Theodora of Hungary

Theodora of Hungary (1114-1187) was the only daughter of King Solomon II of Hungary. Following Solomon's defeat at imperial hands at the Battle of Haram, Theodora (born Erzsébet) was sent to Constantinople to marry the reigning Emperor Manuel 's heir, John. They initially had a single son, George.

A confident woman, Theodora was happy to get involved in imperial policy. In 1154/55 she engineered the downfall of the Norman general Jordan of Aversa to secure her position in Constantinople. Five years later she actively intervened in the dynastic matters of her Hungarian homeland, when her nephew Solomon III died without issue. The ensuing conflict, between Theodora's two nieces Sophia and Piroska was known as the "Ladies War". At the age of 46, she unexpectedly delivered a second son, Alexander. The birth was hailed as a miracle by her pious husband.

Theodora effectively governed the empire during her husband's long absences in the East. Following his death in 1180, she remained influential, and quickly became disillusioned with the regime of her grandson Michael VIII, the child of her deceased elder son George. Theodora forced Michael to accept a position as junior Emperor to her son Alexander III, who ruled both as Roman Emperor and King of Hungary and whom she sought to rule through.

Her last years were marked by the consequences of her failure to prevent her son Alexander's marriage to the ambitious Eirene Nafpliotissa, the granddaughter of Jordan of Aversa. After failing in 1185 to incite rioters to attack Eirene, Theodora was confined to a derelict quarter of the Great Palace where eighteen months later she was murdered on her daughter-in-law's orders, prompting the Great Bloodletting of Constantinople.