| Eutropia | |
|---|---|
_Galeria_Valeria_Eutropia_MSR.jpg) Possible portrait,Musée Saint-Raymond[1] | |
| Roman empress | |
| Tenure | 286–305 |
| Born | Syria[2] |
| Died | after 325[2] |
| Spouse | Maximian |
| Issue | |
Eutropia (Greek: Εύτροπία; died after 325) was a Roman empress of Syrian origin,[3] the wife ofEmperorMaximian.[4]
In the late 3rd century she marriedMaximian, though the exact date of this marriage is unknown. They had at least two children:Maxentius,Roman emperor from 306 to 312, andFausta, the wife ofConstantine the Great and mother of emperorsConstantine II,Constantius II, andConstans.
The parentage ofTheodora, the wife ofConstantius I, is disputed; most sources refer to her as Maximian's stepdaughter, leading to the belief that she was born from Eutropia's previous marriage to a man namedAfranius Hannibalianus, since Theodora named one of her own sonsHannibalianus.[5]Timothy Barnes, however, considers the few sources that refer to Theodora as Maximian's daughter to be more reliable, and suggests she was born from Maximian's previous marriage to a hypothetical daughter of Afranius, which would make Theodora Eutropia's stepdaughter instead.[6]Julia Hillner agrees with Barnes that the stepdaughter sources are a result of political propaganda from the later Constantinian dynasty, but believes that his reading fails to explain why Theodora named one of her daughtersEutropia if her mother was an unknown Afrania instead of empress Eutropia. Hillner argues that Afranius Hannibalianus was Eutropia's brother, and that Theodora was the daughter of both Maximian and Eutropia. This is in line with John Vanderspoel.[7]
| Royal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Empress of Rome 286–305 withPrisca (286–305) | Succeeded by |
| Succeeded by | ||
| Preceded by | Empress-Mother of Rome 306–312 | Succeeded by |