"The three empresses... profoundly altered the course of history"
By sally tarbox on 27 August 2017
Format: Paperback
I got interested in Byzantine history- about which I knew very little - during a visit to Greece.
This is an extremely well-written work, requiring no background knowledge, which focusses on three 9th century empresses - Irene, Euphrosyne and Theodora - and the role they played in restoring icons to a church which had previously banned them. The reader gets a good overview of the empire at this time - the court life, the importance of monasteries (in one of which Euphrosyne grew up, in enforced seclusion with her repudiated mother), the politics, and also the wider world - Arab and Slav invasions and an at-times difficult relationship with the West.

I wouldn't call it a heavy read but it requires concentration. You're not going to remember all the events, but I think it leaves the reader with a good general understanding of an era we hear little about. Most informative and interesting. ( )

I'm glad I read this book. Nothing in this review should detract from the ultimate statement that I am glad I read this book, and I do not regret purchasing it. I think Judith Herrin is a remarkable historian, I think her work is important, and I am glad that she wrote this.

I am somewhat frustrated at her methodology, at the realms of speculation which she indulges in (Siria's remark about her use of the present tense as a tool for inducing urgency is, I think, a little generous; Herrin uses the present rather than the conditional when she is making assertions which are backed by her education and informed hypotheses rather than historical documents), at how difficult it was for me to keep track of who was who and who was doing what. This is clearly a specialist book, and it was harder for me to read than I was anticipating, even as a trained historian; I have never studied the sixth through ninth centuries in much detail, nor have I ever studied Byzantium seriously, and that is my failing, not Herrin's. But this was less of a pleasure to read than I was anticipating, and I'm left with a somewhat bitter taste in my mouth. ( )

Really excellent biography of three empresses of Byzantium—Irene, Euphrosyne and Theodora—who ruled over the course of four generations and who wielded enormous power and influence during one of the most important periods of Byzantine history. Herrin's scholarship is excellent, balanced and considered, carefully piecing together what information we have about a period of history which is not well known, and her prose is very solid.

The only quibble I have with it is that at times, Herrin lapses from the past to the present tense, presumably in an effort to impart a sense of urgency and drama to the narrative. It's really not necessary; it's distracting, and adds nothing to prose which is already recounting some highly interesting events. Still, that is a minor quibble, and the scholarship more than makes up for it. Highly recommended if you have any interest in Byzantine or medieval women's history. ( )