Ancient Roman politics during the
Byzantine era were undergoing renovations under Emperor Justinian I, alongside his
augusta, or empress, Theodora. The two, along with a bunch of other people in
the Roman government, worked to make new legal legislature to reform some of
the governmental practices of the day.
Theodora
was essential to this process. She was one of the original key advocates of
women’s rights, and a very powerful woman of her day. Back in the days of
empirical rulers, women could hold massive positions of power that are less heard
of today. Women held big titles in government and were recognized for their
contributions to society.
The
contributions that Theodora had to Roman society were that she was very preoccupied
with the way that underprivileged women were being treated. The issue must have
been central to the reform of the era. Providing a basis for what kinds of laws
she was to instate in order to counteract the issue.
Despite
that powerful women like Theodora could hold a large amount of power in
government, Roman women continued to have different types of experience and
influence than men. They were also set to marry early, “commonly around the age
of 20,” according to The Roman Empire article “The Lives of Ancient
Roman Women,” which also states that women had a “societal expectation” to
marry. Married women had higher social statuses, and wore different types of
clothing than unmarried women and prostitutes. Their influence on politics was represented
in laws.
The laws
that Empress Theodora were to impose in the new legal legislature of Justinian
I crafted ways for women to avoid the oppression that had become present in her
time. With the legal reform of Corpus Juris Civilis, things in the Roman Empire
were to undergo a significant and lasting change that was set to improve the
position of women, among a large amount of other things in a massive wave of reform
that was to be set in motion.
Justinian
I’s decrees were legal matters, and they were influenced heavily by Christianity.
Some of the issues that Theodora had influence upon Justinian politics with specifically
addressed the issues of marriage and divorce as some of the properties of
contracts that needed to be addressed at the time in order to avoid issues such
as prostitution. These were featured very prominently in the reform of the
time, and offered routes for women to more easily work their way into society
instead of being held at the will of oppressors.
The fact
that oppression was at the source of the crimes of prostitution that Theodora
so avidly advocated against leads one to believe that there were more heavily
bonded contractual issues going on at the time that were holding women in
positions against their will. That women with more mobility in society would
have an easier time avoiding the oppression of men provides the idea that, with
more influence over the way that they’re living their lives, women will have a
better way of living in general.
It gives
way to a foundation of freedom for women. Something that had been struggled
with throughout the history of time. Women that were able to work their ways
further into society had been able to come out with better ways of living in
general, in order to even parallel those of men. As long as women remain at the
whim of men, it’s going to be harder for them to work into positions of equality.
With the right kind of initiative towards effort for independent women, there
can be a significant improvement in the position of women politically.
Works Cited
“The Lives
of Ancient Roman Women,” The Roman Empire, https://roman-empire.net/people/the-lives-of-ancient-roman-women
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