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Secondary sourceBook1904

Théodora, impératrice de Byzance

Charles Diehl · 1904

A French biography of Empress Theodora, Justinian's co-ruling consort, written by Charles Diehl and published in 1904.

Diehl's biography concentrates on Theodora, Justinian's co-ruling consort, and is kept in the file because she shared power with him.

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Théodora, impératrice de ByzancePDF · 320 pages
Charles Diehl, Théodora, impératrice de Byzance, 1904. Scanned copy on the Internet Archive.

About this source

What it is

This is a French biography of Theodora, empress of Byzantium, written by the historian Charles Diehl and published in Paris in 1904. The book is 314 pages long, and its introduction begins by describing how Theodora rose from the backstage of the Hippodrome to the imperial throne. The scanned copy is available on the Internet Archive.

Why it matters

Diehl's book focuses on Theodora rather than on Justinian himself. Its introduction notes that Procopius, in the Secret History, collected the gossip that Constantinople's townspeople spread about her while she lived. After her death, stories about her grew further in many languages. Diehl's book shows how a modern historian sorts out legend from evidence about a woman who shared power with her husband.

Look closer

  • What does the introduction say about the stories told about Theodora, and who told them?
  • Why might a biography of Theodora be useful for understanding Justinian's reign?
  • Which of Theodora's own words or actions does this book leave out?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Justinian I on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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