongoing conflict with Sassanid Persia. The
imperial court called for war against Persia when Persian King Yazdegerd I executed a Christian bishop
who had destroyed a Zoroastrian altar.[24] Theodosius sent troops into battle, described by Socrates as
"ready to do anything for the sake of Christianity."[24] Though the war was inconclusive, a surviving
inscription declares that Theodosius was able to conquer through his sisters' vow of virginity.[25]
Theodosius thus made his sister's virginity a tool of war propaganda, and because of her vow to be faithful
only to God, the hand of God would help Roman troops in battle against Persia.

Relationship with Aelia Eudocia

The relationship between Pulcheria and Aelia Eudocia, Theodosius II's wife, was strained. The two women
over the years had developed a rivalry possibly based on their different backgrounds and religious beliefs.
Eudocia was originally named Athenais and was born in Athens to a Greek philosopher and professor of
rhetoric. When her father died, he left her with little means, only "one hundred gold coins".[26] She visited
her aunt in Constantinople out of desperation. On 7 June 421, Theodosius married Athenais, but her name
was changed to Eudocia. Opinions differ as to whether Pulcheria really recommended Eudocia to her
brother, a claim made by John Malalas.[27] The rivalry between the two women was posed by some
scholars to have been motivated by Eudocia's envy of Pulcheria's power in court.[28]

Centuries later, Theophanes the Confessor wrote that Eudocia and the chief minister, the eunuch
Chrysaphius, convinced Theodosius to rely less on his sister's influence and more on that of his new wife.
This caused Pulcheria in the late 440s to leave the imperial palace and live in "…Hebdomon, a seaport
seven miles from Constantinople."[29] However, the chronology of her departure does not support
Theophanes' narrative.[30] The rivalry of Eudocia and Pulcheria may have come to a head when Eudocia
departed for the Holy Land and, for a time, openly supported monastic Miaphysitism.[31] Nonetheless, the
sources do not speak of any dispute between them in this period.

Empress
While hunting on horseback in 450, Theodosius II fell from his horse and injured his spine; he died 2 days
later from the injury.[4] What exactly happened in government during the interregnum is unclear. It is
speculated by some historians that she reigned over the Empire alone for about one month after the death of
Theodosius, which may have primarily consisted of arranging the public funeral of Theodosius.[32] As the
deceased emperor lacked surviving male children, Pulcheria could bestow dynastic legitimacy on an
outsider by marrying him. She honoured her vow of virginity despite entering a legitimate marriage.[33] She
married Marcian, a tribune and close associate of general Aspar, probably at the general's suggestion.[34]
Marcian's origins were of low status in comparison to those of previous emperors: "Marcian was a man of
little substance, with no ancient aristocratic or imperial blood. He was Roman, however, and thus the bond
of kedeia at once communicated eligibility for basileia."[32] One condition of the marriage was that
Marcian obey and respect Pulcheria's vow of virginity, and he complied with it.[3] In order for the marriage
to not seem scandalous to the Roman state, the church proclaimed that "Christ himself sponsored the union
and it therefore should not provoke shock or unjustified suspicions."[35] After their marriage, Pulcheria and
Marcian had Chrysaphius killed.[36]

Ecclesiastical conflicts
The First Council of Ephesus, held in 431 in Theodosius's reign, involved two rival bishops: Nestorius,
who was Archbishop of Constantinople, and Cyril, the Patriarch of Alexandria.[37] The dispute grew from
their disagreement over the nature of Christ.[38]

Nestorius advocated diminishing the influence of the doctrine of the "Theotokos", i.e., "the one who gives
birth to the One Who is God" or "Mother of God", in the church. This conflicted with the religious beliefs
of Pulcheria, as she was a virgin empress, and a rivalry between them ensued, during which Nestorius
launched a smear campaign against her. Nestorius also tried to remove Pulcheria's image and her altar cloth
from the altar, against her wishes.[39] However, Pulcheria and her allies, including Eusebius of Dorylaeum,
struck back by launching a campaign against Nestorius. Meanwhile, Cyril had already publicly condemned
Nestorius and wrote to the imperial court stating that the doctrine of the "Theotokos" was correct.
Theodosius and his advisors decided to hold a council, thereby allowing Nestorius an opportunity to
vindicate himself.

