Rome & Constantinople
Women in Rome were citizens ,but could not vote or hold political office. While Roman women held no direct political power, those from wealthy or powerful families could and did exert influence through private negotiations. Exceptional women who left an undeniable mark on history range from the semi-legendary Lucretia and Claudia Quinta, whose stories took on mythic significance; fierce Republican-era women such as Cornelia, mother of the Gracchi, and Fulvia, who commanded an army and issued coins bearing her image, women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, most prominently Livia, who contributed to the formation of Imperial mores; and the empress Helena, a driving force in promoting Christianity.
Empress Livia wife of Augustus
30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29.
After her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus throughout his reign, as well as his adviser. She was the mother of the emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the emperor Claudius, paternal great-grandmother of the emperor Caligula, and maternal great-great-grandmother of the emperor Nero. She was deified by Claudius who acknowledged her title of Augusta. louvre museum
Empress Livia wife of Augustus
30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29.
Livia was a long-lived, influential matriarchal figure in the early years of the Roman Principate. She was held up as an example of womanly virtue and simplicity. Her reputation has also been negative: she may have been a murderer, and has been described as treacherous, avaricious, and power-hungry. She may have been instrumental in the banishment of Augustus' daughter, Julia. acknowledged her title of Augusta. louvre museum
Empress Livia wife of Augustus
30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29.
Livia's image evolves with different styles of portraiture that trace her effect on imperial propaganda that helped bridge the gap between her role as wife to the emperor Augustus, to mother of the emperor Tiberius. Becoming more than the "beautiful woman" she is described as in ancient texts, Livia serves as a public image for the idealization of Roman feminine qualities, a motherly figure, and eventually a goddesslike representation that alludes to her virtue.
Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek museum
Empress Livia wife of Augustus
30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29
After Augustus' death, and by his will, she became a priestess in his cult and a member of his family, Julia Augusta.She lived very long and died at the age of 86.Livia is considered to be an extraordinary female leader and a counterpart to her husband Augustus. Her role remained influential and visible in three generations. Being a role model for other women of the Empire, they all try to be like her and emulate her power.
Empress Livia wife of Augustus
30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29.
After her formal adoption into the Julian family in AD 14 also known as Julia Augusta, was the wife of the Roman emperor Augustus throughout his reign, as well as his adviser. She was the mother of the emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the emperor Claudius, paternal great-grandmother of the emperor Caligula, and maternal great-great-grandmother of the emperor Nero. She was deified by Claudius who acknowledged her title of Augusta. louvre museum
Julie,daughter of Augustus and Livia
30 October 39 BC– AD 14.
Was the daughter and only biological child of Augustus, the first emperor of the Roman Empire. Augustus subsequently adopted several male members of his close family as sons. Julia resulted from Augustus' second marriage with Scribonia
Julie, daughter of Augustus and Scribonia
30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29.
She was the daughter of the Emperor Augustus, stepsister and second wife of the Emperor Tiberius, maternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and the Empress Agrippina the Younger, grandmother-in-law of the Emperor Claudius, and maternal great-grandmother of the Emperor Nero.
Antonia Minor daughter of Octavia & Mark Antony
30 January 536 BC– 28 September AD 37
She was a niece of the Emperor Augustus, sister-in-law of the Emperor Tiberius, paternal grandmother of the Emperor Caligula and Empress Agrippina the Younger, mother of the Emperor Claudius. Antonia is one of the most prominent Roman women. She is celebrated for her virtue and beauty. When Claudius became emperor after Caligula's assassination in 41 AD, he gave his mother the title of Augusta. Her birthday became a public holiday, which had yearly games and public sacrifices held. An image of her was paraded in a carriage
Agrippina the Elder wife of Germanicus
14 BC – 17 October 33 AD
Daughter of Marcus Agrippa and Julia (who was the daughter of the emperor Augustus), and a major figure in the succession struggles in the latter part of the reign of Tiberius.Although Tiberius tried to slander her name and reputation, he did not succeed.
Agrippina the Elder
14 BC – 17 October 33 AD
Germanicus married his maternal second cousin Agrippina the Elder, a granddaughter of Augustus, between 5 and 1 BC. The couple had six children: Nero Caesar, Drusus Caesar, the Emperor Caligula, the Empress Agrippina the Younger, Julia Drusilla, and Julia Livilla.She was known for many positive things such as her courage and her devotion to her husband and her children.
