ABSTRACT
The eleventh century is one of the most fertile grounds for examin ing the role of women in politics in Byzantium. It is also the century long regarded as a crisis in the history of Byzantium, when instability led to political collapse and the loss of vast tracts of the em pire’s form er possessions. The juxtaposition of these two facts inevitably raises questions about the role of women in Byzantine politics. Although recent scholarship has revised the traditional view of eco nomic and financial collapse, the political instability is undeniable. The loss of territory is a fact which cannot be disregarded. Basil II ruled for forty-nine years and Alexios Komnenos for thirty-seven. In contrast, in the fifty-six years between the death of Basil II and the accession of Alexios I Komnenos twelve emperors were crowned and subsequently lost the throne or died. Such a period of uncertainty dem ands an explanation and various scholars have approached the crisis from political, economic and ideological points of view.
