Empress Galla

Roman Empress Galla

Died young, but left a legacy.

(b. 370?, d 394, Empress 387-394)

After Aelia Flacilla’s death, the grieving Emperor Theodosius turned his eyes on a young imperial princess: Galla, the daughter of slain Emperor Valentinian I and sister of the co-emperor Valentinian II. When a usurper named Magnus Maximus decided he wanted young Valentinian’s portion of the empire, Galla’s mother Justina came to the Eastern court to plead for help.

There were several strikes against this match. The usurper Maximus had overthrown Valentinian II’s older brother Gratian four years before and Theodosius had not moved against him. Maximus hailed from Spain, as did Theodosius, and rose through the ranks of the army under the Emperor’s slain father. The armies of Britain and Gaul had acclaimed him in a legitimate way. The topper? Maximus espoused the Nicene faith. Galla and her mother Justina were staunch Arian Christians and the house of Valentinian bore some responsibility for Theodosius’s father’s execution.

But Justina showed off her beautiful teenaged daughter and caught the aging emperor’s attention. When Theodosius asked for Galla’s hand, Justina agreed only on the condition that he take up Valentinian’s cause. Theodosius married Galla in 387, went to war, and destroyed Magus Maximus’ troops at the battle of Frigidus.

It might have been love—historians say Theodosius doted on his beautiful bride. But it’s likely there was also a hefty does of pragmatism and dynastic ambitions to his decision. By invading Italy, Maximus showed a level of ambition that could lead him to attack Theodosius next. Best case scenario Maximus would be a strong ruler and not cooperate with the Eastern court. By marrying Galla, Theodosius allied himself with an existing imperial dynasty and secured a young malleable co-emperor in Valentinian II.

What did Galla think of this? We don’t know. We don’t even have a proven image of her, much less some primary sources on her thoughts and feelings. We do know she fulfilled her imperial duty by giving birth to three children. The middle child, a boy named Gratian, died in infancy. The youngest named John, died at birth with his mother in 394. Galla’s true legacy was in giving birth to her first child, a daughter, who grew up to be the formidable Empress Galla Placidia (protagonist in Twilight Empress: A Novel of Imperial Rome). For that, in an otherwise brief and forgettable life, she will be remembered.

Coming up next: Princess Serena, the niece of Theodosius I and foster mother to his children.

Image is of unknown Roman Empress licensed for Creative Commons by Francisco Anzola. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=71266755

Empress Aelia Flacilla

Empress Aelia Flacilla

Roman Empress Aelia Flavia Flacilla

Saint or sinner?

(b. 356, d. 386, Empress 379-386)

Flacilla, as the first wife to Theodosius I “the Great,” is the co-founding mother of six generations of remarkable women who shaped the face of Western Europe and laid the foundation for the Byzantine Empire in the East. Her seven-year reign set the pattern against which all Theodosian empresses were measured, particularly in the East.

Not much is known about Flacilla’s early life: she came from Spanish aristocracy, married General Theodosius in 375 or 376 while he was in “retirement” after his father’s execution, and accompanied her newly made emperor-husband to Constantinople with two small children in 379. Her daughter Pulcheria died at age 7 or 8. Her older son Arcadius became Emperor in the East. In 384 in Constantinople, she gave birth to her third child, a son named Honorius who later became Emperor in the West.

Flacilla brought four things to bolster her husband’s rule: her nomen (family name), fertility, charity, and piety. Her nomen Aelia became a title of  female distinction and was passed down as  a symbol of dynastic inclusion among the Eastern empresses. As with all spouses of kings and emperors, the ability to bear children—especially male heirs—gave women authority and Flacilla had two sons, both of whom became emperors. The writers of the day especially praised the empress for her hands-on charity work. Theodoret quoted her, “To distribute money belongs to the imperial dignity, but I offer up for the imperial dignity itself personal service to the Giver.”

Which brings us to the titular question: was Flacilla a saint or a sinner? It depends on which Christian church you belonged to at the time. The early Christian Church spent its first few centuries struggling internally with factions, sects, and differing “heretical” beliefs. By this time, two major sects struggled for power: the Nicenes (which developed into the orthodox Catholic Church) who declared Jesus of and equal to God and the Arians who believed Jesus was created by God and therefore not equal to Him. The majority of the barbarian tribes were Arian. Theodosius and Flacilla were both fervent Nicenes and actively suppressed the “heretical” Arian Christians. For her charity and piety Empress Aelia Flavia Flacilla is commemorated as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church. Her feast day is September 14.

Coming up next: Empress Galla, the second wife of Theodosius I and co-founding mother of the Theodosian Women.

Image of coin licensed under Creative Commons by Classical Numismatic Group, Inc. http://www.cngcoins.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=379563

Book Review: The Black Count

Book Review: The Black Count

The Black Count:

Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss

 

Blurb: “The Black Count is the remarkable true story of the real Count of Monte Cristo – a stunning feat of historical sleuthing that brings to life the forgotten hero who inspired such classics as  The Count of Monte Cristo  and  The Three MusketeersHidden behind these swashbuckling adventures was an even more incredible secret: the real hero was the son of a black slave — who rose higher in the white world than any man of his race would before our own time.  The Black Count is simultaneously a riveting adventure story, a lushly textured evocation of 18th-century France, and a window into the modern world’s first multi-racial society. But it is also a heartbreaking story of the enduring bonds of love between a father and son.”

