ABSTRACT
Pulcheria died in 453, followed by Marcian in 457. With him ended the titular remnants of the Theodosian dynasty in the East, which had reigned, if not actively ruled, for over seventy years. The prestige and loyalties which had accumulated around this imperial house are still remarkable, when we consider that for over half a century the emperors at Constantinople had been, by traditional Roman standards, feeble creatures. Real political power had been wielded by officials or by strong imperial women who, also by traditional Roman standards, had no legitimate authority in their own right. 1
