This solidus struck under Irene reports the legend bASILISSH, Basilissa.

Saint Irene (c. 752 - August 9, 803) was a Byzantine empress (although she called herself basileus, the male form of the word "emperor," rather than basilissa, "empress") from 797 to 802. She was the wife of Leo IV. Image File history File links Irene. ... Image File history File links Irene. ... A solidus (the Latin word for solid) was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans. ... Events Pope Stephen II, pope for 3 days in March. ... August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... Events Nicephorus I and Charlemagne settle their imperial boundaries. ... This is a list of Byzantine Emperors. ... The Byzantine Empire had a complex system of aristocracy and bureaucracy. ... Events July 17 - Irene orders her son, the Byzantine emperor Constantine VI captured and deposed August 15 - Irenes orders are accomplished; her son is blinded, and herself declared emperor the next day. ... Events 31 October - Irene deposed as Emperoress of Byzantium and replaced by Nicephorus I. She is banished to Lesbos. ... Leo IV, called Chozar or the Khazar (c. ...

Originally a poor but beautiful Athenian orphan, she speedily gained the love and confidence of her feeble husband, and at his death in 780 was left by him sole guardian of the empire and of their ten-year-old son Constantine VI. The Acropolis in central Athens, one of the most important landmarks in world history. ... An orphan (from the Greek ορφανός) is a person (or animal), one or both of whose parents have died. ... Events Constantine VI becomes Byzantine Emperor with Irene as guardian. ... Constantine VI (771 - 797) succeeded his father Leo IV as Byzantine emperor at the age of nine in 780, and was emperor under the regency of his iconophile mother Irene. ...

Seizing the supreme power in the name of the latter, Irene ruled the empire at her own discretion for ten years, displaying great firmness and sagacity in her government.

Her most notable act was the restoration of the orthodox veneration of icons or images, a policy which she always had secretly favoured, though compelled to abjure it in her husband's lifetime. Having elected Tarasius, one of her partisans, to the patriarchate in 784, she summoned two church councils. The former of these, held in 786 at Constantinople, was frustrated by the opposition of the soldiers. The second, convened at Nicaea in 787, formally revived the adoration of images and reunited the Eastern church with that of Rome. (See Seventh Ecumenical Council.) The Savior (1410s, by Andrei Rublev) An icon (from Greek , eikon, image) is an image, picture, or representation; it is a sign or likeness that stands for an object by signifying or representing it, or by analogy, as in semiotics; in computers an icon is a symbol on the monitor... Saint Tarasius (mid-8th century-February 25, 806) was Patriarch of Constantinople from 784 until his death in 806. ... The Patriarch of Constantinople is the Ecumenical Patriarch, the first among equals in the Eastern Orthodox communion. ... Events August 31 - Paul IV abdicates as Patriarch of Constantinople December 25 - Tarasius elected Patriarch of Constantinople The Japanese capital moved away from Nara. ... Events A council is organized in Constantinople, but disturbed by soldiers Beatus of Liébana, Spanish monk, publishes his Births Emperor Saga of Japan Emperor Junna of Japan Deaths Other 786 is the total value of the letters of Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim. In Arabic there are two methods... Map of Constantinople. ... Nicaea (now Ä°znik) is a city in Anatolia (now part of Turkey) which is known primarily as the site of two major meetings (or Ecumenical councils) in the early history of the Christian church. ... This article is about the year 787. ... ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Left-Wing Democrats) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000... The Second Council of Nicaea was the seventh ecumenical council of Christianity; it met in 787 CE in Nicaea (site of the First Council of Nicaea) to restore the honoring of icons (or, holy images), which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire during the reign of...

As Constantine approached maturity he began to grow restive under her autocratic sway. An attempt to free himself by force was met and crushed by the empress, who demanded that the oath of fidelity should thenceforward be taken in her name alone. The discontent which this occasioned swelled in 790 into open resistance, and the soldiers, headed by the Armenian guard, formally proclaimed Constantine VI as the sole ruler. Events A revolt against Empress Irene leads to Constantine VI being declared sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. ...

A hollow semblance of friendship was maintained between Constantine and Irene, whose title of empress was confirmed in 792; but the rival factions remained, and Irene, by skillful intrigues with the bishops and courtiers, organized a powerful conspiracy on her own behalf. Constantine could only flee for aid to the provinces, but even there he was surrounded by participants in the plot. Seized by his attendants on the Asiatic shore of the Bosporus, the emperor was carried back to the palace at Constantinople; and there, by the orders of his mother, his eyes were stabbed out. He later died from his wounds. A solar eclipse and a darkness of seventeen days' duration were attributed by the common superstition to the horror of heaven. However, modern research suggests that Constantine's wounds were not fatal and that he actually outlived his mother. Events Irenes title of empress confirmed. ... This article is about the strait; Bosphorus is also a university in Turkey. ... Map of Constantinople. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

Irene reigned in prosperity and splendour for five years. However, Irene's triumph did have consequences. The Pope of the time saw that the throne of the Byzantine emperor was vacant (lacking a male occupant) and so crowned Charlemagne the Holy Roman Emperor. This was seen as an insult to the Orthodox Church and caused another rift between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Nevertheless, Irene is said to have endeavoured to negotiate a marriage between herself and Charlemagne; but according to Theophanes, who alone mentions it, the scheme was frustrated by Aëtius, one of her favourites. A projected alliance between Constantine and Charlemagne's daughter, Rothrude, was in turn broken off by Irene. In 802 the patricians, upon whom she had lavished every honour and favour, conspired against her, and placed on the throne Nicephorus, the minister of finance. The haughty and unscrupulous princess, "who never lost sight of political power in the height of her religious zeal," was exiled to Lesbos and forced to support herself by spinning. She died the following year. Her zeal in restoring images and monasteries has given her a place among the saints of the Eastern Orthodox church. Charlemagne (ca. ... Theophanes (died 817 or 818) was a Byzantine monk and chronicler. ... Nicephorus I aka Nikeforos Fokas, Nicephorus Phocas (died July 26, 811) was a Byzantine emperor (802-811). ... Lesbos (Greek: Λέσβος - Lésvos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea. ... A monastery is the habitation of monks, derived from the Greek word for a hermits cell. ... In general, the term Saint refers to someone who is exceptionally virtuous and holy. ...

External links

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Irene (empress)

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Wikimedia Commons (also called Commons or Wikicommons) is a repository of free content images, sound and other multimedia files. ... Constantine VI (771 - 797) succeeded his father Leo IV as Byzantine emperor at the age of nine in 780, and was emperor under the regency of his iconophile mother Irene. ... This is a list of the Emperors of the late Roman Empire, called Byzantine. ... Nicephorus I aka Nikeforos Fokas, Nicephorus Phocas (died July 26, 811) was a Byzantine emperor (802-811). ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.