Pulcheria

Who was Pulcheria?

Aelia Pulcheria was the second child of Eastern Roman Emperor Arcadius and Empress Aelia Eudoxia. Her older sister was Flaccilla, born in 397 but assumed to have died young. Her younger siblings were Arcadia, born in 400, Theodosius II, the future emperor, and Marina, both born in 401. When her father died in 408, Theodosius II was made Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire, at seven years old. On July 4, 414 a fifteen-year-old Pulcheria proclaimed herself regent over him, then thirteen years of age, and made herself Augusta and Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire. According to the historian Sozomen, in his Ecclesiastical History, Pulcheria took a vow of virginity when she became Augusta, and her sisters followed suit. Theodosius II died on July 26, 450, and Pulcheria soon married Marcian on November 25, 450. Marcian and Pulcheria were proclaimed Emperor and Empress of the Eastern Roman Empire. Three years later, in July 453, Pulcheria died and was later made a saint by the Church. Pulcheria is known to have held a significant amount of power in her brother's reign as emperor. Pulcheria was also of great influence over the church and theological practices of this time, including over anti-pagan policies, church building projects, and the debate over the Marian title Theotokos.