THEOPHANO

Theophano was the femme fatale for three emperors, Romanos II, Nikephoros II Fokas and John I Tzimiskes, and her name was associated with two others, her father-in-law Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus and her son Basil II the Bulgar Slayer. She herself was the chosen one of destiny: a tavern keeper’s daughter who sat on the imperial purple throne of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The vivid narrative takes us to the thriving city of Constantinople, which had found its identity, maturing on the waters of the Bosphorus, between East and West, between North and South. And we, strolling through its magnificent palaces, its fora, its stadiums, its monasteries, its glorious walls, its camps and its ports, will experience history, perhaps the true and authentic one, as defined by passions, loves, hatreds, envy, ambitions, ideals and selfishness.

An endless mosaic of characters, unsung and epic heroes, scheming priests, power-mad officials and greedy parakoimomenoi, teach us how history inspires fiction and fiction draws inspiration from history. After all, Byzantium was a unique source of inspiration.