| Maria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Empress of the Roman Empire (in theWest) | |
| Tenure | 398 – 407 |
| Died | 407 Ravenna |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Honorius |
| Dynasty | Theodosian |
| Father | Stilicho |
| Mother | Serena |
Maria (died 407) was the first empress consort ofHonorius,Western Roman Emperor. She was the daughter of the generalStilicho. Around 398 she married her first cousin, the Emperor Honorius. It is uncertain when she was born, but she was probably no older than fourteen at the time of her marriage. Maria had no children, and died in 407. After her death, Honorius married her sister,Thermantia.
Maria was a daughter ofStilicho,magister militum of the Western Roman Empire, andSerena. Her siblings wereEucherius andThermantia. "De Consulatu Stilichonis" byClaudian reports that her unnamed paternal grandfather was a cavalry officer underValens, Emperor of theEastern Roman Empire.Orosius clarifies that her paternal grandfather was aRomanizedVandal.[1] The fragmentary chronicle ofJohn of Antioch, a 7th-century monk tentatively identified withJohn of the Sedre,Syrian Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch from 641 to 648[2] calls the grandfather aScythian, probably followingLate Antique practice to dub any people inhabiting thePontic–Caspian steppe as "Scythians", regardless of their language.Jerome calls Stilicho a semibarbarian, which has been interpreted to mean that Maria's unnamed paternal grandmother was aRoman.[1]
The poem "In Praise of Serena" by Claudian and the "Historia Nova" byZosimus clarify that Maria's maternal grandfather was an elder Honorius, a brother toTheodosius I.[3][4] Both were sons ofCount Theodosius and Thermantia, as clarified in the "Historia Romana" byPaul the Deacon.[citation needed] Genealogists consider it likely that Maria was named after her maternal grandmother, tentatively giving said grandmother the name "Maria".[citation needed]
In c. February, 398, Maria marriedHonorius, her maternal first cousin, once removed. Her husband was a son of Theodosius I and his first wifeAelia Flaccilla.[5] Honorius was not yet fourteen-years-old. TheEpithalamion written in their honor byClaudian survives. He places his flattering description of Maria in the mouth ofVenus, aRomangoddess principally associated withlove,beauty and fertility, the equivalent of theGreek goddessAphrodite. "E'en though no ties of blood united thee to the royal house, though thou wert in no way related thereto, yet would thy beauty render thee worthy of a kingdom. What face could rather win a sceptre? What countenance better adorn a palace? Redder than roses thy lips, whiter than the hoar-frost thy neck, cowslips are not more yellow than thine hair, fire not more bright than thine eyes. With how fine an interspace do the delicate eyebrows meet upon thy forehead! How just the blend that makes thy blush, thy fairness not o'ermantled with too much red! Pinker thy fingers thanAurora's, firmer thy shoulders thanDiana's; even thy mother dost thou surpass. IfBacchus,Ariadne's lover, could transform his mistress' garland into aconstellation how comes it that a more beauteous maid has no crown of stars?"[6]
There is a scholarly debate about how old Maria was. This would depend on when her parents were married. Passages of "De Consulatu Stilichonis" by Claudian, report that Stilicho first rose to fame through successfully negotiating a peace treaty with theSassanid Empire, then was chosen by Theodosius I to marry his niece.[7]The account seems to report that (1)Stilicho negotiated thetreaty of mutual friendship between Theodosius I andShapur III (2) Theodosius I and Aelia Flaccilla acted as adoptive parents to Serena, possibly following the deaths of her natural parents. The treaty has been usually dated to 384, but dates as late as 387 have been suggested for both the treaty and the marriage following it. By any estimation, Maria would be at most fourteen-years-old at the time of her marriage.[8]
According to the account of Zosimus, "When Maria was about to be married to Honorius, her mother, deeming her too young for the marriage-state and being unwilling to defer the marriage, although she thought that to submit so young and tender a person to the embraces of a man was offering violence to nature, she had recourse to a woman who knew how to manage such affairs, and by her means contrived that Maria should live with the emperor and share his bed, but that he should not have the power to deprive her of virginity. In the meantime Maria died a virgin, and Serena, who, as may readily be supposed, was desirous to become the grandmother of a young emperor or empress, through fear of her influence being diminished, used all her endeavours to marry her other daughter to Honorius."[1] The account may have attempted to explain why Maria died without giving birth. However this might also be explained by the young ages of the imperial couple, the tale of Honorius beingdrugged by his mother-in-law Serena considered fanciful.[8] Her sister Thermantia went on to marry Honorius.
| Royal titles | ||
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| Preceded by | Western Roman Empress consort 398–407 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
