580: Marina the Monk Female Monk (Now Saint) Lived: Fifth Century AD, Byzantine Empire (Present-day Lebanon) Also Known As: Mariam There are actually six women who fit this description and two of them are likely to have actually lived but for this specific entry we are looking at Marina the Monk of the monastery in…
545: Claudia Octavia Empress of Rome Born: c.40 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 62 AD, Pandateria, Roman Empire (Present-day Ventotene, Italy) Claudia was the stepsister and wife of Nero, first cousin of Caligula, and daughter of Claudius. Nero treated her like crap—trying to strangle her on numerous occasions and divorcing her after…
544: Empress Matilda Holy Roman Empress and German Queen Born: February 1102, Oxfordshire, England (Present-day Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom) Died: September 1167, Rouen, France Also Known As: Empress Maud Matilda was also Queen Regnant of England during the Anarchy and English Civil War. She was the only legitimate surviving child of Henry I, and therefore…
543: Vibia Sabina Roman Empress Born: c.83-88 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 136 AD She was the second cousin once removed and wife of Hadrian. When they married, Vibia was anywhere from twelve to seventeen, and Hadrian was six to twelve years older (depending on which birth year you believe or use…
542: Faustina the Elder Roman Empress Born: c.90-105 AD, Rome, Roman Empire (Present-day Rome, Italy) Died: 140 AD, Cappadocia, Roman Empire, (Present-day Cappadocia, Italy) Also Known As: Annia Galeria Faustina Faustina was the wife of Antoninus Pius. Unlike most Emperors and Empresses of Rome, Faustina and Antoninus really loved each other and ruled over a…
Julia speaking on her son, “As long as he becomes emperor, let him kill me!” Original Latin: “Occidat dum imperet.” 541: Julia Agrippina Roman Empress and Wife of Claudius Born: 4 November 15 AD, Colonia Claudia Ara Agripinnensium, Roman Empire, (Present-day Cologne, Germany) Died: 23 March 59 AD, Roman Empire, (Present-day Miseno, Italy) Also Known…
348: Zenobia Queen of the Palmyrene Empire Born: c.240 AD, Palmyra, Present-day Syria Died: After 274 AD, Most Likely Rome, Present-day Italy Also Known as: Septimia Zenobia Original Name: Julia Aurelia Zenobia Palmyra was known as the Pearl of the Desert and was located at a strategic point between the Roman Empire and the empires…
Here you will find entries from all across the history of Rome, from the beginning around 500 BC all the way to the Holy Roman Empire (which dissolved in 1806 AD, so a long time!). There will be enemies, friends, emperors, queens, and everyone in between. Basically if the person crossed paths with Rome in…
234: Cleopatra I Syra Queen and Vizier to Ptolemy V Epiphanes Born: c.204 BC Died: 176 BC, Ancient Egypt Mother to Cleopatra II, Ptolemy VI, and Ptolemy VIII and daughter of King Antiochus III The Great and Queen Leodice. Cleopatra would also rule as regent for her son Ptolemy VI. She married Ptolemy V as…
177) Theodora I Byzantine Empress who Ruled Alongside her Husband Justinian I Born: c.497, Possible birth locations include Crete, Syria, and Cyprus but the exact location is unknown Died: 548, Constantinople, Byzantine Empire (Modern-day Istanbul, Turkey) Before marrying the emperor, she worked as an actress and street performer (in Layman’s Terms: a stripper, dancer, and…