Valeria Messalins the third wife of the Emperor Claudius
17/20 AD - 48 AD
With her accession to power, Messalina enters history with a reputation as ruthless, predatory and sexually insatiable. Her husband is represented as easily led by her and unconscious of her many adulteries until informed that she had gone so far as to marry her latest lover, the Senator Gaius Silius in 48
Valeria Messalins the third wife of the Emperor Claudius
17/20 AD - 48 AD
A powerful and influential woman with a reputation for promiscuity, it was claimed that she conspired against her husband and was executed when the plot was discovered.Messalina’s control over the often gullible Claudius became evident shortly after the emperor ordered the return of his nieces from exile
Agrippina the Younger the fourth wife of the Claudius
6 November AD 15-March AD 59
Agrippina was suspected of having Claudius and his son assassinated in order to secure the throne for her own son, Nero. Through him she hoped to dominate Rome.Agrippina "had achieved this dominant position for her son and herself by a web of political alliances," which included Claudius's chief secretary and bookkeeper Pallas
Flavia Julia Titi daughter of Titus
13 September 64 AD - 91 AD
Flavia Julia Titi daughter of Titus
13 September 64 AD - 91 AD
Empresses Domitia Longina wife of Domitian
53 -55 AD - 126-130 AD
Shortly following his accession as Emperor, Domitian bestowed the honorific title of Augusta upon DomitiaThe marriage produced only one son, whose early death is believed to have been the cause of temporary rift between Domitia and her husband in 83. She became Empress of Rome upon Domitian's accession in 81, and remained so until his assassination in 96.
louvre museum
Augusta Ulpia Marciana sister of Trajan
48 AD - 112 AD
Daughter of the senator Marcus Ulpius Traiana and Marcia, was five years older than her brother, the Emperor Trajan, who was born in the Roman colony of Italica (Spain). She and her husband Gaius Saloninus Matidius Patriunus had one child, Salonina Matidia, who became the mother of Sabina, wife of the Emperor Hadrian. After her husband Saloninus died in 78 CE, Marciana remained a widow, a powerful member of the imperial domus.
Salonina Matidia niece of Trajan
4 July 68 – 23 December 119)
Her maternal uncle was the Roman Emperor Trajan. Trajan had no children and treated her like his daughter.Matidia often traveled with her uncle and assisted him with decision-making. Like her mother, Matidia was honored with monuments and inscriptions in her name throughout the Roman Empire. After 105 CE Trajan honored his sister with the title Augusta,
Salonina Matidia niece of Trajan
4 July 68 – 23 December 119)
Faustina would go on to marry the Roman Senator Marcus Annius Verus, to whom she bore one daughter and two sons. Through her children, she would become the grandmother of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and his wife Faustina the Younger.
Empripess Sabina Wife of Hadrian
83 AD - 136 or 137 AD
Roman Empress, wife and second cousin, once removed, to Roman Emperor Hadrian. She was the daughter to Salonina Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan).She married Hadrian in 100, at the Roman Empress Pompeia Plotina's request, for Hadrian to succeed her great uncle, in 117 This portrait is certain representation of Empress Sabine
Empripess Sabina Wife of Hadrian
83 AD - 136 or 137 AD
Sabina was strong and independent and her beliefs in marriage didn't sit well with the Emperor. Sabina is rumored to have had an affair with Suetonius, a historian who was Hadrian's secretary
louvre museum
Empripess Sabina Wife of Hadrian
83 AD - 136 or 137 AD
She endured poor relations with her husband, though she appears on many of his coins. 128, she was awarded the title of Augusta. Vibia Sabina died before her husband, some time in 136 or early 137 louvre museum
Empripess Sabina Wife of Hadrian
83 AD - 136 or 137 AD
She married Hadrian in 100, at the Roman Empress Pompeia Plotina's request, for Hadrian to succeed her great uncle, in 117. Sabina's mother Matidia (Hadrian's second cousin) was also fond of Hadrian and allowed him to marry her daughter
louvre museum.
Empripess Sabina Wife of Hadrian
83 AD - 136 or 137 AD
Roman Empress, wife and second cousin, once removed, to Roman Emperor Hadrian. She was the daughter to Salonina Matidia (niece of Roman Emperor Trajan).She married Hadrian in 100, at the Roman Empress Pompeia Plotina's request, for Hadrian to succeed her great uncle, in 117
Faustinua the elder - wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius
September 21 about 100 AD - 141 AD
Faustinua the elder - wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius
September 21 about 100 AD - 141 AD
Faustinua the elder - wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius
September 21 about 100 AD - 141 AD
Faustinua the elder - wife of Emperor Antoninus Pius
September 21 about 100 AD - 141 AD
Faustina the Younger wife of Marcus Aurelius
6 February between 125 /130 AD - 175AD
Annia Galeria Faustina Minor (Minor Latin for the Younger), Faustina Minor or Faustina the Younger (16 February between 125 and 130 – 175) was a daughter of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius and Roman Empress Faustina the Elder. She was a Roman Empress and wife to her maternal cousin Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Faustina the Younger wife of Marcus Aurelius
6 February between 125 /130 AD - 175AD
Faustina was reported to have been overcome with passion for a certain gladiator, and that her son Commodus was the product of this union and not her marriage with the emperor. At any rate, the empress was well-known for her passions, particularly for low-life sailors and gladiators
louvre museum
Faustina the Younger wife of Marcus Aurelius
6 February between 125 /130 AD - 175AD
The Empress Faustina the Younger, wife of Marcus Aurelius, from Tarsos (Asia Minor), mid 2nd century AD,Though Roman sources give a generally negative view of her character, she was held in high esteem by soldiers and her own husband and was given divine honours after her death.
