"This book reconsiders a wide array of images of Byzantine empresses on media as diverse as bronze coins and gold mosaic from the fifth through seventh centuries A.D. The representations have often been viewed in terms of individual personas, but strong typological currents frame their medieval context. As the target of political pornography, Empress Theodora has consumed the bulk of past interest, but even her representations fit these patterns.

Methodological tools from fields as disparate as numismatics, cultural and gender studies also help clarify the broader significance of female imperial representation and patronage at this time."--BOOK JACKET.