However, the Council, teeming with Cyril's allies, condemned Nestorius' position.[40] Nestorians, who
were unable to take part in the previous council, held their own council to denounce Cyril. The emperor
first tried to find a middle ground but eventually favored Cyril. The title of "Theotokos" was decreed as
orthodox. He also deposed Nestorius and banished him to a monastery in Antioch. Thus, Pulcheria's
campaign against Nestorius was successful, but ecclesiastical controversies did not stop there.[41]

In 449, christological debates flared up again. Theodosius summoned another council to Ephesus, to
resolve the disputes. At this council, Pope Leo I was the primary advocate for Pulcheria's claims of the
doctrine, and he "…forcefully intervened, sending a long letter to Archbishop Flavian of Constantinople, in
which he argued for the two natures, but questioned the legality of the recent condemnation of a certain
Eutyches for denying them. At this the party of Dioscorus, Cyril's successor in Alexandria, having believed
that Eutyches had renounced his heresy earlier,[42] was able to overturn the situation, whereupon Leo asked
for a second council, calling that [council in] Ephesus the Robber Council."[43]
During this council, Flavian was beaten and died from his injuries. He was later declared a saint and martyr.

Two years later, Pulcheria and Marcian summoned the Council of Chalcedon, attended by 452 bishops. It
condemned the doctrines of both Nestorius and Eutyches, developed the doctrines of Cyril and Pope Leo I
into one, and it declared the doctrine of the "Theotokos" orthodox. It also reversed the decision of the
second Council of Ephesus and denounced it as 'Robber Council'. According to historian Averil Cameron,
the Council of Chalcedon "…developed and clarified the creed of Nicaea, according to which God was
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, by further proclaiming that Christ was at all times after the Incarnation fully
God and fully human."[43] Pulcheria and Marcian were both hailed as the "new Constantine" and "new
Helena" at the council. From this council grew an irreconcilable gulf between Chalcedonians, those who
upheld the council's decision, and Miaphysites, whose persecution began in this period.

Pulcheria devoted the last years of her life to the "Theotokos", and had three churches in Constantinople
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary: the Monastery of the Panagia Hodegetria, the Church of St. Mary of
Blachernae, and the Chalkoprateia.[44]

Death and veneration

On what day in 453 Pulcheria died is unknown.[4] She probably died in Constantinople. Her death shocked
the people of Constantinople, since she had formed a bond with the city's inhabitants.[45]

Even in her last days Pulcheria thought of ways to help the poor of Constantinople, for "in her will she
reinforced that bond by instructing that all of her remaining wealth be distributed among the poor…"[45]

After her death, she was declared a saint by the church, which is today the Roman Catholic Church and the
Eastern Orthodox Church.[46]

In art
Pulcheria brought many holy relics to churches in Constantinople.
The Trier Adventus Ivory, now housed in the treasury of Trier
Cathedral, Germany, has been interpreted as depicting the installation
of one of these relics. Historian Kenneth Holum describes the Ivory
thus: "On the Ivory Theodosius wears distinctive costume and
inclines slightly forward, but essentially he remains only part of the
The Trier Ivory, representing a
cortege and thus of the ceremonial context. The direction of the
procession with royal figures
wagon's movement inexorably toward the scene at the right, toward
theorized to depict Theodosius II
the diminutive woman clothed in the rich costume of an Augusta …
and Pulcheria.
in it she deposited the holy relics."[47]

However, this interpretation is disputed,[48] and another opinion is

that the ivory shows the later Empress Irene of the eighth century, who sponsored renovation of the
church.[49]

See also
Byzantine Empire
portal

Icon of the Hodegetria

 List of Byzantine emperors
List of Roman and Byzantine Empresses
Monastery of the Panaghia Hodegetria

