Emma Strugnell The Representation of Augustae in John Skylitzes' Synopsis Historiarum John Skylitzes' acceptance of female regency is asserted in a speech in which the Augusta Theodora is confronted by the Bulgar ruler, Bogoris. Upon hearing that the Romans were ruled by a woman with tender child, Bogoris threatened to invade. Skylitzes states that: There was nothing ignoble or womanly about the reply of the Empress: 'You will have to reckon with me fighting against you, and, if it be God's will, getting the better ofyou. And even if it is you who gets the upper hand (which is by no means impossible) the victory will still be mine. For it will be a woman, nota man that you have overcome.' 1 John Skylitzes' Synopsis of Histories thus allows for the possibility of legitimate female rule. This paper elucidates contemporary attitudes to female Augustae contained within Skylitzes' Synopsis of Histories2 through a discussion of Skylitzes' representation of key female Augustae: the regents Theodora 3 and Zoe Karbounopsina, 4 the eleventh-century Porphyrogenitae Zoe and Theodora,' and the illegitimate Augustae Skleraina and Zoe Zaoutzaina. 6 1 contend that Skylitzes' representation of female miers retlects three archetypal models of female behaviour: that of Eve, the Theotokos and the sorceress/witch. These figures may be distinguished by their exercise of politica! power and their relationships to men. Augustae are characteristically ambitious, susceptible to temptation and easily manipulated. Augustae who claim the imperia! authority without acting on behalf of male relatives are associated with the additional negative associations of sorcery and an insatiable lust. Skylitzes' approval of the 1. loannis Scylitzae Synopsis Historiarum ed. 1. Thum. CFHB 5, Series Berolinensis (Berlin 1973) Michlll.7; tr. J. Wortley, John Scylitzes, A Synopsis of Histories (811- 1057 AD): A Provisional Translation (Manitoba 2000) 52. 2. The Synopsis of Histories pro vides a summary of the events between 811-1057. Skylitzes cites as his sources the histories of Theodore Daphnopates, George the Monk, Theophanes the Confessor and Michael Psellos, among others (Prooem., Wortley 1). 3. Theodora ruled as regent from 842-62 after the death of her husband Theophilos and during the minority of her son, Michael 111(842-67). 4. Zoe Karbounopsina, fourth wife of Leo VI (886-912), lived with Leo as his concubine until after the birth of a male heir, Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (944- 59). 5. The Porphyrogenetae Zoe and Theodora ruled jointly in 1042, and Theodora ruled independently in 1055-6. 6. Skleraina was mistress of Constantine IX Monomachos. Constantine sought to elevate her to a position equivalent in dignity to Zoe the Porphyrogenita. Zoe Zaoutzaina became Leo Vl's second wife after having been his concubine while he was legally married to the Augusta Theophano. Byzantine Narrative. Papers in Honour of Roger Scott. Edited by J. Burke et al. (Melbourne 2006). The Representation of Augustae in Skylitzes 121 Augusta-regent is restricted to those women whose sexuality is repressed and, critically, recognize the impermanence of their positions. By suppressing overt connotations of female sexuality and by emphasizing a maternal motivation, female Augustae may legitimately be invested with temporary imperia( authority. The Three Models for Female Behaviour Until recently, Skylitzes' Synopsis of Histories had been largely neglected as a historica( resource. The editio princeps of the Greek text did not appear until 1973.7 The French translation and commentary by Bernard Flusin and Jean­ Claude Cheynet - the first translation of the complete work into any modern language 8 - was unavailable at the time of writing; th is paper re lies upon the as yet unpublished translation by John Wortley. Skylitzes provides a unique insight into this fascinating period, and as Kouropa/ates9 and Droungarios of the Watch, 10 Skylitzes was a jurist familiar with both civil and ecclesiastical law. 11 Although his narrative strives towards being an impartial account, it remains biased in its presentation of events. This bias is in fact useful in that it reveals Skylitzes' own differential assessment of individual Augustae. Skylitzes' Synopsis of Histories provides a summary account of Byzantine imperia( history from the period AD 811 to 1057. As his account is chronological, he provides no obvious framework to discriminate between the 7. Before 1974 Skylitzes could be studied in only manuscript form or from the text of Kedrenos. Kedrenos' Synopsis lfistorion is a compilation based upon pseudo­ Symeon, Theophanes and George Hamartolos. According to the OCD (s.v. ·cedrenus'), in his portrayal of events from 811, Kedrenos 'slavishly followed' Skylitzes. 8. Jean Skylitzès: Empereurs de Constantinople Ir. B. Flusin comm. J.-C. Cheynet (Paris 2003 ). For the (incomplete) German translation see Byzanz wieder ein Weltreich: Das Zeitalter der Makedonischen Dynastie, Teil 1, Ende des Bi/derstreites und Makedonische Renaissance (Anjàng 9. bis Mille 10. Jh.). Nach dem Geschichtswerk des Johannes Skylitzes tr. and comm. H. Thum (Graz 1983). 9. This high-ranking dignity derived from the cura palatii of late antiquity. The Kouropalates initially designated a subaltern otlicial in charge of construction and order in the palace. After Justinian, Kouropalates became a title contèrred primarily on members of the imperia! family and foreign princes. In the ninth and tenth centuries, the Kouropalates was a position of honour immediately below the Caesar and nobilissimus. In the eleventh century the title was contèrred on several generals outside the imperia! family. IO. The Droungarios of the Watch was the commander of the tagma of the vigla. The first major function of this droungarios was guarding the emperor on expeditions and in the palace. He was both the emperor's confidant and an active military commander. About I030 the function of the Droungarios of the Watch radically changed, and he became a member of the judiciary. The droungarioi as judges were primarily members of the civil nobility. 11. A.E. Laiou, 'Imperia! Marriages and Their Critics in the Eleventh Century: The Case of Skylitzes' DOP 46 (1992) 166, identifies Skylitzes with loannes Thrakesios, a jurist prominent during the reign of Alexios 1 ( 1081-1118). .