Flavia Maximiana Theodora

Flavia Maximiana Theodora
Flavia Maximiana Theodora. On the reverse, the goddess Pietas.
Roman empress
Tenure305–306
BornMaximiana Theodora
Diedbefore 337
SpouseConstantius Chlorus
Issue
DynastyConstantinian
FatherUncertain, perhaps Afranius Hannibalianus or Maximian
MotherUncertain, perhaps Eutropia

Flavia Maximiana Theodora (died before 337) was a Roman empress as the wife of Constantius Chlorus.

Biography

Early life

She is often referred to as a stepdaughter of Emperor Maximian by ancient sources, leading to claims by historians Otto Seeck and Ernest Stein that she was born from an earlier marriage between Eutropia, wife of Maximian, and Afranius Hannibalianus.[1][2] This man was consul in 292 and praetorian prefect under Diocletian.[3]

Timothy Barnes challenges this view, arguing that all "stepdaughter sources" derive their information from the hypothetical 4th century Enmannsche Kaisergeschichte, which Barnes considers unreliable, while sources he considers to be more reliable refer to Theodora as Maximian's daughter, rather than his stepdaughter.[1] He concludes that she was born to an earlier wife of Maximian, possibly one of Hannibalianus's daughters.[4] Although Julia Hillner agreed with the idea of Theodora being Maximian's biological daughter, she also observed that Barnes' theory does not explain why one of Theodora's daughters was named Eutropia. She believes that Theodora was the daughter of both Maximian and Eutropia. She agrees with Barnes that the "stepdaughter sources" are the result of later Constantinian propaganda, but argues that Afranius was instead Eutropia's brother, thus explaining why Theordora named one of her daughter Eutropia, and one of her sons Hannibalianus.[5]

Marriage

In 293,[6] Theodora married Constantius Chlorus, the junior co-emperor of Maximian, after he had set aside Helena, mother of his son Constantine, to strengthen his political position. The couple had six children.[2] Through her son Julius Constantius, she would become the grandmother of the emperor Julian.

After the death of her stepson Constantine, several of her male descendants were massacred, which Julian explicitly blamed Constantius II for.[7] Constantine's successors proceeded to print coins of Theodora,[8] presumably in an attempt to distance themselves from the massacre.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b Barnes 1982, p. 33.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Martindale & Morris, p. 895.
  3. ^ Jones, Martindale & Morris, pp. 407–408.
  4. ^ Barnes 1982, pp. 33–34.
  5. ^ Hillner 2023, p. 58.
  6. ^ Pohlsander 1993, p. 153.
  7. ^ Julian, "Letter to the senate and people of Athens", 270. The full text of Letter to the senate and people of Athens at Wikisource
  8. ^ Woods 2011, p. 193.
  9. ^ Woods 2011, pp. 194–195.

Bibliography

  • Barnes, Timothy D. (1982). The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. doi:10.4159/harvard.9780674280670. ISBN 0-674-28066-0.
  • Hillner, Julia (2023). Helena Augusta: Mother of the Empire. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-087529-9.
  • Jones, A.H.M.; J.R. Martindale & J. Morris (1971). Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire. Vol. 1. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-07233-6.
  • Pohlsander, Hans A. (1993). "CONSTANTIA". Ancient Society. 24: 151–167. JSTOR 44079527.
  • Woods, David (2011). "Numismatic Evidence and the Succession to Constantine I". The Numismatic Chronicle. 171: 187–196. JSTOR 42667233.

Media related to Flavia Maximiana Theodora at Wikimedia Commons

Royal titles
Preceded by Empress of Rome
305–306
with Galeria Valeria (305–306) 		Succeeded by
Preceded by