. Just as had happened after the death of emperor
Leo IV in 780, Theophilos's death in 842 meant that an iconoclast emperor was succeeded by his iconophile wife and their underage son. Unlike Leo IV's wife
Irene, who later ended up deposing her son
Constantine VI and ruling as empress in her own right, Theodora was not as ruthless and did not need to use as drastic methods to retain power. Though she was only in her late twenties, she had several able and loyal advisors and was a capable leader who inspired loyalty. Theodora never remarried, which allowed her to maintain her own independence and authority. Among Theodora's most prominent advisors and supporters were her brothers Bardas and Petronas, her close relative
Sergios Niketiates, as well as the
logothete and
eunuch Theoktistos. Most of her advisors were, like her, iconophiles, though some (including Theoktistos) had been iconoclasts up until recently. Theoktistos and possibly Bardas had been appointed to assist Theodora by Theophilos shortly before his death. Theophilos also appointed Manuel, Theodora's uncle, to assist her, but he might already have been dead by this point. Theophilos may have felt it important to appoint such experienced officials to assist Theodora due to the previous reign of Irene. There is no evidence to suggest that he did so because of Theodora's religious convictions. Shortly after becoming senior ruler, Theodora was criticized by an
ascetic holy man by the name of Symeon, to whom she is said to have responded "Since you have reached this conclusion, depart from me. For as I received and learned from my spouse and husband, I will rule with a firm hand. You will see." (depicted with a white cap), from the
Madrid Skylitzes The extent of Theodora's power is somewhat debated in modern scholarship. The
Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium (1991) states that Theoktistos held effective power throughout Theodora's rule. Per
J. B. Bury in
A History of the Eastern Roman Empire (1912), Theodora's position was very similar to that of Irene during Constantine VI's regency and the imperial government was exercised jointly by both Theodora and the underage Michael III, with actual imperial authority "devolved upon the mother provisionally". According to
Lynda Garland, it is difficult to determine whether Theodora or Theoktistos was primarily responsible for running the empire during Michael's minority, but that one or both should be considered "remarkably successful in government". Regardless of whether he was the effective power behind the throne, or simply an advisor, it is clear that Theoktistos, a senior government official with a long and loyal history of service, contributed to and influenced imperial policy during Theodora's rule. Theodora is recorded as handling the matters of state, appointing ministers and officials and handling diplomacy with foreign powers, sending ambassadors to
Bulgaria, the
Abbasid Caliphate and the
Papacy. Coins issued in the first year of Theodora's rule show, significantly, Theodora (not Michael III) alone on the obverse and omit the other regents. Michael III and Thekla, the eldest daughter, are depicted on the reverse. Theodora is the only one given a title on these coins (she is titled Theodora ). These coins served to establish Theodora's own authority as ruler, and associate the young heirs. The coins also associate her eldest daughter (who is depicted more prominently than Michael) with imperial power, and show that Thekla was officially associated with the regime. An imperial seal, also from the early years of her rule, gives not only Michael but also Theodora and Thekla the title "Emperors of the Romans". Later coins tend to depict the image of
Christ Pantocrator on one side and Theodora together with Michael on the other.
