Theodora of Khazaria was the second Empress consort of 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...

 of the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine 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...

.

Family

She was a sister of Busir

Busir

Busir or Busir Glavan was Khagan of the Khazars in the late 7th century and early 8th century CE.In 704 Justinian II, who had been exiled at Chersones for nine years, arrived at Busir's court...

, Khagan

Khagan

Khagan or qagan , alternatively spelled kagan, khaghan, qaghan, or chagan, is a title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a khaganate...

 of Khazars

Khazars

The Khazars were semi-nomadic Turkic people who established one of the largest polities of medieval Eurasia, with the capital of Atil and territory comprising much of modern-day European Russia, western Kazakhstan, eastern Ukraine, Azerbaijan, large portions of the northern Caucasus , parts of...

. Their relation to other Khazar rulers such as Bihar

Bihar (Khazar)

Bihar was a Khagan of the Khazars during the 730s. Bihar was the father of Tzitzak, the Khazar princess who married the son of Byzantine Emperor Leo III who later ruled as Constantine V. He is called Viharos in Armenian sources....

, father of Tzitzak

Tzitzak

Tzitzak , baptised Irene , was a Khazar princess, the daughter of khagan Bihar who became the first wife of Byzantine Emperor Constantine V .-Empress:...

, is unknown.

Marriage

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 first succeeded to the throne in 685. In 695, Justinian was deposed by a 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...

 under 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...

 Leontios

Leontios

Leontios was Byzantine emperor from 695 to 698. He came to power by overthrowing the Emperor Justinian II, but was overthrown in his turn by Tiberios III. His actual and official name was Leo , but he is known by the name used for him in Byzantine chronicles.- Early life :Leontios was born in...

. Justinian's nose and tongue were slit and he was exiled to Cherson in the Crimea

Crimea

Crimea , or the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , is a sub-national unit, an autonomous republic, of Ukraine. It is located on the northern coast of the Black Sea, occupying a peninsula of the same name...

.

Justinian stayed in Cherson for about seven years with no apparent incident. However rumors that the deposed Emperor was plotting his restoration came to the attention of the city authorities c. 702. They decided to arrest him and sent him to Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...

. Surrendering his fate to Tiberios III

Tiberios III

Tiberios III was Byzantine emperor from 698 to 21 August 705. Although his rule was considered generally successful, especially in containing the Arab threat to the east, he was overthrown by the former emperor Justinian II and subsequently executed.-Rise to power:Tiberius was a Germanic naval...

. Justinian instead escaped Cherson and sought refuge in the court of Busir

Busir

Busir or Busir Glavan was Khagan of the Khazars in the late 7th century and early 8th century CE.In 704 Justinian II, who had been exiled at Chersones for nine years, arrived at Busir's court...

.

Busir welcomed the exile and formed a familial relation to Justinian by marrying him to his sister in 703. Her original name is not known. Theodora was her baptismal name and marks her conversion to Chalcedonian

Chalcedonian

Chalcedonian describes churches and theologians which accept the definition given at the Council of Chalcedon of how the divine and human relate in the person of Jesus Christ...

 Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

. The name was probably chosen to evoke memories of Theodora

Theodora (6th century)

Theodora , was empress of the Roman Empire and the wife of Emperor Justinian I. Like her husband, she is a saint in the Orthodox Church, commemorated on November 14...

, wife of Justinian I

Justinian I

Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...

. Busir provided the couple with funds and a house in Phanagoria.

Tiberios eventually took notice of the new marrital alliance and bribed Busir in exchange for the head of Justinian. According to the chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor

Theophanes the Confessor

Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...

, c. 704 Busir dispatched two agents to perform the assassination of his brother-in-law, Balgitzin

Balgitzin

Balgitzin , in the account of Theophanes the Confessor, was the Khazar tudun of Phanagoria during the sojourn of Justinian II in that town. He was dispatched, along with Papatzys, by Busir Khagan to kill Justinian in 704, after Busir was bribed by Tiberius III...

 and Papatzys

Papatzys

Papatzys was, in the account of Theophanes the Confessor, the Khazar tudun of Kerch during the sojourn of Byzantine emperor Justinian II in Phanagoria. He was dispatched, along with Balgitzin, by Busir Khagan to kill Justinian in 704, after Busir was bribed by Tiberius III...

