About this episode

This episode discusses the controversial reign of Empress Eirene of Byzantium, who is known for her extreme actions as a ruler.

In this episode, we’ll hear about one of the most chilling rulers of Byzantium – the empress Eirene. She was Byzantium’s only empress to take on the reins of government in a sole capacity. Her reign is controversial because she took sole power only after she’d killed the reigning emperor by gouging out his eyes. And the emperor in question was her own son. Even by the shocking standards of the Dark Ages, this stands out as pretty extreme parenting. And yet despite that, today she is a saint i...

People in this episode

Host: Nick Holmes

Topics covered

• Byzantium
• empress
• Dark Ages
• controversial rulers
• history
• parenting

Keywords

• Eirene
• Byzantium
• empress
• Dark Ages
• history
• controversial reign
• extreme parenting

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