Pulchery

Pulchérie (holy) ( Aelia Puchéria ), born with Constantinople the January 19th 399, dead the November 11th 453.

Empress of the East, Pulchérie is the girl of Arcadius and Eudoxie and the sister of Théodose II. She is two years old more than her brother, and in 414 is named Augusta and tutor of Théodose II to replace the Patrice and Préfet of the court Anthémius which controlled since the death of Arcadius (408).

Of a deeply devout nature, Pulchérie makes reign at the court an enthusiasm quasi-monacale and benefitting from the weak character of his/her brother assumes the essence of the capacity. Near to the Orthodoxie and hostile to the Monophysisme it makes condemn Nestorius. In 421 it arranges the marriage of Théodose with the girl of a Rhéteur of Athens, fore-mentioned it also Eudoxie. Its influence declines then quickly until in 433 when the exile of Eudoxie, on untrue charges of adultery, enables him to take again all its place at the court even if his/her brother is in fact under the influence of eunuques imperial in particular of Chrysaphius.

To the accidental death of Théodose, of a fall of horse, Pulchérie goes up on the throne without meeting opposition and marries, in order to have a military support, an old thrace officer called Marcien which reigns with it. Pulchery dies the November 11th 453. She, with her husband, is canonized by the Greek Église and the Catholic church.

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