My Review

 

The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask, The Three Musketeers, all enduring staples of adventure fiction. They’ve stood the test of time and proudly wear the title “classic.” Who knew the stories were based on the life of the author’s father, a remarkable man born to a minor French noble and a slave woman on the island of Saint-Domingue (Haiti)?

This book won the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for biography and richly deserves it for introducing us to the inspiring story of a man who went from slave to General in the French Revolutionary Army. Born Thomas-Alexandre Davy de la Pailleterie; by the time he joins the army, he rejects his father’s name and title (Marquis de la Pailleterie) and takes his slave mother’s name–Dumas. His dispatches from the front are signed simply “Alex Dumas.” He rises through the ranks from private to General and is Commander of the Calvary in Napoleon’s disastrous Egyptian campaign. His adventures and battles are a compelling story all by themselves. But Reiss gives us much more.

While many of us may know the basics of the French Revolution, and some have studied the gory details, this book gives us a new angle. General Alex Dumas reached his pinnacle through his own intelligence, perseverance, personal bravery, and ambition. But he would not have been allowed to during any earlier time in European history. The French who fought in the American War for Independence came back to France with a revolutionary spirit and a thirst for equality–not only for themselves, but all Frenchman, free and slave. They were the first country in Europe to not only abolish slavery, but also to grant full rights of citizenship to “men of color.” Free black men voted in assemblies, studied in elite French academies, fought in integrated military units, and rose to positions of authority and command in the military and government. This expression of egalite and fraternite lasted until Napoleon took power and (with the rich planter class backing him) reversed all those hard-won freedoms and rights.

The third layer to this book is the enduring and loving relationship between the General and his son (who eventually became the novelist Alexandre Dumas). Reiss begins and ends his book with General Dumas’ death and the impact it had on his four-year-old namesake. Throughout the book, he illuminates the real life adventures that inspire the boy, many years later, to immortalize his father in fiction. What I found most sad was that it seemed the son suffered much more harshly for his race than his father. Raised in poverty (Napoleon withheld Dumas’ pension after he died), denied a good secondary education, and taunted by racial epithets during his literary career; Alexandre Dumas rose above all to create enduring and beloved fiction. His martial father would have been proud.

A good biographer presents his subject in the context of the times with lively and engaging writing. Reiss delivers with a well-documented book that pulls at the heart strings while giving us a window into European race relations of the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century and the true stories behind some of the best adventure fiction written. Highly recommended.

 

The Details:

  • Title: The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo

  • Author: Tom Reiss
  • ISBN-13: 978-0307382467
  • Publisher: Crown/Archetype (09/18/2012)
  • Formats: Hardback (432 pages), paperback, eBook, Audio Book

About the Author

Tom Reiss is an author, historian, and biographer whose work resurrects the lives of brilliant outsiders and rebels in times of global upheaval.

His most recent book, The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, won the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN Award.

He is also the author of “The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life,” a finalist for the 2006 Samuel Johnson Prize, and Führer-Ex: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi, the first inside exposé of the European neo-Nazi movement.

His books have been translated into more than 35 languages. Before he supported himself with his writing, Tom worked as a hospital orderly, small business entrepreneur, and an actor in Japanese gangster movies.

Watch Tom Reiss discuss his book in the three videos below:

Book Review: Women Warriors: An Unexpected History

Book Review: Women Warriors: An Unexpected History

Women Warriors: An Unexpected History

by Pamela D. Toler

Blurb:

Who says women don’t go to war?

From Vikings and African queens to cross-dressing military doctors and WWII Russian fighter pilots, these are the stories of women for whom battle was not a metaphor. The woman warrior is always cast as an anomaly—Joan of Arc, not GI Jane. But women, it turns out, have always gone to war. In this fascinating and lively world history, Pamela Toler not only introduces us to women who took up arms, she also shows why they did it and what happened when they stepped out of their traditional female roles to take on other identities.

My Review

Just as Women’s History Month closes for 2019, Women Warriors: An Unexpected History joins my research bookshelf with a handful of academically rigorous books. These books on “women doing unexpected things” include surveys of warrior queens, music composers, mathematicians and philosophers, as well as dozens of biographies of famous, accomplished women. I have several more popular history books on scandalous women, bad princesses, and overlooked scientists. The latter seem to dominate the marketplace. I enjoy their breezy modern take while introducing the reader to (mostly) forgotten women. (Reviews of those books can be found here.)

Needless to say, this was not an “unexpected history” for me—at lease in terms of the female historical figures. From the mythical Mulan to the female Dahomean King’s Guards (likely inspiration for the fictional Dora Milaje personal guards of the Black Panther movie), I was aware of most of Toler’s subjects. What was unexpected—and most welcome!—was the analysis and in-depth research. Unlike most authors of these survey books, Toler is an academic.