Notes
1. "Saint Pulcheria" (https://catholicsaints.info/saint-pulcheria/). 28 June 2009.
2. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1982. p. 97
3. Women in World History: A biographical encyclopedia. Edited by Anne Commire and
Deborah Klezmer. Waterford, Connecticut: Yorkin Publications. 1999–2002.
4. Jones, A.H.M, J.R. Martindale, and J. Morris. The Prosopography of the Later Roman
Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.
5. “Although his reign (Arcadius) was short, it is remembered in part for the controversial
conflicts Eudoxia encountered with John Chrysostom, bishop of Constantinople from 398 to
404." – Limberis, Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian
Constantinople. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. p.37
6. Sozomen. The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen: Comprising a History of the Church from
A.D. 324 to A.D. 440. Translated by Edward Walford. London: Henry G. Bohn. 1855. p.391
7. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, 1982. p.184
8. "In 412 Pulcheria quarreled with Antiochus, who like Anthemius had served the dynasty
faithfully for a number of years, and induced her brother to dismiss him from the duties of
praepositus. She then took personal charge of the imperial family, directing its affairs with
such authority that she became known in society at large as the emperor's guardian."
Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 91
9. Kenneth G. Holum (1989). Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity (https://books.google.com/books?id=oq1ntYVZnt4C&pg=PA97). University of
California Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-520-90970-0.
10. Sozomen. The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen: Comprising a History of the Church from
A.D. 324 to A.D. 440. Translated by Edward Walford. London: Henry G. Bohn. 1855. p. 410
11. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 91
12. "Although the empire was technically to be ruled by Theodosius II when he would come of
age, his older sister Pulcheria exercised such profound influence over him all his life that
she must be considered the co-regent of the empire until her death in 453. In fact it can be
said without exaggeration that Pulcheria gave the identity to her brother's reign." from
Limberis, Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian
Constantinople. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. p. 42
13. "... how an emperor must walk, and ride his horse, alone or in procession; how he should sit
upon his throne: how to wear his Imperial armor and robes; and how to speak with dignity.
By no means must he yield to loud laughter …" Duckett, Eleanor. Medieval Portraits from
East and West. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1972. p. 123
14. "He was by nature kind, affable, easily led … Not only was he foolishly kind; he was
careless, and often he was to neglect his duty in the administration of his Empire." Duckett,
Eleanor. Medieval Portraits from East and West. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan
Press, 1972. p. 125
15. Sozomen. The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen: Comprising a History of the Church from
A.D. 324 to A.D. 440. Translated by Edward Walford. London: Henry G. Bohn. 1855.
16. "In it you clearly show how much you love the Catholic faith and how much you despise the
errors of heretics." – Pope St. Leo the Great. St. Leo the Great: Letters. Translated by Brother
Edmund Hunt, C.S.C., New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc. 1957. p. 132
17. Sozomen, The Ecclesiastical History 9.1.3.; Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses:
Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1982. p. 93-94
18. Limberis, Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian
Constantinople. London and New York: Routledge, 1994.
19. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 98
20. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 188
21. "Sozomen writes that it would take too much time to describe all the churches Pulcheria
built, as well as hospitals and inns for the poor." – Limberis, Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The
Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian Constantinople. London and New York:
Routledge, 1994. p. 49
22. "Some of these establishments were extensive enough to give the names of their proprietors
to entire quarters of the city such as the 'Marina quarter' in the second region and the
Pulcherianai in the eleventh." – Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and
Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California
Press, 1982. p. 132
23. "…the entire Roman Church is most grateful to you for all the works of your faith, whether
having assisted envoys in every way with devoted affection and for having brought back the
Catholic bishops who were ejected from their churches by an unjust sentence, or for having
brought back with fitting honor to the church he governed so well the remains of Flavian of
holy memory, an innocent and Catholic bishop." Pope St. Leo the Great. St. Leo the Great:
Letters. Translated by Brother Edmund Hunt, C.S.C., New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc.,
1957. p. 145.
24. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 102
25. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. pp. 110–111
26. Duckett, Eleanor. Medieval Portraits from East and West. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press, 1972. p. 125.
27. Duckett, Eleanor. Medieval Portraits from East and West. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press, 1972. p. 126
28. "She had always felt jealous of her sister-in-law, Pulcheria, who for many years had held
greater influence at Court then she herself had enjoyed, as Empress, as wife." – Duckett,
Eleanor. Medieval Portraits from East and West. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press,
1972. p. 146
29. Duckett, Eleanor. Medieval Portraits from East and West. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan
Press, 1972. p. 146
30. Elton, H. (25 June 2019). Pulcheria, Roman Augusta, 414–453 CE. Oxford Classical
Dictionary
31. "But she had been brought up in Athens in pagan ways; she had ever been devoted to the
literature of her native Greece." – Duckett, Eleanor. Medieval Portraits from East and West.
Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1972. p. 164
32. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 208
33. Garland (1999). Byzantine empresses: women and power in Byzantium, AD 527–1204 (http
s://archive.org/details/byzantineempress00garl). London: Routledge, 1999. p. 3 (https://archi
ve.org/details/byzantineempress00garl/page/n23). ISBN 9780415146883.
34. R.W. Burgess, 'The Accession of Marcian in the Light of Chalcedonian Apologetic and
Monophysite Polemic', Byzantinische Zeitschrift 86/87 (1993/1994), 47–68.
35. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 209
36. Marcellinus Comes, Chronicle a. 450; John Malalas, Chronographia 14.32
37. Cameron, Averil. The Mediterranean World In Late Antiquity AD 395–600 London:
Routledge, 1993. pp. 22–23
38. "The issue was whether, and, if so, how, Christ had two natures; the Monophysites held that
he had only a divine nature, while Nestorius, and 'Nestorians' after him, emphasized the
human." Cameron, Averil. The Mediterranean World In Late Antiquity AD 395–600 London:
Routledge, 1993. p. 23
39. "Nestorius took specific action against Pulcheria. He implied that she enjoyed illicit sexual
relations with at least seven lovers. He also would not accede to her demand that she be
remembered in prayers as the 'bride of Christ' since she had been 'corrupted by men'. Most
egregious of all, he effaced her image which he had removed from above the altar; and he
refused to use her robe as an altar cover," in Limberis, Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The Virgin
Mary and the Creation of Christian Constantinople. London and New York: Routledge, 1994.
p. 54
40. "The council was weighted heavily in favor of the Cyrillians, since they had 'planted' uncouth
Alexandrians to heckle the Nestorians. They drove the emperor's ambassador and the
Nestorian bishops out of the session, and then declared Nestorius a heretic." – Limberis,
Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian Constantinople.
London and New York: Routledge, 1994. p. 56
41. "Under such public pressure Theodosius succumbed to Pulcheria's demands and had
Cyril's decree deposing Nestorius read in the Great Church. Nestorius was sent back to his
monastery in Antioch…" – Limberis, Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the
Creation of Christian Constantinople. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. pp. 56–57.
42. The story of the Copts by Iris Habib el Masri – XVIII. The Rupture between the churches of
the east and west
43. Cameron, Averil. The Mediterranean World In Late Antiquity AD 395–600 London:
Routledge, p. 23.
44. Limberis, Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian
Constantinople. London and New York: Routledge, 1994. p. 57
45. "Mention of her death in the chronicles confirms that her passing, like that of Flacilla [her
grandmother], struck like an earthquake in the dynastic city. Unlike Eudocia [wife of the late
Theodosius], she lived out her life in Constantinople and its suburbs, forming a bond with its
people which even death could not sever." Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses:
Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of
California Press, 1982. p. 226.
46. "She became a saint of the church, both in West and in the East, where centuries later the
faithful of Constantinople celebrated her memorial each year on September 10, bearing in
mind her piety and virginity, her works of philanthropy and construction and especially her
greatest triumph: 'she caused the holy synod to take place at Chalcedon'." Holum, Kenneth
G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late Antiquity. Berkeley and
Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 227
47. Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1982. p. 107
48. Wortley, John (Winter 1980). "The Trier Ivory Reconsidered" (http://grbs.library.duke.edu/artic
le/download/6791/5057). Roman and Byzantine Studies. 21 (4): 381–394.
49. Niewöhner, Philipp. "CBOMGS seminar: The Trier Ivory, the Icon of Christ on the Chalke
Gate, empress Irene's triumph over Iconoclasm and the church of St Euphemia at the
Hippodrome" (http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/research/activity/bomgs/events/2014/seminar-ni
ewohner.aspx). University of Birmingham. Retrieved 4 July 2014.