Faustina the Younger wife of Marcus Aurelius
6 February between 125 /130 AD - 175AD
Faustina bore Marcus at least 12 children, of whom 6—5 daughters and 1 son, Commodus—survived her. Because she accompanied her husband as he fought the tribes along the Danube, Marcus had her proclaimed “mother of the camp” (mater castrorum)
British museum
Julia domna wife of Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus
170 AD - 217 AD
As empress, Julia was often involved in intrigues and had plenty of political enemies who accused her of treason and adultery. None of these accusations were proven. Severus continued to favour his wife and insisted on her company in the campaign against the Britons
louvre museum
Julia domna wife of Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus
170 AD - 217 AD
Julia became the mediator between their two sons, Caracalla and Geta.Geta was murdered by Caracalla's soldiers.Caracalla was now sole emperor, but his relations with his mother were difficult, as attested by several sources, probably due to his involvement in Geta's murder. Nevertheless, Julia accompanied Caracalla in his campaign against the Parthian empire in 217. During this trip, Caracalla was assassinated
Julia domna wife of Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus
170 AD - 217 AD
Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and mother of Emperors Geta and Caracalla, Julia was famous for her prodigious learning as well as her extraordinary political influence. The greatest in a long line of women exercising power behind the throne in Rome, she was effectively the de facto ruler of an Empire of seventy million people stretching from Scotland to Iraq.
louvre museum
Julia domna wife of Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus
170 AD - 217 AD
Severus took Julia as his second wife ca. 187, after consulting an astrologer who said she was destined to marry an emperor. Julia was notorious for her many adulteries, and moreover had conspired against her husband. However, he did not divorce her. Julia was also known as a patroness of the arts, and continued her influence through the reign of her son Caracalla
Julia Mamaea mother of Alexander Severus
14 or 29 August 180AD – 235 AD.
A powerful Roman woman of Syrian origin and Syrian noble Gaius Julius Avitus Alexianus. She was a niece of empress Julia Domna; emperor Lucius Septimius Severus and sister of Julia Soaemias Bassiana.As a member of the Imperial Roman family, she watched closely the death of her cousin Caracalla and the ascent to power of her nephew Elagabalus, the oldest grandson of Julia Maesa and her choice to the throne
louvre museum
Julia Mamaea mother of Alexander Severus
14 or 29 August 180AD – 235 AD .
Julia was reported to be a virtuous woman, never involved in scandals. Julia was attentive to the education of her son, Alexander, whom she prepared adequately for becoming emperor of Rome. Alexander thought much of his mother's advice and followed what she told him to do.
museum in London
Sallustia Orbiana wife of Emperor Sererus Alexander
225 AD - 227 Empress AD .
Orbiana was born to influential Roman Senator Seius Sallustius in the early third century CE. In August 225,at about the age of 16 years, she wed Roman Emperor Severus Alexander in an arrangement organized by the emperor's mother, Julia Mamaea. Sallustius was executed, and Orbiana was stripped of her title, divorced and exiled to the province of Libya in North Africa
museum in Vennia
Annia Cupressenia Herennia Etruscilla of wife of Decius
249 AD – 251 AD Augusta
Annia Cupressenia Herennia Etruscilla was Augusta ( of the Roman Empire, wife of Emperor Decius, and mother of Emperors Herennius Etruscus and Hostilian.As with most third-century Roman Empresses, very little is known about her. Probably of senatorial family, she became regent on her son Hostilian, when Decius and Herennius were defeated and killed in the Battle of Abrittus to sink into obscurity after her husband and sons perished.
Galeria Valeria Eutropiacius wife of Maximian Hercules
249 AD – 326 AD Augusta
Eutropia was of Syrian extraction and her marriage to Maximianus Herculius seems to have been her second. She bore him two children: Maxentius who was Western Roman Emperor from 306–312 and Fausta. An older daughter, Theodora, may have been a product of her first marriage. Fausta became the wife of Constantine I . She apparently survived all her children, with the possible exception of her daughter Fausta who seems to have died in 326, and was alive in 325. She is also said to have become a Christian.
Valeria Maximilla wife of Maxentius
293 AD – 312 AD
Valeria Maximilla (fl. 293–312) was the Empress of Rome and wife of Emperor Maxentius.
