Explores the exceptional roles that women played in the vibrant cultural and political life of medieval Byzantium. Drawing on a diverse range of sources, this title focuses on the importance of marriage in imperial statecraft, the tense coexistence of empresses in the imperial court, and the critical relationships of mothers and daughters.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Abbreviations -- Introduction -- Women in Byzantium -- In search of Byzantine women : three avenues of approach -- Women and the faith in icons in early Christianity -- Unrivalled influence : mothers and daughters in the medieval Greek world -- "Femina Byzantina" : the council in Trullo on women -- Public and private forms of religious commitment among Byzantine women -- The imperial feminine in Byzantium -- Political power and Christian faith in Byzantium : the case of Irene (regent 780-90, emperor 797-802) -- Moving bones : evidence of political burials from medieval Constantinople -- The many empresses of the Byzantine court (and all their attendants) -- Theophano : considerations on the education of a Byzantine princess -- Toleration and repression in the Byzantine family : gender problems -- The icon corner in medieval Byzantium -- Marriage : a fundamental element of imperial statecraft -- Index.