Theodora

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Theodora Name of three empresses of the Byzantine Empire. The most famous Theodora (c.ad 500–48) was the wife of Justinian I. A courtesan before her marriage, she had such influence that she was virtually a joint ruler. The second Theodora (d.867) ruled as regent for her young son Michael III (842–856). She expelled the iconoclasts and restored the worship of images. The third Theodora (980–1056) was co-ruler from 1042 and was briefly sole empress after the death of Constantine IX Monomachus in 1055.

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