Verina (fl. 437–483)

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Verina (fl. 437–483)

Byzantine empress. Name variations: Verina Augusta. Birth date unknown; died before 484; sister of the general Basiliscus; m. Leo I, emperor of Byzantium (r. 457–474); children: Ariadne (fl. 457–515); Leontia (b. after 457).

Like husband (the future Leo I), was of humble birth (one legend has it that they once worked together in a butcher shop in Constantinople).