the secret history of justinian and theodora

And all the empire will wonder-is she bold enough, shrewd enough, and strong enough to keep it?Īrguably one of the most powerful women in history of the yzantine Empire, Theodora was the wife of Emperor Justinian I. For one day, this man will hand her a crown. She will thrive as his confidant and courtesan, but many challenges lie ahead. When her daring performance grants her a back-door entry into the halls of power, she seizes the chance to win a wealthy protector-only to face heartbreak and betrayal.Įver resilient, Theodora rises above such trials and by a twist of fate, meets her most passionate admirer yet: the Emperor’s nephew. Determined to survive, Theodora makes a living any way she can-first on her back with every man who will have her, then on the stage of the city’s infamous amphitheater in a scandalous dramatization of her own invention. When her father dies suddenly, Theodora and her sisters face starvation on the streets. But the woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was, in fact, a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told… In sixth century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds, and rose from being a common theater tart to become empress of a great kingdom, the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know.

The secret history of justinian and theodora