Gender en macht: keizerinnen in elfde-eeuwse Byzantium vanuit historisch perspectief. Zoë en Theodora.

Between 1028 and 1056 the Byzantine empresses Zoe and Theodora, the last descendants of the Macedonian dynasty of rulers, legitimised five emperors. They also ruled without a male emperor for three months in 1041. Furthermore, Theodora was sole ruler between 1055-56. This article provides a biographical history of these powerful empresses. It explains how their authority and visibility reshaped gender norms for imperial Byzantine women and had a lasting influence on the power of their successors.