List of Roman and Byzantine Empresses

This is a list of women who were Roman Empress, i.e. the wife of the Roman Emperor, the ruler of the Roman Empire.

The Romans had no single term for the position: Latin and Greek titles such as Augusta (derived from the first emperor Augustus), Caesarissa or Kaisarissa (derived from Julius Caesar), basilissa (Greek βασίλισσα), the female form of basileus, and Autokratorissa, the female form of autocrat, were all used. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum (mother of the army camps) and Mater patriae (mother of the fatherland). Another title of the Byzantine Empresses was "Eusebestatē Augousta" (Most Pious Augusta); they were also called Kyria (Lady) or Despoina (δέσποινα), the female form of "despotes". 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 Augustas were empresses since the emperor's sister or mistress could bear that title (see also List of Augustae). 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 Princess".

List of Holy Roman Empresses

Holy Roman Empress or Empress of the Holy Roman Empire is the title given to the consort of the Holy Roman Emperor. The elective dignity of Holy Roman Emperor was restricted to males only, therefore there was never a Holy Roman Empress regnant, though women such as Theophanu or Maria Theresa of Austria, who controlled the power of rule, served as de facto Empresses regnant.

Holy Roman Empresses

Before 924, the title of Emperor was not always associated with the German Kingdom; rather, it was initially associated with the Carolingian dynasty, and then possessed by several other figures of the 9th and 10th centuries. Their consorts were thus Empresses, but not necessarily German Queens.

Carolingian

Holy Roman Empresses/German Queens

With the elevation of Otto I of Germany in 962 to the Imperial title, the title 'Roman King/Emperor' became inaliably associated with the Kingdom of Germany - although a King of Germany might not bear the Imperial title, it would eventually become impossible to conceive of a Holy Roman Emperor not being King of Germany. The following were all Queens of Germany as well as Roman Empresses.

Eleanor of Portugal

Eleanor or Leonor of Portugal is the name of:

Eleanor of Portugal, Holy Roman Empress

Eleanor of Portugal (18 September 1434 – 3 September 1467) was Empress of the Holy Roman Empire. A Portuguese infanta (princess), daughter of King Edward of Portugal and his wife Eleanor of Aragon, she was the consort of Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick III, and the mother of Emperor Maximilian I.

Background

Eleanor was born in Torres Vedras on 18 September 1434, one of the nine children of King Edward of Portugal and Eleanor of Aragon. She was the third eldest daughter, but her two older sisters died when they were young, leaving Eleanor as the surviving eldest daughter.

When her father King Edward died five days before her fourth birthday, Eleanor's brother Afonso V succeeded him as king with her mother as regent. The following March, her mother gave birth to another daughter, Joan, who would become the notorious wife of Henry IV of Castile.

In 1440, Eleanor's mother was forced to go into exile in Castile after losing the litigation with her brother-in-law, Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra, for the regency of the young King Afonso. She left Eleanor behind because Eleanor was ill at the time.

Eleanor of Portugal, Queen of Denmark

Eleanor of Portugal (Portuguese: Leonor [liuˈnoɾ]; c. 1211 – 28 August 1231) was a Portuguese infanta, the only daughter of Afonso II of Portugal and Urraca of Castile, Queen of Portugal. Eleanor was Queen consort of Denmark by marriage to Danish King Valdemar the Young, son of Valdemar II, in 1229.

Bishop Gunner of Viborg had first thought of the idea of the marriage, as Eleanor's aunt Berengaria had been Valdemar's stepmother. The wedding took place in Ribe on 24 June 1229, and the next day Eleanor received southern half of the island Funen as a wedding present from her husband. Even though she was junior queen, she was the only queen since her aunt had died eight years prior and her father-in-law had not remarried.

Only two years later Eleanor died in childbirth on the 28 August 1231, and three months later her husband was killed by an accidental shot.

When examining Eleanor's grave in Ringsted Church, it was discovered that her skeleton showed traces of cancer of the bones, which probably was contributory to her death. At the foot piece of Eleanor's grave was a leaden coffin, which contained the bones of a child about 6 months old, already sickly and scrofulous from birth. So Eleanor probably gave birth to a child, who survived her by only six months.

Portugal

Portugal (Portuguese: [puɾtuˈɣaɫ]), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa), is a country on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the westernmost country of mainland Europe, being bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Portugal–Spain border is 1,214 km (754 mi) long and considered the longest uninterrupted border within the European Union. The republic also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira, both autonomous regions with their own regional governments.

The land within the borders of current Portugal has been continuously settled and fought over since prehistoric times. The Celts and the Romans were followed by the Visigothic and the Suebi Germanic peoples, who were themselves later invaded by the Moors. These Muslim peoples were eventually expelled during the Christian Reconquista of the peninsula. By 1139, Portugal had established itself as a kingdom independent from León. In the 15th and 16th centuries, as the result of pioneering the Age of Discovery, Portugal expanded Western influence and established the first global empire, becoming one of the world's major economic, political and military powers.

Portugal (disambiguation)

Portugal is a country in southwestern Europe.

Portugal may also refer to:

Similar spellings

See also