Theodora, (born c. 497 CE—died June 28, 548, Constantinople [now Istanbul, Turkey]), Byzantine empress, wife of the emperor Justinian I (reigned 527–565), probably the most powerful woman in Byzantine history. Her intelligence and political acumen made her Justinian’s most trusted adviser and enabled her to use the power and influence of her office to promote religious and social policies that favoured her interests.
Theodora exercised considerable influence, and though she was never coregent, her superior intelligence and deft handling of political affairs caused many to think that it was she, rather than Justinian, who ruled Byzantium.
Her name is mentioned in nearly all the laws passed during that period.Her influence in political affairs was decisive, as illustrated in the Nika revolt of January 532. The two political factions in Constantinople, the Blues and the Greens, united in their opposition to the government and set up a rival emperor. Justinian’s advisers urged him to flee, but Theodora advised him to stay and save his empire, whereupon Justinian’s general, Belisarius, herded the rioters into the Hippodrome and cut them to pieces.
Theodora is remembered as one of the first rulers to recognize the rights of women, passing strict laws to prohibit the traffic in young girls and altering the divorce laws to give greater benefits to women.
She spent much of her reign trying to mitigate the laws against the miaphysites. Though she succeeded in ending their persecution in 533, she never succeeded in changing Justinian’s religious policy from its emphasis on orthodoxy and friendship with Rome.
