Irene of Athens, Byzantine empress

Irene Sarantapechaina (752-803) was empress-regent of the Byzantine Empire (780-797) and sole empress (797-802). Her greatest achievements include putting an end to Byzantine Empire's Iconoclast Controversy at the 2nd Council of Nicaea in 787 at the time she was empress-regent for her son Constantine VI, and also for being the first sole female ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Irene came into the ruling Isaurian Dynasty of the Byzantine Empire when marrying the imperial heir Leo, the son of the Emperor Constantine V (r. 741-775) in 769. Following the death of Constantine V in 775, his son Leo IV became emperor with Irene as his empress but only 5 years later, Leo IV died as well leaving the empire to his son Constantine VI who was only 9, therefore making Irene his mother effectively run the empire. When growing up, Constantine VI tried to get his mother out of the picture in order to rule alone but at the end failed with Irene successfully beating her son in taking the throne leading to Constantine VI's blinding in 797 by his mother's orders. Following the blinding and exile of her son, Irene became the sole ruler of the empire but as the empire's ruler, she was not strongly supported as she was a woman and in terms of economic matters, she failed to manage them properly. In addition, Irene was said to have considered a marriage with the rising star of the time, the Frankish emperor Charlemagne, but before being able to do it, in 802 she was ousted from the throne by her finance minister Nikephoros who then became Emperor Nikephoros I. Irene was then exiled to Lesbos dying there just a year later in 803.

This here is an experimental drawing I made of Empress Irene lying down comfortably in the Imperial Palace of Constantinople dressed in a purple silk dress. Behind her is the Hagia Eirene of Constantinople and if you look carefully in the sky, I added an easter egg of 2 TIE fighters from Star Wars.