rebritah - Tumblr blog

[rebritah]

When Waiting Wears You Down

Not vampires but humans, part II

[rebritah]

Irene of Athens | The first female ruler of the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine empress consort, Byzantine regent and sole empress regnant of the Byzantine Empire

Ruled as emperor in her own right, the first woman to do so in Byzantine history. Her rule gave the Pope the excuse to recognise Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor; convened the 7th Ecumenical Council (2nd Council of Nicaea), restoring icon veneration in the Byzantine Empire.

[rebritah]

[rebritah]

Powerful Byzantine Emperors by influential Women

Traditionally, the line of Byzantine emperors is held to begin with the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great, the first Christian emperor, who rebuilt the city of Byzantium as an imperial capital, Constantinople, and who was regarded by the later emperors as the model ruler. His mother Saint Helena was traditionally associated with finding the relics of the true cross in Jerusalem. When Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313, which guaranteed religious tolerance for Christians, he influenced by his mother Helena. 

Justinian I codified Roman Law, unified law in order to organise the empire. During his reign, Justinian reorganized the government of the Byzantine Empire and enacted several reforms to increase accountability and reduce corruption. His wife Theodora participated in Justinian's legal and spiritual reforms, and her involvement in the increase of the rights of women was substantial. She expanded the rights of women in divorce and property ownership, instituted the death penalty for rape, forbade exposure of unwanted infants, gave mothers some guardianship rights over their children, and forbade the killing of a wife who committed adultery.

Theodosius II is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code & the construction of the Theodosian Walls of Constantinople and presiding over the outbreak of 2 great Christological controversies (Nestorianism and Eutychianism.) Thanks to his sister Aelia Pulcheria, who proclaimed herself regent over her brother when she was fifteen, Theodosius became a gentle, scholarly, easily dominated man who allowed his government to be run by a succession of relatives and ministers. As Emperor Theodosius regent, Pulcheria almost certainly gave the young emperor his ‘identity’, teaching him how to behave amongst other things.

Leo IV was an iconoclast emperor whose reign marked a transition between the period of Iconoclasm and the restoration of the icons. His reign, a short five years, was overshadowed by his wife Irene of Athens, a strong iconodule, who after Leo's death succeeded to power as regent for her son Constantine VI and as empress. Irene was the first woman to be sole ruler of the Byzantine empire who ruled for ten years, displaying firmness and intelligence, and summoned the council at Nicaea in 787, which formally revived the adoration of images and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome.

[rebritah]

Eudocia  |  Byzantine Empress

She was a Pagan before being Christian and highly cultured woman, who in rivalry with her sister-in-law the empress Pulcheria, exercised great influence over her husband Theodosius II until her withdrawal from Constantinople.

[rebritah]

“Don’t want to know the other side of a world without you.”

-Robb & Daenerys AU

[rebritah]

“We don't choose our destinies but we must do our duties.”

[rebritah]

“Love’s not always wise, I’ve learned. It can lead us to great folly, but we follow our hearts ... wherever they take us.”

[rebritah]

“You think I'm fighting this war so they'll sing songs about me?”

[rebritah]

The Wolf & The Dragon 

“What is honor compared to a woman's love? Love is the death of duty.”

[rebritah]

Three same names, three different consecutive periods:

The House of York: 1460 – 1485

The Tudor Era: 1485-1603

The Elizabethan‎ Era, the Golden Age : ‎1558–1603

[rebritah]

    Some scholars guessed that Queen Nefertari might have been King Ay's daughter and others thought that she was King Seti I's daughter, according to prominent archaeologist and author Zahi Hawas in an article published on Al Sharq Al Awsat website in October 2014. 

[rebritah]

Queen Elizabeth I 

Gloriana 

Good Queen Bess

The Virgin Queen

Queen Elizabeth employed at least 70 musicians and singers. The singers included those from the Chapel Royal. 

Her favorite court composers included Thomas Campion (1567-1620), Robert Johnson (1500-1560) and William Byrd (1543-1623)

 Music was being taught in schools and Universities and the ability to play a musical instrument was an essential skill at the court of Queen Elizabeth. Queen Elizabeth was a patron of all the Arts and encouraged Elizabethan composers and musicians. 

She had been taught to play musical instruments as part of her education and was a skilled musician of the lute and the virginal.

  Nobles were expected to entertain their contemporaries and to show their prowess in dancing. Dancing was a form of exercise enjoyed by Queen Elizabeth practised every morning. Dancing was accompanied by the Court musicians.

[rebritah]

When Waiting Wears You Down

Not vampires but humans, part II

[rebritah]

Not vampires but humans, part I

[rebritah]

a Description about Queen Nefertari at Luxor Temple says;

“Greatly favored, possessing charm, sweet of love…. Rich in love, wearing the circlet-diadem, singer fair of face, beautiful with the tall twin plumes, Chief of the Harim of Horus, Lord of the Palace; one is pleased with what(ever) comes forth concerning her; who has (only to) say anything, and it is done for her - every good thing, at her wish; her every word, how pleasing on the ear - one lives at just hearing her voice (even) the Great Royal Wife, his beloved, Wife of the Strong Bull, Lady of Both Lands, Nefertari Meryetmut, may she live…”

And Ramesses II, who said of Nefertari, “the one for whom the sun shines”,  even wrote of his weakness for the queen:

  “My love is unique - no one can rival her, for she is the most beautiful woman alive. Just by passing, she has stolen away my heart.“

[rebritah]

Titles of Queen Nefertari

Great of Praises

Sweet of Love

Lady of Grace

Great King’s Wife

Lady of The Two Lands

Great Royal Wife, his beloved

Lady of all Lands

Wife of the Strong Bull

God’s Wife

Great King’s Wife, his beloved

Great Royal Wife

Lady of Both Lands

Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt