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This is a list of Roman and Byzantine empresses. A Roman empress was a woman who was the wife of a Roman emperor, the ruler of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
. The Romans had no single term for the position:
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
titles such as '' augusta'' (Greek αὐγούστα, ''augoústa'', the female form of the honorific ''augustus'', a title derived from the name of the first emperor,
Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...
), ''caesarea'' (Greek καισᾰ́ρειᾰ, ''kaisáreia'', the female form of the honorific ''caesar'', a title derived from the name of
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
), βᾰσῐ́λῐσσᾰ (''basílissa'', the female form of ''
basileus ''Basileus'' ( el, ) is a Greek term and title that has signified various types of monarchs in history. In the English-speaking world it is perhaps most widely understood to mean "monarch", referring to either a "king" or an "emperor" and al ...
''), and ''αὐτοκράτειρα'' (''autokráteira,'' Latin ''autocratrix'', the female form of
autocrator ''Autokrator'' or ''Autocrator'' ( grc-gre, αὐτοκράτωρ, autokrátōr, , self-ruler," "one who rules by himself," whence English "autocrat, from grc, αὐτός, autós, self, label=none + grc, κράτος, krátos, dominion, power ...
), were all used. In the third century, ''augustae'' could also receive the titles of ''māter castrōrum'' "mother of the
castra In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire, the Latin word ''castrum'', plural ''castra'', was a military-related term. In Latin usage, the singular form ''castrum'' meant 'fort', while the plural form ''castra'' meant 'camp'. The singular and ...
" and ''māter patriae'' "mother of the fatherland". Another title of the Byzantine empresses was εὐσεβέστᾰτη αὐγούστα (''eusebéstatē augoústa'', meaning "most pious ''augusta''"); they were also called ''(kūríā'', meaning "lady"), or (''déspoina'', the female form of , despótēs, " despot"). Due to the practice of dividing the Roman empire under different emperors, there were periods when there were more than one Roman empress. All the Roman empresses are listed with some co-empresses. Not all empresses were titled '' augusta'', and not all ''augustae'' were empresses since the emperor's female relatives or mistress could bear that title. Some caesarissas and despoinas that never were empresses are included, since the titles were quite similar to empress; however, in the Eastern Roman Empire these titles are often more equivalent to the modern term "
crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
ss".


Empress consorts of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...


27 BC–68 AD:

Julio-Claudian dynasty , native_name_lang=Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type= Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estates=* ...


68–96:

Year of the Four Emperors The Year of the Four Emperors, AD 69, was the first civil war of the Roman Empire, during which four emperors ruled in succession: Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian. It is considered an important interval, marking the transition from the ...
and
Flavian dynasty The Flavian dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between AD 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96). The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known as ...


96–192:

Nerva–Antonine dynasty The Nerva–Antonine dynasty comprised 7 Roman emperors who ruled from 96 to 192 AD: Nerva (96–98), Trajan (98–117), Hadrian (117–138), Antoninus Pius (138–161), Marcus Aurelius (161–180), Lucius Verus (161–169), and Commodus (180 ...


193–235:

Year of the Five Emperors The Year of the Five Emperors was AD 193, in which five men claimed the title of Roman emperor: Pertinax, Didius Julianus, Pescennius Niger, Clodius Albinus, and Septimius Severus. This year started a period of civil war when multiple rulers vie ...
and
Severan dynasty The Severan dynasty was a Ancient Rome, Roman imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 193 and 235, during the Roman imperial period (chronology), Roman imperial period. The dynasty was founded by the emperor Septimius Severus (), w ...


235–284:

Crisis of the Third Century The Crisis of the Third Century, also known as the Military Anarchy or the Imperial Crisis (AD 235–284), was a period in which the Roman Empire nearly collapsed. The crisis ended due to the military victories of Aurelian and with the ascensi ...


284–364:

Tetrarchy The Tetrarchy was the system instituted by Roman emperor Diocletian in 293 AD to govern the ancient Roman Empire by dividing it between two emperors, the '' augusti'', and their juniors colleagues and designated successors, the '' caesares' ...
and
Constantinian dynasty The Constantinian dynasty is an informal name for the ruling family of the Roman Empire from Constantius Chlorus (died 306) to the death of Julian in 363. It is named after its most famous member, Constantine the Great, who became the sole rule ...


364–379:

Valentinianic dynasty The Valentinianic or Valentinian dynasty was a ruling house of five generations of dynasts, including five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, lasting nearly a hundred years from the mid fourth to the mid fifth century. They succeeded the ...


379–395:

Theodosian dynasty The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was made ...


Empress consorts of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...


395–455:

Theodosian dynasty The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was made ...


455–476: Non-dynastic


Empresses consort of the

Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...


395–457:

Theodosian dynasty The Theodosian dynasty was a Roman imperial family that produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 379 to 457. The dynasty's patriarch was Theodosius the Elder, whose son Theodosius the Great was made ...


457–518:

Leonid dynasty The Leonid dynasty produced five Roman emperors during Late Antiquity, reigning over the Roman Empire from 457 to 518. The dynasty's patriarch was Leo I, who was made Roman emperor in 457. Leo's daughter Ariadne became empress and mother to an e ...


518–602:

Justinian dynasty The Byzantine Empire had its first golden age under the Justinian dynasty, which began in 518 AD with the accession of Justin I. Under the Justinian dynasty, particularly the reign of Justinian I, the empire reached its greatest territorial exte ...


602–610: Non-dynastic


610–711:

Heraclian dynasty The Byzantine Empire was ruled by emperors of the dynasty of Heraclius between 610 and 711. The Heraclians presided over a period of cataclysmic events that were a watershed in the history of the Empire and the world. Heraclius, the founder of ...


711–717: Non-dynastic

::''None''


717–802:

Isaurian dynasty The Byzantine Empire was ruled by the Isaurian or Syrian dynasty from 717 to 802. The Isaurian emperors were successful in defending and consolidating the Empire against the Caliphate after the onslaught of the early Muslim conquests, but were l ...


802–813: Dynasty of Nikephoros I


813–820: Non-dynastic


820–867: Phrygian dynasty


867–1056:

Macedonian dynasty The Macedonian dynasty (Greek: Μακεδονική Δυναστεία) ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest extent since the Muslim conquests, ...


1057–1059:

Komnenid dynasty Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...


1059–1081:

Doukid dynasty The House of Doukas, List of Latinised names, Latinized as Ducas ( el, Δούκας; feminine: Doukaina/Ducaena, Δούκαινα; plural: Doukai/Ducae, Δοῦκαι), from the Latin language, Latin title ''dux'' ("leader", "general", Hellenizat ...


1081–1185:

Komnenid dynasty Komnenos ( gr, Κομνηνός; Latinized Comnenus; plural Komnenoi or Comneni (Κομνηνοί, )) was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 1081 to 1185, and later, as the Grand Komnenoi (Μεγαλοκομνην ...


1185–1204:

Angelid dynasty This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...


Empress consorts of the Eastern Roman Empire (in exile in

Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
)


1204–1261: Laskarid dynasty


Empress consorts of the Eastern Roman Empire (restored)


1261–1453, restored to Constantinople:

Palaiologan dynasty The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...


Pretending Empress consorts of the Roman Empire

The
Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period fr ...
met its end in 476 and the
Eastern Roman Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
in 1453. Although others continued to claim similar titles after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453 – e.g.
Holy Roman Empresses The Holy Roman Empress or Empress of the Holy Roman Empire (''Kaiserin des Heiligen Römischen Reiches'') was the wife or widow of the Holy Roman Emperor. The elective dignity of Holy Roman emperor was restricted to males only, but some empresse ...
(as heirs of the Western Empire) or Russian Tsaritsas and Empresses (as the Empresses of the
Third Rome The continuation, succession and revival of the Roman Empire is a running theme of the history of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. It reflects the lasting memories of power and prestige associated with the Roman Empire itself. Several politi ...
) – the last reigning Empress consort of the Eastern Roman Empire of Constantinople was
Maria of Trebizond Maria Megale Komnene ( el, Μαρία Μεγάλη Κομνηνή; died 17 December 1439), known as Maria of Trebizond ( el, Μαρία της Τραπεζούντας), was Byzantine Empress by marriage to the Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiol ...
. The last Palaiologan pretender,
Andreas Palaiologos Andreas Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Ἀνδρέας Παλαιολόγος; 17 January 1453 – June 1502), sometimes anglicized to Andrew, was the eldest son of Thomas Palaiologos, Despot of the Morea. Thomas was a brother of Constantine&nb ...
, sold his right to the imperial succession to
Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...
, but he also willed the imperial titles to
Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia from ...
and
Isabella I of Castille Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 b ...
, and so in a sense either the French queens or the Spanish queens have been the titular Empresses of the Eastern Roman Empire since the 15th century. Another Palaiologian,
Manuel Palaiologos Manuel Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μανουήλ Παλαιολόγος, translit=Manouēl Palaiologos; 2 January 1455 – before 1513) was the youngest son of Thomas Palaiologos, a brother of Constantine XI Palaiologos, the final Byzantine ...
, sold his right of succession to Ottoman Sultan Bayazid II (the Ottoman sultans already claim to be the Kaizer-i Rum or Roman emperors); but since there is no such thing as a sultaness because the Ottomans practiced
polygamy Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is married ...
, there are no Ottoman consorts. Other possible pretenders may be the former Queens of Greece because the Greek monarchy was mainly created in 1832 to be the successor of the Byzantine Empire. The former
Queens of Italy Queen of Italy (''regina Italiae'' in Latin and ''regina d'Italia'' in Italian) is a title adopted by many spouses of the rulers of the Italian peninsula after the fall of the Roman Empire. The details of where and how the ruling kings ruled ...
could be another claimant since their husband's were one of the only European monarchs to effectively hold the city of Rome, the seat of the Roman Empire since its beginning. Neither the Empresses of Russia, the Queens of France, the Queens of Spain, the Queens of Italy or the Queens of the Hellenes claimed any sort of Roman titles and the claimants that clearly made the most point by using the word ''Roman'' in their title, the Holy Roman Empresses and the Queens of the Romans, ceased their claim upon the dissolution the empire in 1806. Currently the consorts of five of these states are pretenders in their own countries, themselves, and the current
Queen of Spain , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...
claims no Roman titles. The status of the current pretenders to the Byzantine successor states of Trebizond,
Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinrich ...
, and
Nicaea Nicaea, also known as Nicea or Nikaia (; ; grc-gre, Νίκαια, ) was an ancient Greek city in Bithynia, where located in northwestern Anatolia and is primarily known as the site of the First and Second Councils of Nicaea (the first and seve ...
are unclear much less their spouses; the despots of
Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...
became the Byzantine emperors (in exile) in 1453. Along with the current Pretending
Latin emperor The Latin Emperor was the ruler of the Latin Empire, the historiographical convention for the Crusader realm, established in Constantinople after the Fourth Crusade (1204) and lasting until the city was recovered by the Byzantine Greeks in 1261 ...
, the pretenders of the crusader and client states within the Latin Empire are also unclear.


See also

*
List of Augustae (; plural ''Augustae''; el, αὐγούστα) was a Roman imperial honorific title given to Roman empress, empresses and honoured women of the imperial families. It was the Feminine gender, feminine form of ''Augustus (honorific), Augustus''. ...
*
List of Russian consorts The Russian consorts were the spouses of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian rulers. They used the titles ''Princess'', ''Grand prince, Grand Princess'', ''Tsarina'' or ''Emperor, Empress''. Princess of Rus' Princess of Novgorod Rurik dynasty ...
* List of Latin Empresses of Constantinople * List of Greek royal consorts *
List of Roman emperors The Roman emperors were the rulers of the Roman Empire from the granting of the name and title ''Augustus'' to Octavian by the Roman Senate in 27 BC onward. Augustus maintained a facade of Republican rule, rejecting monarchical titles but callin ...
*
List of Byzantine emperors This is a list of the Byzantine emperors from the foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD, which marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, to its fall to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as le ...


Notes


External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Roman And Byzantine Empresses * * Emp Emp
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...