Rome had many powerful women, but very few empresses who ruled in their own right. It would be many centuries before the Empire had an empress regnant; yet when it finally did come around it proved to be a very interesting saga indeed. The reign of Rome's first empress regnant would be filled with many landmark events: religious controversies; heinous crimes; dynastic infighting; and, most famously, the rise of an empire...

00:00 My Thoughts on Female Power in Rome
03:57 Byzantium in the Eighth Century
04:43 Irene's Early Life
06:46 Irene's Regency
14:41 Constantine VI
19:04 The First Empress Regnant
21:09 Charlemagne
23:10 Aftermath
25:24 Outro


[Charlemagne's and Irene's Marriage Althistory Scenario]

In the situation that Irene had accepted Charlemagne's proposal, she probably would have been immediately deposed: the Byzantines were snobbish on an imperial scale, and if they felt their toes being stepped on they would take rapid action to rectify the issue. By 801, the Empress was only one year away from being deposed regardless, and I think that her possible acceptance would simply have hastened her downfall. Then we have to consider Charlemagne: his honour would not allow his wife’s deposition (and possible exile to a monastery) to go unpunished; even so, Charlemagne was a hardnosed pragmatist and probably calculated that a fullscale invasion of Byzantium would only end in tears for everyone. At most, all that could possibly have come of it would be attacks on Byzantine possessions in Dalmatia and Southern Italy; but no great wars or shifts in the European stage. And certainly, without a doubt, no unified empire.

By the ninth century, despite what imperial propaganda would say, the dream of Rome was just that – a dream.

Music used: (In Chronological Order)

Cylinder Two by Chris Zabriskie

Tabuk by Kevin MacLeod

Rites by Kevin MacLeod

Dragons and Toast by Kevin MacLeod

Drums of the Deep by Kevin MacLeod

Gregorian Chants by Kevin MacLeod

Teller of the Tales by Kevin MacLeod

What Does Anybody Know About Anything? by Kevin MacLeod