Tzitzak
| Tzitzak | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byzantine empress | |||||
| Born | 8th century | ||||
| Died | c. 750 | ||||
| Spouse | Constantine V | ||||
| Issue | Leo IV the Khazar | ||||
|
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| Dynasty | Isaurian Dynasty | ||||
| Father | Bihar | ||||
| Full name | |
|---|---|
| Tzitzak (baptismal name Irene) |
Tzitzak (Turkish: Çiçek; died c. 750), baptised Irene (Greek: Ειρήνη), was a Khazar princess, the daughter of khagan Bihar, who became the first wife of Byzantine Emperor Constantine V (r. 741-775).
In 732, the Byzantine Empire was under threat of invasion from the Umayyad Caliphate. Seeking allies, Leo III the Isaurian sent an embassy to Bihar, Khagan of the Khazars. The alliance was sealed with the marriage of Tzitzak to Constantine V, son and junior co-ruler of Leo.
Tzitzak was escorted to Constantinople for her marriage. Constantine was about fourteen years old, while Tzitzak may have been even younger as she would not give birth for eighteen years. Tzitzak became a Christian under the baptismal name Irene. Tzitzak's wedding gown became famous, starting a new fashion craze in Constantinople for male robes called tzitzakia.
The chronicle of Theophanes the Confessor records that Tzitzak learned to read religious texts. He describes her as pious and contrasts her with the "impiety" of her father-in-law and husband. The emperors Leo III and Constantine V were iconoclasts while Theophanes was an iconodule monk. His praise probably reflected the fact that Irene herself shared his views.
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