Thankfully she doesn’t write like one. Her prose is clear and readable.

Toler organizes her material into eight chapters with titles such as “Don’t Mess with Mama” and “Her Father’s Daughter.” In each chapter she surveys typical women warriors, from across time and cultures, who fit the title. She puts their decision to fight in the context of the times and explores the consequences of taking these dramatic actions. After every two survey chapters, a several-page “Checkpoint” covers a single subject in more detail. Substantial footnotes provide additional information and source references.

Toler concludes her book by asking the question: Are these warrior women “insignificant exceptions”? Most academics and historical military commanders felt so. Modern US military leaders used that to argue against allowing women in combat roles. They argued this at a time when Israeli women were drafted and served with their male counterparts. They argued this long after all female battalions fought in WWI and WWII. They argued this long after Soviet “Night Witches”—an all female bomber squadron (women pilots, navigators, and maintenance crews)—terrorized the Nazis on the Eastern front. Several ex-military women ran for US congress in 2018, highlighting their impressive service records, and many won. The bravery and accomplishments of modern women in combat around the world should forever lay that argument to rest.

Toler answers her own question: “Exceptions within the context of their time and place? Yes. Exceptions over the scope of human history? Not so much. Insignificant? Hell no!”

Highly recommended. Check out Author Pamela D. Toler talking about her book Women Warriors in the video below.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The details:

  • Title: Women Warriors: An Unexpected History
  • Author: Pamela D. Toler
  • Publisher: Beacon Press (February 26, 2019)
  • Available in: Hardcover, eBook, Audiobook
  • ISBN-10: 0807064327
  • ISBN-13: 978-0807064320

Women Warriors cover

About the Author

Armed with a PhD in history, a well-thumbed deck of library cards, and a large bump of curiosity, author, speaker, and historian, Pamela D. Toler translates history for a popular audience. She goes beyond the familiar boundaries of American history to tell stories from other parts of the world as well as history from the other side of the battlefield, the gender line, or the color bar. Toler is the author of eight books of popular history for children and adults.  Her newest book, Women Warriors:  An Unexpected History is due out February, 2019.  Her work has appeared in Aramco World, Calliope, History Channel Magazine, MHQ: The Quarterly Journal of Military History and Time.com. 

Book Review: Priestess of Ishana

Book Review: Priestess of Ishana

Priestess of Ishana

by Judith Starkston

 

Blurb:

Priestess of Ishana cover“A malignant curse from the Underworld threatens Tesha’s city with fiery devastation. The young priestess of Ishana, goddess of love and war, must overcome this demonic darkness. Charred remains of an enemy of the Hitolian Empire reveal both treason and evil magic. Into this crisis, King Hattu, the younger brother of the Great King, arrives to make offerings to the goddess Ishana, but he conceals his true mission in the city. As a connection sparks between King Hattu and Tesha, the Grand Votary accuses Hattu of murderous sorcery and jails him under penalty of death. Isolated in prison, Hattu’s only hope lies in Tesha to uncover the conspiracy against him. Unfortunately, the Grand Votary is Tesha’s father, a rash, unyielding man, and now her worst enemy. To help Hattu, she must risk destroying her own father.”

My Review

As readers of this blog know, I have a preference for stories about little-known historical women. I think women have been systematically erased from history over time and it takes a lot of effort to uncover their stories and restore them to their proper place. But let’s face it. Sifting through academic papers and archaeological reports is way beyond what most busy people will sign up for. That’s where the historical novelist comes in. We do the hard work and the public reaps the reward: an exciting story, an introduction to a different culture, and (maybe) some new insight into history and the people who make it. Judith Starkston delivers on all those promises. (more…)

Book Review: The Princess Diarist

Book Review: The Princess Diarist

Book Review: The Princess Diarist

by Carrie Fisher

The Princess Diarist by Carrie FisherMost of my readers know about my dual fascination with both history and science and my love of fiction in both genres. I mostly blog about the history and science stuff, but also review books or movies about HF and SF/F. The new Star Wars movie is out on the origin story of Han Solo. I haven’t seen it yet, but plan to. I probably won’t do a movie review, but in the spirit of the time, I’ll do my readers one better. I highly recommend reading The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher about the making of the original Star Wars (now “The New Hope-Episode IV” – ACK!) The memoir came out only two months before Fisher’s death in December 2016 and over a year before her last movie Star Wars: The Last Jedi made it to the big screen.

This was a bittersweet read for me. I’ve been a Star Wars fan since I saw the original movie in theaters and duly indoctrinated my daughter when she came of age. Between us, we donated over 100 Star Wars books to her high school library when she left for college. Since then she’s been trying to replenish my bookshelves each Christmas with a new Star Wars book and The Princess Diarist was 2017’s entry. (2016 was a cute hard-backed comic book called Vader’s Little Princess by Jeffrey Brown.) (more…)