Euphemia (empress)
| Euphemia | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Empress of the Roman (Byzantine) Empire | |||||
| Born | 5th century | ||||
| Died | 523/524 Constantinople |
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| Burial | Church of Saint Euphemia | ||||
| Spouse | Justin I | ||||
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| Dynasty | Justinian Dynasty | ||||
| Full name | |
|---|---|
| Euphemia (born Lupicina) |
Euphemia (died 520s), whose original name was Lupicina, was the consort of Justin I, who ruled the Byzantine Empire from 517 to 527.
Empress Euphemia is credited with the ecclesiastical policies of Justin and she founded a Church of Saint Euphemia, where she was buried following her death, probably in either 523 or 524. Justin was buried by her side in 527.
According to the Secret History of Procopius, Lupicina was both a slave and a barbarian. He asserted that she had been the concubine of her owner. The information from the Secret History was published posthumously. The seven volumes of histories that were published in his lifetime were the antithesis of this published work, being most laudatory of the new dynasty. Critics of Procopius (whose secret history reveals a man seriously disillusioned with his rulers) have dismissed his posthumously published work as a severely biased source, being vitriolic and pornographic, but without other sources, critics have been unable to discredit some of the assertions in the publication. Although its motives are suspect and it can not be verified, its titillating nature has kept it as a popular reference.
The marriage of Euphemia and Justin is estimated to have occurred during the reign of Anastasius I (reigned 491-518) when Justin had a prosperous career in the Byzantine army.
Originally named Istok, the man who would become Justin I was a Thracian or Illyrian peasant from the Latinophone region of Dardania, which is part of the province of Illyricum. He was born in a hamlet near Bederiana in Naissus (modern Niš, South Serbia). As a teenager, he fled from a barbaric invasion, took refuge in Constantinople, and rose in the ranks of the army of the Eastern Roman Empire.
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