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==Life==
Irene was born in Athens about the year 752. Her family background is not known. It is believed that she was born of a Greek noble family. She apparently was a beautiful but orphaned girl who at the age of seventeen was brought to Constantinople by the Emperor [[Constantine V]] to be married to his son Leo in November 769. She gave birth to a son, Constantine, on [[January 14]], 771. Leo, however, was a steadfast [[iconoclast]] who, according to tradition, found that Irene possessed icons and thereafter would no longer share their marriage bed.
As Constantine matured he became involved in plots to wrestle control from Irene. To forestall threats of disloyalty and to strengthen her position in these feuds, Irene demanded that oaths of fidelity be taken only in her name. In 790, discontent swelled to open resistance when soldiers from the theme of Armeniacs proclaimed Constantine the sole ruler. By 792, the feud between Irene and her son had cooled and Irene's title as empress was confirmed. The rival factions continued their intrigues and, in 797, Constantine found it necessary to flee the palace. Captured by forces friendly to Irene, Constantine was brought back to Constantinople to the Purple Palace, Porphyra, where he was born, and there blinded in mid-August 797, apparently with the foreknowledge of his mother, Irene. He was 26 years old.
Ruling alone, Irene reigned from 797 to 802, calling herself ''basileus'' (βασιλεύς), "emperor," rather than ''basilissa'' (βασίλισσα), "empress." She showed little interest in finance or diplomacy, but made her mark in the Orthodox Christian world by rejection of [[iconoclasm]]. She sponsored many [[philanthropy|philanthropic]] endeavors, remitting taxes and canceling payments from soldiers' widows, which were required in lieu of the deceased soldiers' military service. Rivalries in court also intensified. Events came to a head when emissaries from Charlemagne and Pope Leo arrived in Constantinople with a proposal of marriage between Irene and Charlemagne. Thus the two halves of the Roman empire would be united. At this time, [[October 31]], 802, the nobles of the empire, having been concerned with her financial incompetency, took action and chose Nikephoros, Irene's finance minister, as emperor. Nikephoros was then crowned by [[Tarasius of Constantinople|Patriarch Tarasius ]] in [[Hagia Sophia (Constantinople)|St Sophia Cathedral]].
Irene acceded to the change of events and only asked to continue to live as a private citizen in her palace. However, after she had disclosed the location of the imperial treasures she held Nikephoros banished her to the island of Lesbos, where she supported herself by spinning. She died on [[August 9]], 803.
==IconoduleLegacy==Irene's place in the Orthodox Christian church is that of a strong defender of the veneration of images. This came at a critical point in history, when the eastern empire was controlled by iconoclasts. With the election of Tarasius as the [[Patriarch]] of [[Constantinople]] on [[December 25]], 784, she was able to convene the Seventh Ecumenical Council. Initially convened in Constantinople on [[August 1]], 786, the council was moved to Nicaea Nicea in May 787 because of the instigated opposition in Constantinople of soldiers loyal to the iconoclasts who forced the dissolution of the 786 sessions. Learning from the experience in Constantinople, Irene arranged that the council in 787 would be away from the capital, in Nicaea[[Nicea]], which incidentally was the site of [[Constantine the Great]]'s council of 325. This council, in contrast with the [[robber council]] of 754 in Hieria, was attended by the patriarchs or their representatives. The council affirmed the principle of veneration of [[icon]]s and declared iconoclasm a [[heresy]]. [[Theodore the Studite]] wrote a praising letter <ref>''Theodori Studitae Epistulae'', by Theodore, Georgios Fatouros. Published by Walter de Gruyter, 1991 ISBN 3110088088, 9783110088083</ref> to Irene because of her work in supporting icons. This letter became the beginning of the misconception that Irene is considered a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Though this claim is not supported by the [[Menaion]], the "Lives of Saints" by [[Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain|Nikodemos the Hagiorite]], or any other related book of the Orthodox Church, some Western sources <ref>Vita Irenes, 'La vie de l'impératrice Sainte Irène', ed. F. Halkin, Analecta Bollandiana, 106 (1988) 5-27; see also W.T. Treadgold, 'The Unpublished Saint's Life of the Empress Irene', Byzantinische Forschungen, 7 (1982) 237-51. </ref> still cite Irene as a saint of the Orthodox Church, based on the writings of the Bollandists.
After her Irene's deposition, the forces for iconoclasm returned to power, finally to be defeated under another strong iconodule leader, the Empress Theodora.
==References==
<references/>
{{start box}}
{{succession|
before= [[Constantine VI]]|
title=Byzantine Empress|
years=797-802|
after=Nikephoros I}}
{{end box}}
==External links==
*[http://www.roman-emperors.org/irene.htm Empress Irene]
*[http[Wikipedia://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_%28empress%29 Empress Ireneof Athens]]
==References==
[[Category:Rulers]]
[[Category:Roman Emperors]]
[[Categoryro:Saints]][[Category:RulersIrina Împărăteasa]]
