Empress Irene of Athens

E76285

Byzantine emperor Byzantine empress Christian ruler female monarch regent

Empress Irene of Athens was an 8th-century Byzantine empress who ruled as regent and later as sole emperor, noted for restoring the veneration of icons and playing a pivotal role in church and imperial politics.

Observed surface forms (2)

Surface form	Occurrences
Irene of Athens	7
Byzantine Empress Irene of Athens	1

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Byzantine emperor ⓘ Byzantine empress ⓘ Christian ruler ⓘ female monarch ⓘ regent ⓘ
associatedWith	Byzantine Iconoclasm ⓘ Isaurian dynasty succession crisis ⓘ
birthPlace	Athens ⓘ
capitalDuringReign	Constantinople (probable) ⓘ surface form: Constantinople
causeOfDeath	natural causes ⓘ
child	Emperor Constantine VI ⓘ surface form: Constantine VI
conflict	opposition from iconoclast military aristocracy ⓘ
countryOfCitizenship	Byzantine Empire ⓘ
deathPlace	Lesbos ⓘ
dynasty	Isaurian dynasty ⓘ
historicalPeriod	Middle Byzantine period ⓘ
householdOrigin	noble family of Athens ⓘ
knownFor	asserting imperial authority over the church ⓘ being one of the first women to rule the Byzantine Empire in her own right ⓘ ending the first phase of Byzantine Iconoclasm ⓘ
legacy	venerated as a defender of icons in Eastern Orthodox tradition ⓘ
methodOfRule	court intrigue and alliance-building ⓘ
notableAction	blinding of Constantine VI ⓘ
notableEvent	Second Council of Nicaea NERFINISHED ⓘ restoration of the veneration of icons ⓘ
organized	Second Council of Nicaea NERFINISHED ⓘ
policy	support for monastic and iconophile factions ⓘ
positionHeld	Emperor of the Romans ⓘ surface form: Basileus of the Romans Empress consort of the Byzantine Empire ⓘ Regent of the Byzantine Empire ⓘ
predecessor	Emperor Constantine VI ⓘ surface form: Constantine VI
regencyFor	Emperor Constantine VI ⓘ surface form: Constantine VI
reignAsCoRulerEnd	797 ⓘ
reignAsCoRulerStart	792 ⓘ
reignAsRegentEnd	790 ⓘ
reignAsRegentStart	780 ⓘ
reignAsSoleEmperorEnd	802 ⓘ
reignAsSoleEmperorStart	797 ⓘ
religion	Eastern Orthodox Christianity ⓘ
removedFromPowerBy	Nikephoros I ⓘ
sphereOfInfluence	church politics ⓘ imperial administration ⓘ
spouse	Leo IV the Khazar ⓘ
successor	Nikephoros I ⓘ
title	Augusta ⓘ Basileus of the Romans ⓘ
yearOfBirth	c. 752 ⓘ
yearOfDeath	803 ⓘ

Referenced by (13)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Tarasios of Constantinople → appointedBy → Empress Irene of Athens ⓘ

Tarasios of Constantinople → associatedWith → Empress Irene of Athens ⓘ

Emperor Constantine VI → coRulerWith → Empress Irene of Athens ⓘ

subject surface form: Constantine VI