Irene of Athens

Irene of Athens (Greek: Εἰρήνη, Eirḗnē; 750/756 – 9 August 803), surname Sarantapechaena (Greek: Σαρανταπήχαινα, Sarantapḗchaina), was Byzantine empress consort to Emperor Leo IV from 775 to 780, regent during the childhood of their son Constantine VI from 780 until 790, co-ruler from 792 until 797, and finally empress regnant and sole ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire from 797 to 802. A member of the politically prominent Sarantapechos family, she was selected as Leo IV's bride for unknown reasons in 768. Even though her husband was an iconoclast, she harbored iconophile sympathies. During her rule as regent, she called the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, which condemned iconoclasm as heretical and brought an end to the first iconoclast period (730–787). During her 5 year sole reign, her public figure was polarizing, due to the setbacks faced by the Empire and her iconophilic stances, often attributed to her gender and the influence of her retinue. Her reign as sole ruler made her the first ever empress regnant, ruling in her own right, in Roman and Byzantine imperial history.

After the death of her husband, Irene secured the throne for her family, setting herself in charge. During her regency with Constantine VI, she became very influential in government policies, largely overshadowing her son. As Constantine VI reached maturity, he began to move out from under the influence of his mother. In the early 790s, several revolts attempted to proclaim him as sole ruler. One of these revolts succeeded, but in 792 Irene was re-established in all imperial powers as "co-emperor" with Constantine VI. In 797, Irene organized a conspiracy in which her supporters gouged out her son's eyes. Constantine was imprisoned and probably died shortly afterwards. With him out of the way, Irene proclaimed herself sole ruler. Pope Leo III—already seeking to break links with the Byzantine East—used Irene's alleged unprecedented status as a female ruler of the Roman Empire to proclaim Charlemagne as Emperor of the Romans on Christmas Day of 800 under the pretext that a woman could not rule solely and thus the Roman throne was actually vacant. A revolt in 802 overthrew Irene and exiled her to the island of Lesbos, supplanting her on the throne with Nikephoros I. Irene died in exile less than a year later.

Irene was born in Athens sometime between 750 and 756. She was a member of the noble Greek Sarantapechos family, which had significant political influence in central mainland Greece. Although she was an orphan, her uncle or cousin Constantine Sarantapechos was a patrician and possibly also a strategos ("military general") of the theme of Hellas at the end of the eighth century. Constantine Sarantapechos' son, Theophylact, was a spatharios and is mentioned as having been involved in suppressing a revolt in 799. According to Theophanes the Confessor, Irene was related to Theophano of Athens who would become empress consort after her marriage to the Byzantine emperor Staurakios. Another unnamed female relative of Irene was later married to the Bulgar ruler Telerig in 776.

It is unclear why and how Irene was selected as the bride for the young Leo IV. The influence of the prominent Sarantepechos family in the theme of Hellas likely played a part in the selection of Irene as the wife of the emperor's son, indicating the emperor's interest in restoring order in the Greek mainland. Especially unusual is that, while Constantine V was a militant iconoclast who was known for persecuting venerators of icons, Irene herself displayed iconophile predilections. This fact, combined with the limited information available about her family, has led some scholars to speculate that Irene may have been selected in a bride-show, in which eligible young women were paraded before the bridegroom until one was finally selected. If this was the case, then she would have been the first imperial bride to be selected in this manner. However, there is no solid evidence to support this hypothesis other than the apparent oddity of Irene's selection as Leo IV's bride.

Irene arrived in Constantinople on 1 November 769, escorted, per Theophanes, by decorated dromones and chelandia (warships and galleys). She was betrothed to 19-year-old Leo IV, the son of emperor Constantine V, on 3 November at the Church of the Virgin of Pharos. The coronation took place on 17 December in the Augoustaion, and was followed by the couple's marriage at the Palace of Daphne within the Great Palace of Constantinople. On 14 January 771, Irene gave birth to a son, the future Constantine VI, who was named after his grandfather, Irene's father-in-law, Constantine V. When Constantine V died in September 775, Leo IV ascended to the throne at the age of twenty-five, and Irene became empress consort.

Leo IV, though an iconoclast like his father, initially pursued a policy of moderation towards iconophiles. He removed Constantine V's penalties on monasteries and began appointing monks as bishops. When Patriarch Nicetas I of Constantinople died in 780, Leo IV appointed Paul of Cyprus, who had iconophile sympathies, as his successor, although he did force him to swear oaths that he would uphold the official iconoclasm. During Lent of 780, however, Leo IV's policies on iconophiles became much harsher. He ordered for a number of prominent courtiers to be arrested, scourged, tonsured, and tortured after they were caught venerating icons.

Prior to the death of her husband, Irene appears to have accepted the prevailing iconoclasm, regardless of her private beliefs. During this period, her activities are unknown, recorded only in later obscure accounts. According to the 11th century historian George Kedrenos, who wrote many centuries after Irene's death, this crackdown on iconophiles began after Leo IV discovered two icons hidden underneath Irene's pillow. Leo IV launched an investigation and discovered the courtiers who had brought the icons. He had them tortured and scolded Irene for violating the law and breaking with her faith. Irene insisted that she had not known the icons were there. After the incident, Leo refused to have marital relations with Irene ever again. Lynda Garland, a historian of the Byzantine Empire, states that this story too closely resembles a different story told about the later empress Theodora, wife of Theophilos, to be historically true. Nonetheless, she maintains that it is possible that Irene may have been trying to fill the palace with supporters of iconophilism, which may have triggered Leo IV's crackdown.

When Leo IV died on 8 September 780, rumors were circulated claiming that he had died of a fever after putting on the jeweled crown from the Great Church that had been dedicated by either Maurice (r. 582–602) or Heraclius (r. 610–641). It is uncertain whether Irene herself had promoted this rumor, perhaps in an attempt to smear her iconoclast husband's memory. Quickly after Leo IV's death, Irene became regent for their nine-year-old son Constantine VI and secured the throne for him by crushing the usurpation plots in favour of Leo's brothers in the following month.