Maria, wife of Leo III
Encyclopedia
Empress
The throne of the Byzantine EmpireByzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
was unstable in the early 710s. Justinian II
Justinian II
Justinian II , surnamed the Rhinotmetos or Rhinotmetus , was the last Byzantine Emperor of the Heraclian Dynasty, reigning from 685 to 695 and again from 705 to 711...
had been deposed and executed in 711. His deposition was followed by the brief reigns of Philippikos
Philippikos
Philippikos or Philippicus , was Emperor of Byzantium from 711 to 713.-Biography:Philippicus was originally named Bardanes , and was the son of the patrician Nikephorus, who was of Armenian extraction from an Armenian colony in Pergamum....
(711–713), Anastasios II
Anastasios II (emperor)
Artemius Anastasius , known in English as Anastasios II or Anastasius II, , was Byzantine emperor from 713 to 715....
(713–715) and Theodosios III
Theodosios III
Theodosios III or Theodosius III , was Byzantine Emperor from 715 to March 25, 717.Theodosius was a financial officer and tax collector in the southern portion of the theme of Opsikion. According to one theory he was the son of the former Emperor Tiberius III. When the thematic troops rebelled...
(715–717). All three were elevated to the throne after coup d'état
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
s by factions of the Byzantine army
Byzantine army
The Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
.
A revolt by Leo
Leo III the Isaurian
Leo III the Isaurian or the Syrian , was Byzantine emperor from 717 until his death in 741...
, strategos
Strategos
Strategos, plural strategoi, is used in Greek to mean "general". In the Hellenistic and Byzantine Empires the term was also used to describe a military governor...
of the Anatolikon Theme
Theme (Byzantine administrative unit)
The themes or themata were the main administrative divisions of the middle Byzantine Empire. They were established in the mid-seventh century in the aftermath of the Muslim conquests of Byzantine territory and replaced the earlier provincial system established by emperors Diocletian and...
and Artabasdos
Artabasdos
Artavasdos, Latinized as Artabasdos or Artabasdus , was Byzantine Emperor of Armenian descent from June 741 or 742 until November 743...
, strategos of the Armeniac Theme, succeeded in deposing Theodosios. On 25 March 717, Leo was proclaimed emperor in Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia
Hagia Sophia is a former Orthodox patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey...
. Maria enters historical record at this point as his Empess consort.
In July, 718, Maria gave birth during an ongoing Siege of Constantinople
Siege of Constantinople (718)
The Second Arab Siege of Constantinople was a combined land and sea effort by the Arabs to take the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. The Arab ground forces, led by Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik, were held off by the massive city walls, decimated by an outbreak of plague and...
by Maslama, a general of the Umayyad
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
Caliphate
Caliphate
The term caliphate, "dominion of a caliph " , refers to the first system of government established in Islam and represented the political unity of the Muslim Ummah...
. Her son was Constantine V
Constantine V
Constantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...
.
The siege was broken by August, 718 and the Umayyad forces retreated. On 25 August 718, Maria was granted the title of Augusta. On the same day her son was baptised by Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople. Constantine was proclaimed co-emperor in August, 720.
Leo remained Emperor to his death on 18 June 741. Whether Maria survived him is unknown.
Children
Maria and Leo III had four known children:- AnnaAnna, wife of ArtabasdosAnna was the wife of Artabasdos, one of two rival Byzantine Emperors in a civil war which lasted from June, 741 to November, 743. The other Emperor was her brother, Constantine V.-Family:...
(c. 705 – after 772), who married ArtabasdosArtabasdosArtavasdos, Latinized as Artabasdos or Artabasdus , was Byzantine Emperor of Armenian descent from June 741 or 742 until November 743...
. - Constantine VConstantine VConstantine V was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775; ); .-Early life:...
(July, 718 – 14 September 775). - Irene.
- Kosmo.
The names and place of burial of two other daughters were recorded in De Ceremoniis
De Ceremoniis
De Ceremoniis is the Latin title of a description of ceremonial protocol at the court of the Eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople. It is sometimes called De ceremoniis aulae byzantinae...
by Constantine VII
Constantine VII
Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...
. However nothing else is known of them.