UNTIL modern times societies werepatriarchal. The word means “father

ruler”. The father was the head of thefamily and the boss of everybody. Menwere in charge and women were confinedto household duties and raising children.But throughout history there have been

women who have been influential behindthe scenes. While a man might havethought he was in charge, there was awoman who was pulling the strings andcontrolling everything. Such a womanwas Pulcheria, the sister of the Romanemperor Theodosius II (402-450 AD).

Pulcheria (Greek: Πουλχερια, pro-nounced Pool-keria) was the daughterof the emperor Arcadius (383-408)and the granddaughter of the emperorTheodosius I (379-395). Theodosius I(Figure 1) had been born in Spain andwas a successful general in the Romanarmy before Gratian, the emperor ofthe western half of the empire, askedhim to become the emperor of the east-ern half. Constantinople was the capitalin the east and Rome in the west. (Fig-ure 2 – map)Following the conversion to Christian-ity of Constantine the Great (307-337)the number of Christians in the RomanEmpire gradually increased, and Theo-dosius I was a Christian who was intol-erant of other religions. He outlawed theold Greek and Roman religion even if theceremonies were conducted in private.Sacrificing in temples was banned andthe temples were closed. Although thesewere harsh measures he felt that theywere necessary to unify the empire, buthe was never a persecutor of people assome of the earlier Roman emperors hadbeen. Before he died Theodosius I decreedthat his sons should succeed him. SoArcadius (Figure 3) became the emperorof the east and Honorius (Figure 4) theemperor of the west. Arcadius was eighteen when he becameemperor and Honorius only ten, but evenas adults they were incompetent. JuliusNorwich in his book Byzantium, the EarlyCenturies described Arcadius: “Small,dark and swarthy, slow in speech andmovement, with heavy-lidded eyes thatalways seemed about to close in sleep, hewas in fact even stupider than he looked;and his character was as weak as hisintellect.” Sadly his wife, the beautifulEudoxia (Figure 5), made fun of him in

Detail of the base of the obelisk erected in Constantinople by Theodosius I. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 2 – Map of Europe in the 5th century. The eastern half of the Roman Empire is the shaded area.

Figure 1 – Bronze coin of Theodosius I minted at Antioch in 393. Diameter 22 mms. Sear, Vol. 5, 20492.

public, but somehow the empire managedto trundle along.Arcadius had one son, Theodosius II(Figures 6 and 7), and three daughters.Theodosius II was only seven years oldwhen his father died, but fortunatelyhis guardian, Anthemius, was a capableadministrator. He ordered that greatwalls be built to protect Constantinople,and these walls, known as the TheodosianWalls (Figure 8), kept the citizens safefor a thousand years until the city wastaken by Muslim invaders in 1453. The eldest child of Arcadius was Pul-cheria (Figure 9). She was two yearsolder than her brother, and at age fifteenshe succeeded Anthemius as the powerbehind the throne. For the rest of her

brother’s reign she was the effective rulerof the empire. Actually this was not abad thing because she was an intelligent,capable woman, and Theodosius II wasquite happy to leave the affairs of stateto her. He was certainly not stupid. Infact he was a cultured intellectual. Heloved the art of copying and illustratingmanuscripts (Figures 10 and 11) andpeople called him the calligrapher. Accor-ding to David Vagi, the author of Coin-age and History of the Roman Empire,“Theodosius was kind, generous, schol-arly and peaceful – indeed he possessedall the wrong qualities to lead an empireconstantly under siege. He was a skilledcalligrapher, and applied this talent tohis all-consuming passion of religion bypatiently copying old manuscripts intothe late hours of the night.” In keepingwith his scholarly interests he foundedthe University of Constantinople in 425and supervised the formation of the Theo-dosian Code, which was a compilation ofall the laws issued after 312. It waspublished in 438. Pulcheria was quite different: she cer-tainly possessed all the right qualitiesto lead the empire. She had inheritedher grandfather’s talents, but accordingto Norwich she was “excessively, extrav-agantly pious.” He wrote that the imper-ial palace “thronged from morning tillnight with priests and monks while theprincesses, all three of whom had vowedthemselves to perpetual virginity, stitchedaway at their altar-cloths and chasublesto the sound of hymns, psalmodies andmuttered prayers.”Pulcheria’s influence was pervasive.When a beautiful and intelligent youngwoman called Athenais came to thepalace in connection with a legal matterPulcheria decided that she would makea suitable wife for her brother and sheintroduced her to him immediately.(Figure 12) Her name was changed toEudocia, she was given a crash course inChristianity, and the couple were dulymarried. At first the marriage was asuccess and they had a daughter, Licinia

