Byzantine empress

This is a list of women who were Roman Empress, i.e. the wife of the Roman emperor, the ruler of the Roman Empire.

The Romans had no single term for the position: Latin and Greek titles such as Augusta (Greek Augousta, the female form of the honorific Augustus, a title derived from the name of the first emperor, Augustus), Caesarissa (Greek Kaisarissa, the female form of the honorific Caesar, a title derived from the name of Julius Caesar), basilissa (Ancient Greek: βασίλισσα, the female form of basileus), and Autokratorissa, the female form of , were all used.

In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum "mother of the castra"" and Mater patriae "mother of the fatherland". Another title of the Byzantine empresses was Eusebestatē Augousta "Most Pious Augusta"; they were also called kyría κυρία "Lady" or déspoina δέσποινα, the female form of δεσπότης "despot". Due to the practice of dividing the Roman empire under different emperors, there were periods when there were more than one Roman empress. All the Roman empresses are listed with some co-empresses. Not all empresses were titled Augusta, and not all Augustae were empresses since the emperor's sister or mistress could bear that title. Some Caesarissas and Despoinas that never were empresses are included, since the titles were quite similar to Empress; however, in the Eastern Roman Empire these titles are often more equivalent to the modern term "crown princess".

The Western Roman Empire produced no known empresses regnant, though the obscure Ulpia Severina probably ruled in her own right for some time after the death of her husband, Aurelian.

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