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

Saint Irene (Greek: Ειρήνη) (c. 752 - August 9, 803) was a Byzantine empress (although she called herself basileus(βασιλεύς), the male form of the word "king", rather than βασίλισσα basilissa, "queen") 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. Athens (Greek: Αθήνα, Athína (IPA: )) is the capital of Greece and one of the most famous cities in the world, named after goddess Athena. ... Orphans, by Thomas Kennington An orphan (from the Greek ορφανός) is a person (or animal), who has lost one or both parents, often through death. ... 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) For other senses of this word, see icon (disambiguation). ... 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, ranking as 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 September 14 - Harun al-Rashid becomes the Abbasid caliph upon the death of his brother al-Hadi, makes various appointments including the appointemnt of Salim Yunisi as the Abbasid governor of Sindh and the Indus Valley A council is organized in Constantinople, but disturbed by soldiers Beatus of Li... Constantinople[1] was the name of the modern-day city of Ä°stanbul, Turkey over the centuries that it served as the second capital of the unified Roman Empire, and after its division into East and West, of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire (from the city... Iznik (formerly Nicaea) 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), early 1st millennium BC (archaeological) Region Latium Area  - City Proper  1285 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,553,873 almost 4,300,000 1. ... 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. ... Bosporus - photo taken from International Space Station. ... Constantinople[1] was the name of the modern-day city of Ä°stanbul, Turkey over the centuries that it served as the second capital of the unified Roman Empire, and after its division into East and West, of the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire (from the city... Photo taken during the 1999 eclipse. ...

Irene reigned in prosperity and splendour for five years. However, Irene's triumph did have consequences. Pope Leo III, who needed help against enemies in Rome and who saw the throne of the Byzantine emperor as vacant (lacking a male occupant), crowned Charlemagne the Holy Roman Emperor in 800. This was seen as an insult to Byzantium and 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. Leo III (died June 12, 816) was Pope from 795 to 816. ... Charlemagne (742 or 747 – 28 January 814) (also Charles the Great[1]; from Latin, Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, was the king of the Franks from 768 to 814 and king of the Lombards from 774 to 814. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... Events December 25, Rome, coronation of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as emperor by Pope Leo III. Celtic monks begin work on the Book of Kells on the Island of Iona. ... Charlemagne (742 or 747 – 28 January 814) (also Charles the Great[1]; from Latin, Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus), son of King Pippin the Short and Bertrada of Laon, was the king of the Franks from 768 to 814 and king of the Lombards from 774 to 814. ... Theophanes (died 817 or 818) was a Byzantine monk and chronicler. ...

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. Nicephorus I and his son and successor, Stauracius. ... Lesbos (Greek: Λέσβος - Lésvos, Turkish: Midilli; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek island located in the northeastern Aegean Sea; its inhabitants are called Lesvioi. ...

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Irene

Her zeal in restoring images and monasteries has given her a place among the saints of the Eastern Orthodox church. 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. ... Monastery of St. ... Various religions treat the details of such a person differently and their viewpoints are seen below. ...

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 Eastern Roman Empire, called Byzantine. ... Nicephorus I and his son and successor, Stauracius. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
• Herrin, Judith (2001). Women in Purple:Rulers of Medieval Byzantium. London: Phoenix Press. ISBN 184212529X.