She was the daughter of Emperor Galerius and his first wife, whose name is unknown. She married Maxentius around 293 (the exact date is unknown) in what was likely an attempt to forge an alliance between the families of Galerius and Maxentius' father Maximian, himself Emperor in the West. She bore two sons:
.
Flavia Maxima Fausta first wife of Constinine I
289 AD – 326 AD
Empress Fausta was held in high esteem by Constantine, and proof of his favour was that in 323 she was proclaimed Augusta .However three years later Fausta was put to death by Constantine, following the execution of Crispus, his eldest son by Minervina, in 326. The two deaths have been inter-related in various ways; in one, Fausta is set jealously against Crispus, as in the anonymous Epitome de Caesaribus, or conversely her adultery. Fausta was executed by suffocation in an over-heated bath
Helena Mother of Emperor Constantine I
250 AD - 330AD .
Was the consort of the Roman emperor Constantius Chlorus and the mother of the emperor Constantine the Great, an important figure in the history of Christianity. She is traditionally credited with a pilgrimage to Syria Palaestina, during which she discovered the True Cross of Jesus's crucifixion. She is revered as a saint by the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox museum in Rome.
Empress Licinia Eudoxia wife of emperor Valentinan III
422 AD - 462AD .
A Roman Empress, daughter of Eastern Emperor Theodosius II and wife of the Western Emperors Valentinian III and Petronius Maximus.It later was claimed that it was she who invited the Vandal Geiseric to Rome in the same year. After the ensuing sack, she and her two daughters were carried back to Carthage. It was not until the early 460s that she and Placidia were set free, and withdrew to Constantinople, where she spent the remainder of her years. Eudocia remained in Africa as the wife of Geiseric's son Huneric.
Empress Ariane Empress Placidia wife of emperor Olybrius, Western Emperor
439 AD - 480'sAD .
Placidia was the second daughter of Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia, younger sister of Eudocia, who became the wife of Huneric, son of Gaiseric, king of the Vandals. Both were named for their grandmothers: Eudocia for the maternal, Aelia Eudocia, and Placidia for the paternal, Galla Placidia.[2] Placidia is estimated to have been born between 439 and 443.Placidia was probably the last Western Roman Empress known by name.Placidia is last mentioned c. 484
Empress Ariane Empress consort of emperor Zeno
474 AD - 515AD .
Aelia Ariadne was the Empress consort of Zeno (emperor) and Anastasius I (emperor) Ariadne was a daughter of Leo I (emperor) and Verina Her mother was a sister of Basiliscus On 18 January 474, Leo I died of dysentery His grandson immediately succeeded him, Leo II AD 474 Since Leo II was too young to rule himself, Ariadne and her mother Verina prevailed upon him to crown Zeno as co-emperor, which he did on February 9 474. When Leo became ill and died on November 17, Zeno became sole emperor, with Ariadne as empress consort.
Empress Ariane Empress consort of emperor Zeno
474 AD - 515 AD .
She remained married to Zeno to his death on 9 April 491. The widowed Augusta was able to choose his successor for the throne and a second husband for herself in the person of Anastasius I a palace official whom she preferred to Longinus (consul 486) Zenos brother. Anastasius was proclaimed Emperor on 11 April and they were married on 20 May Anastasius (AD 491-518 Their marriage remained childless. She died in Constantinople in 515 and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles Anastasius was buried besides her in 518. rome museum
Unknown women
30 January 58 BC– 28 September AD 29.
Augusta Classical Latin: [awˈɡʊsta], was a Roman imperial honorific title given to empresses and honoured women of the imperial families. It was the feminine form of Augustus. As with emperors, there was no single term for empresses. The title implied the greatest prestige. Augustae could issue their own coinage, wear imperial regalia, rule their own courts.[
Unknown women
422 AD - 462D .
Augusta Classical Latin: [awˈɡʊsta], was a Roman imperial honorific title given to empresses and honoured women of the imperial families. It was the feminine form of Augustus. As with emperors, there was no single term for empresses. The title implied the greatest prestige. Augustae could issue their own coinage, wear imperial regalia, rule their own courts.[
Unknown women
Augusta Classical Latin: [awˈɡʊsta], was a Roman imperial honorific title given to empresses and honoured women of the imperial families. It was the feminine form of Augustus. As with emperors, there was no single term for empresses. The title implied the greatest prestige. Augustae could issue their own coinage, wear imperial regalia, rule their own courts.[
Claudia Olympias, daughter of Tiberius, Epithymetus
110-130 A.D
Who died aged 49 and a half years after 33 years of marriage.Her freedman (set this up)
Her coiffure is typical of the late Trajanic and early Hadrianic periodsh