Eudoxia, who subsequently married thewestern emperor Valentinian III (Fig-ure 13). He was the son of Galla Placidia(Figure 14) whose adventurous life isrelated in the February 2018 issue ofCAB.Coin collectors need to realize that thedie-engravers responsible for producingthe images of these 5th century emperorsand empresses were not interested intheir actual appearance. On the coinsthey all look the same. This is a different

Figure 3 – Bronze coin of Arcadius minted atAntioch in 383. The hand of God holds awreath above his head. Diameter 22 mms.Sear, Vol. 5, 20788.

Figure 4 – Gold solidus minted for Honorius at Constantinople between 408 and 420. Diameter21 mms. On the reverse Constantinopolis sits on a throne with her right foot on a ship’sprow. Sear, Vol. 5, 20902.

Figure 5 – Bronze coin of Eudoxia, the wife ofArcadius. Diameter 12 mms. The hand of Godholds a wreath above her head. On the reverseVictory inscribes the Chi-Rho monogram ofChrist on a shield. Sear Vol. 5, 20892.

Figure 6 – 5th century marble head of Theodo-sius II in the Louvre. (Wikimedia Commons:photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen)

situation from that in the first two cen-turies of the Roman Empire when theemperors and their wives were shownas they really were, warts and all. Thechubby face of Nero is easily recognizedon his coins as is the big nose of Nerva,but by Pulcheria’s time it was simply theperson’s status that mattered, not theirindividual appearance. It seems that theidea of the individual was subsumedinto the spiritual ethos of the age. Ina world of officially sanctioned pietyhumility not egotism was the norm.In 438 Eudocia went on pilgrimage toJerusalem. It was a great success andthe people of Jerusalem called her thenew Helena, after Constantine’s motherwho had also visited the city. The bishop

of Jerusalem gave her two sacred relics,the bones of St Stephen, the first Chris-tian martyr, and the chain that held StPeter by the wrists when he was impris-oned by King Agrippa I. Peter’s miracu-lous escape from the prison is recordedin Acts, chapter 12. Eudocia took themback with her to Constantinople, but shegave some of the chain to her daughterEudoxia, who immediately built a churchin Rome to receive the precious gift.Another chain said to have tethered Peterbefore his martyrdom in Rome wasadded, and today they can all be seenin the church known as San Pietro inVincoli (St Peter in Chains). (Figure 15)When Eudocia returned to Constan-tinople her popularity was sky-high. Then

sadly she fell out with her husband andsister-in-law. What actually happened isunknown. Perhaps Pulcheria becamejealous of Eudocia whom Theodosius sus-pected of having an affair with a courtier.

Figure 7 – Gold solidus of Theodosius II minted at Constantinople between 441 and 450. Diameter20 mms. Theodosius holds a spear and a shield on which a horseman spears a fallen enemy.Constantinopolis is on the reverse. Sear, Vol. 5, 21140. (Collection of St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane)

Figure 8 – The walls of Constantinople (modernIstanbul) built during the reign of Theodosius II.(Wikimedia Commons: photo by Laima Gütmane)

Figure 9 – Gold tremissis of Pulcheria minted atConstantinople between 414 and 453. Diam.15mms.Sear, Vol. 5, 21256. There is also a solidus,semissis, siliqua and bronze centenionalis.

The situation became intolerable forEudocia and she moved to Jerusalem,never to return to Constantinople. Herstory is related in the September 2013issue of CAB.When Theodosius II died unexpectedlyin 450 it was a critical time for the em-pire because there was no male heir, butPulcheria took charge of the situation.She chose an elderly soldier, Marcian(Figure 16), to be the emperor. To con-solidate his position Pulcheria marriedhim. Needless to say, the marriage was inname only and there was no sex involved.Pulcheria made a wise choice as Marcianproved to be a sensible administrator.

