Representation of Empress's Image in Byzantium (From Constantine the Great to the End of the Macedonian Dynasty)

U uvodu diplomskog rada daje se kratki prikaz života žena u Bizantu – kako se njihov život razlikovao od života njihovih suvremenica na Zapadu, kakva su prava imale, što se od njih u društvu očekivalo i kako su percipirane od strane bizantskog društva, te kakve su vjerske prakse slijedile. Spominju se i očekivanja i percepcija bizantskih vladarica, kao i fenomeni karakteristični za Bizant, poput onog sajmova mladenki ili izrazitog fokusiranja na fizičku ljepotu. U središtu rada su bizantske carice od Konstantinova doba kada njegova majka Helena postavlja svojevrsne temelje za daljnji razvoj prikaza i percepcije bizantskih vladarica, preko carica teodozijanske dinastije – Flacile, Eduoksije, Eudokije i Pulherije; leonidske dinastije koju je obilježila carica Arijadna; justinijanske i heraklijeve dinastije – nepravedno ozloglašena Teodora, Sofija, Martina, Irena, Teodora, supruge cara Leona VI. iz dinastije Makedonaca, kao i carica makedonske dinastije Teofano. Rad završava osvrtom na vladavinu carice Zoe i njene sestre Teodore, posljednje vladarice dinastije Makedonaca. Naposlijetku, kao zaseban fenomen spomenuti su i ranobizantski utezi s prikazom carice, koji svjedoče o ulozi njezina lika u svakodnevnom životu.The introduction of the master's thesis Representation of the Empress's Image in Byzantium (From Constantine the Great to the End of the Macedonian Dynasty) brings a short overview of women's life during the Byzantine Empire, addressing the following questions – how their life differed from the life of their contemporaries in the West, what rights they had, what were some social requirements that they had to fulfill, what was their perception in the Byzantine society and what religious practices they engaged in. Perception of and expectations from Byzantine empresses is also discussed, as well as certain phenomena typical of Byzantium like bride-shows or the particular focus that was put on physical beauty. The centre of the thesis focuses on female Byzantine rulers from the time of Constantine the Great when his mother Helena sets the foundation for the development of the perception and representations of Byzantine empresses to come, to the Theodosian Dynasty - Flaccilaa, Eudoxia, Eudocia and Pulcheria; Leonid Dynasty marked by the empress Ariadne; Justinian and Heraclian Dynasties – unjustly infamous Theodora, Sophia, Martina, Irena, Theodora, wives of the emperor Leo VI from the Dynasty of Macedonians, as well as empress of the Macedonian Dynasty Teophano. The thesis ends describing the final period of the rule of the empresses Zoe and her sister Theodora, the last ruler of the Dynasty of Macedonians. Finally, as a separate phenomenon, early Byzantine weights with the image of empress are described