On 17th January 532 the Byzantine Emperor
Justinian was saved from being overthrown by a rioting mob, his saviour being
his strong-willed wife Theodora.
She had started her adult life as a prostitute and actress,
and therefore an unlikely candidate for the position of wife to the empire’s
crown prince. However, Justinian was so smitten with her that he persuaded the
then emperor, his uncle Justin, to change the law that prevented noblemen from
marrying actresses.
When he became emperor in 527, Justinian made her his
partner in matters of government and she was instrumental in carrying through a
number of what might be regarded as social reforms, such as outlawing the
killing of adulterous wives and unwanted children (who were traditionally
abandoned to the elements).
Justinian’s crisis occurred in 532 after an incident at the
Hippodrome in Constantinople when rival groups caused mayhem at the chariot
races. Seven rioters were condemned to death by hanging, but two of them
escaped when the scaffold collapsed and the mob gave them sanctuary. The
rioting continued and chaos reigned in the city for a whole week.
Eventually the mob put forward their own candidate for
emperor, a man named Hypatius, and some of them marched on the royal palace to
evict Justinian.
Justinian was all for giving in and leaving the city, but
Theodora stepped in and made a defiant speech that urged him to face down the
rioters, whatever the consequences. He listened to her plea and sent his army
to the Hippodrome to deal with the rioters who were there. In all, some 30,000
people were killed as the army put down the revolt. These included Hypatius,
whose body was thrown into the sea.
Justinian ruled for another 33 years, thanks to Theodora having
given him the courage to fight back. The magnificent church (then mosque then
museum) known as Hagia Sophia stands to this day on the site of a church that
was burned down by the mob.
© John Welford
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