. Theodora was aware of their mission and warned her husband in advance. Justinian proceeded to strangle

Strangling

Strangling is compression of the neck that may lead to unconsciousness or death by causing an increasingly hypoxic state in the brain. Fatal strangling typically occurs in cases of violence, accidents, and as the auxiliary lethal mechanism in hangings in the event the neck does not break...

 both men and sailed in a fishing boat back to Cherson.

Theodora was left behind in the custody of her brother. Their only known son Tiberios is considered to have been born at some point during the separation of his parents. Indicating Theodora was pregnant prior to the escape of her husband.

Empress

In 705, Justinian formed a new alliance with Tervel of Bulgaria

Tervel of Bulgaria

Khan Tervel also called Tarvel, or Terval, or Terbelis in some Byzantine sources, was the Emperor of the Bulgarians at the beginning of the 8th century. In 705 he received the title Caesar which was a precedent in history. He was probably a Christian like his grandfather Khan Kubrat...

. With an army of 15,000 horsemen provided by Tervel, Justinian suddenly advanced on Constantinople and managed to gain entrance into the city. Deposing Tiberios III and succeeding him in the process. Theodora was the new Empress consort but was still in the custody of her brother.

According to the chronicle of Theophanes and the Chronographikon syntomon of Ecumenical Patriarch Nikephoros I of Constantinople, Justinian was planning to reclaim his wife by force. In 705/706, a detachment of the Byzantine navy

Byzantine navy

The Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...

 was sent to the Sea of Azov

Sea of Azov

The Sea of Azov , known in Classical Antiquity as Lake Maeotis, is a sea on the south of Eastern Europe. It is linked by the narrow Strait of Kerch to the Black Sea to the south and is bounded on the north by Ukraine mainland, on the east by Russia, and on the west by the Ukraine's Crimean...

 with the mission to escort Theodora back to her husband. However they encountered a storm and sank before reaching their destination.

Busir corresponded with his brother-in-law and informed him that war was unnecessary. He was free to reclaim Theodora as soon as he sent emissaries to escort her. According to Theophanes, Busir also informed Justinian of the existence of his son, Tiberios. Theophylaktos, a koubikoularios, was sent to retrieve Theodora and her son. Theodora arrived to Constantinople with no further incident and was crowned Augusta. Tiberios was crowned co-emperor to secure his succession rights.

Deposition

During his second reign, Justinian would prove to be merciless in his pursuit of vengeance against supporters of Leontios and Tiberios III. The growing discontent over his harsh rule would lead to further conflict for the throne. In 711, a new revolt started in Cherson under exiled general Bardanes, renamed 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....

, and Busir lend his support to the rebels.

Justinian was absent in Armenia when the revolt started and was unable to return to Constantinople in time to defend it.He was arrested and executed outside the city in December 711, his head being sent to Bardanes as a trophy. On hearing the news of his death Anastasia, Justinian's mother, took his six-year-old son and co-emperor, Tiberios, to sanctuary at St. Mary's Church

Church of St. Mary of Blachernae (Istanbul)

Saint Mary of Blachernae is an Eastern Orthodox church in Istanbul...

 in Blachernae

Blachernae

Blachernae was a suburb in the northwestern section of Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire. It was the site of a spring and a number of prominent churches were built there, most notably the great Church of St. Mary of Blachernae , built by Empress Pulcheria in circa 450,...

, but was pursued by Philippikos' henchmen, who dragged the child from the altar and, once outside the church, murdered him, thus eradicating the line of Heraclius

Heraclius

Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...

.

Whether Theodora was still alive during the events remains unclear. Theophanes and Nikephoros make no mention of her when recounting the deposition. Joannes Zonaras

Joannes Zonaras

Ioannes Zonaras was a Byzantine chronicler and theologian, who lived at Constantinople.Under Emperor Alexios I Komnenos he held the offices of head justice and private secretary to the emperor, but after Alexios' death, he retired to the monastery of St Glykeria, where he spent the rest of his...

 presumed her to be already deceased. Zonaras was writing four centuries after the events and the factual accuracy of his statement is debatable. Unlike other Empresses, there is no tomb mentioned for her and the year and manner of her death remains unknown.

Children

Theodora and Justinian II had only one known child:

• Tiberios (c. 705 – 711, co-emperor from 706 to 711). Executed by orders of Philippikos.