Restoration of icon veneration . Theodora and Michael III are depicted in the top-left and Patriarch
Methodios I is depicted in the top-right.As she had considerable support, Theodora restored the veneration of icons in March 843 at the
Council of Constantinople, just fourteen months after Theophilos's death, ending the second
Byzantine Iconoclasm (814–843). In order to counteract opposition and save the legacy of her husband, Theodora claimed that Theophilos had repented of Iconoclasm on his deathbed. This story also ensured that Theophilos's iconoclasm would not adversely affect Michael's reign in the future. Though religious policy would normally have been decided in conjunction with religious officials, nearly all bishops of the empire had been forced to profess Iconoclasm. As such, Theodora instead assembled a group of officials, courtiers and clerics. The most prominent members of the assembly were Theodora herself, Theoktistos, Niketiates and Theodora's two brothers; more akin to a family affair than a large council. The group met at Theoktistos's house, where they condemned Iconoclasm through accepting the
Second Council of Nicaea (which in 787 had decided against Iconoclasm). The iconoclast Patriarch of Constantinople,
John VII, was deposed and replaced with the iconophile
Methodios I. The entire process was conducted in relative peace, though John at first refused to leave the patriarch's residence and showed wounds on his stomach that he claimed had been inflicted by imperial guards, though they were more likely self-inflicted. John also produced issues while in exile in a monastery by the
Bosporus, ordering a servant there to poke out the eyes of an icon, which prompted Theodora to order him to whipped 200 times (though she had at first wanted to blind him). Soon after becoming patriarch, Methodios had nearly every bishop in the empire deposed due to them having gone against the Second Council of Nicaea. On 11 March 843, the restoration of the icons was celebrated in a grand procession in the Hagia Sophia. The day of Theodora's assembly and restoration of the icons has been celebrated ever since as the
Feast of Orthodoxy. One symbolic action taken to mark the restoration of the icons was the desecration of the tomb of emperor
Constantine V (741–775), a champion of iconoclasm. His remains were removed from his tomb in the
Church of the Holy Apostles and burned, with the ashes scattered so that no site would ever be associated with his burial. His tomb in the Church of the Holy Apostles was replaced with the tomb of Empress Irene, with her remains being transferred from her previous resting place on the island of
Prinkipos, finally reuniting her remains with those of her husband and placing her alongside the other rulers of the empire. It is possible that Theodora admired Irene on account of her being a previous female ruler as well as a previous restorer of the icons. Irene's grave would in later years often be commemorated as the resting place of an iconophile hero. Though ordinary iconoclasm swiftly disappeared, a larger religious threat were the
Paulician heretics, concentrated in eastern
Anatolia. The Paulicians were
dualists and also iconoclasts (as they rejected the entire material world). Shortly after restoring the icons, Theodora ordered the army to either forcefully convert, or execute, the Paulicians of the empire. Though some converted, thousands were killed and many escaped across the imperial border and were settled by
Umar al-Aqta, emir of
Melitene, in the empty border lands between the Abbasid Caliphate and the empire under his protection.
Foreign policy in 842, at the start of Theodora's rule In order to demonstrate that Orthodoxy, just as well as Iconoclasm, could win victories for the empire, Theodora later in 853 organized an expedition to retake the island of
Crete, lost some decades prior to Arab conquerors. Headed by Niketiates and Theoktistos, the expedition began as a considerable success, with the invasion force successfully landing, besieging the Arab fortresses, and setting up a
Theme of Crete. However, Theoktistos became concerned when he heard rumors that Theodora intended to name a new emperor, possibly her brother Bardas, and abandoned the campaign to return to Constantinople. Though these rumors were false, and Theodora very much intended to hold onto power herself, Theoktistos was unable to return to Crete since news arrived of an invasion of
Asia Minor by Umar al-Aqta of Malatya. Theoktistos was sent at the head of an army to confront him, but the resulting
Battle of Mauropotamos ended in a Byzantine defeat. In 854, the Arabs on Crete counterattacked and destroyed the Byzantine invasion force and killed Niketiates. The Byzantines had lost at Mauropotamos partly due to desertions to the Arabs, which Theoktistos blamed upon Bardas, and convinced Theodora to expel her brother from the court. Perhaps worried that Bardas harbored certain ambitions of his own, Theodora did not put up much resistance to the idea of exiling him. Despite his failures, Theoktistos suffered no loss in prestige himself and remained influential at the imperial court. There was no major use of the military setbacks as propaganda by iconoclasts, and the veneration of icons endured mostly unchallenged. Save for some minor attacks and raids in the east, and larger engagements in