During his reign a general council of thechurch was called to determine a matterof great importance for Christianity. In451 AD bishops came from all over theempire to the church of St Euphemia, awoman who had been terribly torturedand martyred during the Diocletianpersecutions at the beginning of the 4th

century. The church was in the city ofChalcedon, which was just across thestrait from the imperial palace in Constantinople. Although Chalcedonhad issued coins from the 5th century BC(Figure 17) its mint ceased productionin the reign of Gordian III (238-244).

Figure 10 – An illuminated medieval manuscript from the author’s collection. It was made in Paris in about 1250.

Figure 11 – Detail of Figure 10. The L begins the Latin word liber (book).

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Continued overleaf

The Council of Chalcedon is consideredto be second in significance only to theCouncil of Nicaea which was called byConstantine the Great in 325 to deter-mine the relationship between JesusChrist and God. The Council of Chalcedonwas called to consider Jesus himself andit decreed that he was one person withtwo natures, human and divine. (Figure18) The majority of Christian denomi-nations today accept the decrees of thecouncils of Nicaea and Chalcedon as thebasic tenets of the Christian faith. Thiswas a tremendous achievement, but who

arranged the Council of Chalcedon andinfluenced its outcome? You guessed it:it was Pulcheria. According to Vagi, “Shewas instrumental in both summoningand implementing the canons of the ex-tremely important Fourth EcumenicalCouncil of the Church at Chalcedon in451.” No wonder she is a saint in theOrthodox and Roman Catholic Churches. Pulcheria’s achievement makes onewonder how influential Mary Magdalenewas, as a woman behind the scenes, inthe initial stages of Christianity. (Figure19) It raises the question of the place of

Figure 12 – Gold solidus of Eudocia minted at Constantinople between 423 and 429. Diameter21 mms. The hand of God holds a wreath above her head. Sear Vol. 5, 21241. (Collection of StJohn’s Cathedral, Brisbane)

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Figure 13 – Bronze coin of Valentinian IIIminted at Rome between 430 and 437. Diame-ter 13 mms. There are 2 turrets on the gatewayand between them the letter Q stands for the4th factory. Sear, Vol. 5, 21327.

women in the church. Paul Collins, theauthor of Absolute Power: How the popebecame the most influential man inthe world,which was published in 2018,quotes Pope Francis: “By virtue of theirfeminine genius, [female] theologianscan detect, for the benefit of all, someunexplored aspects of the unfathomablemystery of Christ.” Collins goes on to say,“Given that women do up to 75 percentof the church’s pastoral work, their roleas leaders and ordained ministers cannotbe ignored.”

Figure 14 – Bronze coin of Galla Placidia minted at Rome between 425 and 430.Diameter 9 mms. Sear, Vol. 5, 21359.

Figure 15 – The chains of St Peter in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. (Wikimedia Commons: photo by Testus)

Figure 16 – Gold solidus of Marcian minted at Constantinople between 250 and 257. Diameter 20 mms. Sear, Vol. 5, 21379. (Collection of St John’s Cathedral, Brisbane)

Figure 17 – Silver drachm of Chalcedon(Greek: ΚΑΛΧΕΔΟΝ), 4th century BC. Diameter18 mms. A bull stands on an ear of corn. Sear,Greek Coins, 3738.

Continued overleaf

When Pulcheria died in 453 the peopleof Constantinople were grief-stricken.She had been generous in life, and inher will she instructed that all of herremaining wealth be distributed tothe poor. Not only was she a theologianbut she was a pastor as well. If you own acoin of Pulcheria you can be sure that

whoever held it in 453 would havefelt very sad. How fortunate are coincollectors to be connected in such atangible way to the great events of thepast!Note: Unless stated otherwise the coins illus-trated are from the author’s collection.

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Figure 19 – “Appearance of Jesus to Maria Magdalena”, by Alexander Ivanov, 1835. (Wikimedia Commons)

Figure 18 – Painting of the Council of Chalcedon by Vasily Surikov, 1848-1916. ( Wikimedia Commons)

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