Flavia Maximiana Theodora (c. 275 – before 337) was a Roman empress, wife of

Constantius Chlorus Flavius Valerius Constantius "Chlorus" ( – 25 July 306), also called Constantius I, was Roman emperor from 305 to 306. He was one of the four original members of the Tetrarchy established by Diocletian, first serving as caesar from 293 t ...

. She is often referred to as a stepdaughter of Emperor

Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...

by ancient sources, leading to claims by historians

Otto Seeck Otto Karl Seeck (2 February 1850 – 29 June 1921) was a German classical historian who is perhaps best known for his work on the decline of the ancient world. He was born in Riga. He first began studying chemistry at the University of Dorpat but ...

and Ernest Stein that she was born from an earlier marriage between

Eutropia Eutropia (died after 325), a woman of Syrian origin, was the wife of Emperor Maximian. Marriage to Maximian and their children In the late 3rd century, she married Maximian, though the exact date of this marriage is uncertain. By Maximian, sh ...

, wife of Maximian, and

Afranius Hannibalianus Afranius Hannibalianus (fl. 3rd century) was the consul of 292 AD, a praetorian prefect, a senator and a military officer and commander. Biography Believed to belong to a family who originated from the eastern provinces of the Roman empire, Hanni ...

. This man was

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

in 292 and

praetorian prefect The praetorian prefect ( la, praefectus praetorio, el, ) was a high office in the Roman Empire. Originating as the commander of the Praetorian Guard, the office gradually acquired extensive legal and administrative functions, with its holders be ...

under

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

. Timothy Barnes challenges this view stating that all "stepdaughter sources" derive their information from the partially unreliable work '' Kaisergeschichte'' (written in the 4th century), while more reliable sources refer to Theodora as Maximian's natural daughter. He concludes that she was born no later than c. 275 to an unnamed earlier wife of Maximian, possibly one of Hannibalianus' daughters. Before 21 April 289,Barnes, ''New Empire'', p. 37 Theodora married Flavius Valerius Constantius (later known as

), after he had divorced from his first wife, Helena, to strengthen his political position. The couple had six children: *

Flavius Dalmatius :''This article deals with the censor. For the Caesar (335-337) Flavius Dalmatius, son of the censor, see Dalmatius. Flavius Dalmatius (died 337), also known as Dalmatius the Censor, was a censor (333), and a member of the Constantinian dynasty, ...

; *

Julius Constantius Julius Constantius (died September 337 AD) was a politician of the Roman Empire and a member of the Constantinian dynasty, being a son of Emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife Flavia Maximiana Theodora, a younger half-brother of Emperor ...

, father of Roman emperor Julian and of the unnamed wife of

Constantius II Constantius II (Latin: ''Flavius Julius Constantius''; grc-gre, Κωνστάντιος; 7 August 317 – 3 November 361) was Roman emperor from 337 to 361. His reign saw constant warfare on the borders against the Sasanian Empire and Germani ...

; *Hannibalianus; *

Anastasia Anastasia (from el, Ἀναστασία, translit=Anastasía) is a feminine given name of Greek origin, derived from the Greek word (), meaning "resurrection". It is a popular name in Eastern Europe, particularly in Russia, where it was the most ...

, who was to marry Bassianus; *

Flavia Julia Constantia Flavia Julia Constantia (after 293 – c. 330) was the daughter of the Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus and his second wife, Flavia Maximiana Theodora. In 313, Emperor Constantine the Great, who was the half-brother of Constantia, gave her in m ...

, wife of Roman emperor

Licinius Valerius Licinianus Licinius (c. 265 – 325) was Roman emperor from 308 to 324. For most of his reign he was the colleague and rival of Constantine I, with whom he co-authored the Edict of Milan, AD 313, that granted official toleration to C ...

; *

, mother of

Nepotianus Flavius Julius Nepotianus (died 30 June 350), sometimes known in English as Nepotian, was a member of the Constantinian dynasty who reigned as a short-lived usurper of the Roman Empire. He ruled the city of Rome for twenty-eight days, before bei ...

References

Bibliography

* Barnes, Timothy D.. The New Empire of Diocletian and Constantine. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theodora, Flavia Maximiana 270s births 4th-century deaths 3rd-century Roman women 4th-century Roman empresses Constantinian dynasty Daughters of Roman emperors Flavii