Sicily, the empire was mostly safe from further Arab threats throughout Theodora's rule and the empire as a whole enjoyed an extended period of relative peace. In 846, Khan
Presian of Bulgaria raided
Macedonia and
Thrace due to the expiration of a thirty-year treaty with the empire, but he was repulsed and forced to sign a new treaty. Theodora organized an expedition in 848 to attempt to retake Sicily, but it was defeated by the Arab invaders. In the summers of 851 to 854,
Ali ibn Yahya al-Armani, emir of
Tarsus, raided imperial territory, perhaps viewing the empire being governed by a young widow and her child as a sign of weakness. Though Ali's raids did little damage, Theodora decided to retaliate and sent raiding parties to raid the coastline of
Egypt in 853 and 854. In 853, the Byzantine raiders burnt down the Egyptian city of
Damietta and in 855, a Byzantine army invaded Ali's emirate and sacked the city of
Anazarbus, taking 20,000 prisoners. On Theoktistos's orders, some of the prisoners who refused to convert to Christianity were executed. According to later chroniclers, these successes, particularly the sack of Anazarbus, impressed even the Arabs. of
Bulgaria in the
Madrid Skylitzes Shortly after the sack of Anazarbus,
Boris I of Bulgaria began making threats towards the empire as the Bulgarian treaty was once more about to expire, however, he was convinced to renew it without the need for military action. Later chronicles, probably fancifully, claimed that Theodora had threatened Boris that she would lead the Byzantine army in person against him if he invaded the empire, and that she had stated that Boris achieving victory over a female head of state would hardly be considered a great achievement. By the end of Theodora's rule, the empire had gained the upper hand over both Bulgaria and the Abbasid Caliphate. At some point the
Slavic tribes that had settled in the
Peloponnese had also successfully been forced to pay tribute. Despite continuing a policy of high wages for the soldiers, instituted by Theophilos, Theodora maintained a small surplus in the imperial budget and even modestly increased the imperial gold reserves.
Fall from power Michael III turned fifteen in 855, bringing him near the age when he could rule in his own right. According to the tradition of Simeon Logothete, he took
Eudokia Ingerina as a mistress, and later married her to his co-emperor
Basil I, though this narrative is challenged. Simeon's neutrality is disputed, and other contemporary sources do not speak of this conspiracy, leading several prominent Byzantists, such as
Ostrogorsky and
Adontz to dismiss this narrative. Whatever the case, although Theodora's rule had been highly successful, both she and Theoktistos were dissatisfied with Michael III, who neglected matters of state in preference of chariot racing, drinking and spending time with his alleged mistress Eudokia Ingerina. In the hope that marriage could perhaps steer him on the right course, Theodora organized a bride-show for her son. Though Eudokia Ingerina was allowed to be present, Theodora and Theoktistos disqualified her on account of not being a virgin. Michael was then married to
Eudokia Dekapolitissa, against his will. Annoyed by not being able to choose his own wife, Michael resolved to overthrow his mother and the regents. Michael was also concerned about unfounded rumors that Theodora planned to remarry, perhaps to Theoktistos, or marry one of Michael's sisters off to some suitable noble. These rumors, started by Bardas, further detailed that Theodora planned to retain power, elevate someone else to the throne and blind and depose Michael, following in Irene's footsteps. After years in exile, Bardas was summoned back to the capital by Michael and together they had Theoktistos assassinated in November 855. The conspiracy, which was also supported by Kalomaria (one of Theodora's sisters) and Theophanes (the chief of the wardrobe), may not originally have been intended to kill Theoktistos, and instead just to humiliate him and force him into exile. At a critical moment, however, Michael cried out to his guards to kill Theoktistos. According to the later writings of
Joseph Genesius, Theodora learned of what was happening and rushed to save Theoktistos, but was scared away by one of the conspirators. Distraught at the loss of her friend and confidant, Theodora was enraged at Michael and the other conspirators for several months. She is recorded to have berated him for killing the man who had "acted as a second father to him". Unable to placate his mother, Michael proclaimed himself sole emperor on 15 March 856, formally deposing her as empress and stripping her of the rank of . The final catalyst for Theodora's deposition may have been her possibly being a part of a plot to assassinate Bardas. It is also possible that some senators wished to restore her to power, but Theodora refused. Theodora accepted the deposition, refraining from causing any of the damage that would result from a struggle for power, and retired in peace. == Later life and legacy ==