HIST 10 -  World History to 1500
Lect. # 13

A Woman's Right to Rule
(If I Were a Boy )

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I. Women in History
          A. Aristotle's views of women
                    • Plato
          B. Roman views on women

          C. A Historian's dilemma

II. Theodora (c. 500 - 548)
          A. Youth
                    • Entertainment
                    • Stage performer
                    • Marriage to Justinian
                         - Empress Euphemia
                         - Love or lust?
                         - Legal hurdles
          B. Influence on Justinian
                    • Nika Riots (532)
                         - Hippodrome
                         - Mutual admiration?
                    • Influence and Interpretation
                           - Procopius                        
                    •  Death (548)
                           - Justinian's life without Theodora

 III. Empress Wu (625-705) - Wu Zetian/Wu Zhao
          A. Tang Dynasty
                    • Cosmopolitan
                    • Central Asian - Silk Road connections
                    • Open era

          B. Wu's Youth
                    • 13 years old entered palace
                    • concubine for Taizong emperor (599-649)
                    • Laison's with heir Gaozong (628-683)

          C. Wu's Rise to Power
                    • Return to palace
                    • 652 - Birth to son
                    • Rivals
                    • 660 - Emperor's illnesses

          D. Gaining control - 670s
                    • Upholding Confucian values
                    • 12 Point Memorial
                    • 674 - New titles for emperor and emperess
                    • Heir today & gone tomorrow: Li Hong and Li Xian
                    • Gaozong's death (December 27, 683)

          E. Zhou Dynasty (690-705)
                    • Increasing role of Buddhism
                           - Great Cloud Sutra
                    • Final years of life
                           - Brothers Zhang
                           - Male harem?

IV. Conclusions
                    • Modern values in the past
                           - social mobility
                           - careers based on talent
                           - despotism/tyranny bad

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For a beautiful slide show of modern Istanbul's sights including the Hagia Sophia, and the Golden Horn see the NY Time's feature "Istanbul:  Two Continents, Three Days."