References
Cameron, Averil. The Mediterranean World In Late Antiquity AD 395–600 London:
Routledge.
Chestnut, Glenn F. The First Christian Histories: Eusibius, Socrates, Sozomen, Theodoret
and Evagrius. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. 1986 2nd Ed.
Duckett, Eleanor. Medieval Portraits from East and West. Ann Arbor: The University of
Michigan Press. 1972.
Garland, Lynda. Byzantine empresses: women and power in Byzantium, AD 527–1204.
London: Routledge. 1999.
Holum, Kenneth G. Theodosian Empresses: Women and Imperial Dominion in Late
Antiquity. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press. 1982.
Jones, A.H.M; J.R. Martindale; and J. Morris. The Prosopography of the Later Roman
Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1971.
Pope St. Leo the Great. St. Leo the Great: Letters. Translated by Brother Edmund Hunt,
C.S.C. New York: Fathers of the Church, Inc. 1957.
Sozomen. The Ecclesiastical History of Sozomen: Comprising a History of the Church from
A.D. 324 to A.D. 440. Translated by Edward Walford. London: Henry G. Bohn. 1855.
Teetgen, Ada B. The Life and Times of Empress Pulcheria: A.D. 399–A.D. 452. London:
Swan Sonnenshein & Co., Lim. 1907.
Turpin, Joanne. Women in Church History: 20 Stories for 20 Centuries. Cincinnati, OH: St.
Anthony Messenger Press. 1986.
Limberis, Vasiliki. Divine Heiress: The Virgin Mary and the Creation of Christian
Constantinople. London and New York: Routledge. 1994.
Women in World History: a Biographical Encyclopedia. Edited by Anne Commire and
Deborah Klezmer. Waterford, CN: Yorkin Publications. 1999–2002.

External links
Santa Pulcheria – Santi e Beati (http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/69750)

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