The Reign of
Her Imperial Majesty
TEODORA DE' TUSCULANA
EMPRESS of the ROMANS
The election of Cardinal Giovanni de' Tusculana as His Holiness John VIII, Pope of Rome, had come at the end of a long line of deeds and accomplishments undertaken by his niece the Duchess of Tusculum. For ten years, she had bribed and seduced her way through the Roman Curia and become the most powerful matriarch in Christendom thanks to her efforts and everlasting service to the Holy Mother Church. The rise of Pope John VIII signified the height of the Pornocracy and of Tusculani power in the Christian world until then. With Rome finally secured under the iron grasp of her family, Duchess Teodora, the Temptress of Rome, could set her eyes elsewhere, aiming further and further glories for the House of Tusculum and the Universal Church that she selflessly served.
The alliance she had struck with Reginar II, Holy Roman Emperor, at the Concordat of Rome had allowed the Tusculani papacy to impose itself over the false Anti-Pope Hadrian II. German armies marched into West Francia under the Papal banner of Tusculum to subjugate the False Pontiff and reunify Christendom. At their helm marched the Holy Roman Emperor himself. Reginar II was the eldest son of his father, Reginar I the Missionary, who in 896 had become the first man since Charlemagne to be crowned Emperor of the Romans by the Pope of Rome. Although Reginar I had died early at age forty-one as an excommunicated madman, the first Holy Roman Emperor had gone down in history as a paragon of knighthood and the pinnacle of valor and gallantry. Reginar II was of his father's bloodline and destined to greatness himself. Little did he know that the greatness of his reign would be so
intimately tied to the glory of Tusculum.
At Rome, the Duchess and the Pope celebrated their joint victory, but Teodora did not tarry any more than necessary. She understood that, despite her grand victory, her personal position was still not secure. Her predecessors, the Dukes Theophylact and Ercole, had always had to juggle a fragile balance between the influence exercised by the imperial courts in Germany and Constantinople over Southern Italy. The Papal States, and by extension Tusculum, were caught right in the middle of their titanic clash, and balance had to be maintained at all costs. The two Tusculani dukes had always been warier of the German emperors, who had originally been the Kings of Italy prior to their ascension to the purple, than the distant emperors of Constantinople. Thus, both Theophylact and Ercole had at times favored the Eastern court, seeking marriage alliances with the Greek nobility and closer ties to the Emperor himself.
At the Concordat of Rome, however, Duchess Teodora had upset the previous balance; not only for having installed a Tusculani on the throne of St. Peter, but also for her open alliance with Reginar II. She had betrothed her daughter Giulia to his son and had taken the Emperor himself into her bed as her lover. Balance had to be restored in some way, lest she invite the Greeks back to Italy, thus she reached out to Constantinople offering peace and friendship. The Emperor at the time was Leo VII Skleros, who had ushered in a prosperous reign after decades of instability under the Macedonian and Scythian dynasties. Teodora's proposal would have been considered futile by her father and grandfather, but she was not merely the Countess of Tusculum as they had been; she was the Pope's niece and mother-in-law to the future Western emperor. Thus, Teodora offered her eldest daughter Ofelia as a bride to Leo VII's son Niketas Skleros, and her body to the Emperor himself. Although she was unable to seduce Skleros as she had Reginar, the Emperor at Constantinople accepted her marriage proposal, binding the dynasties of Skleros, Tusculum and Reginar together in one big family, with Duchess Teodora at the heart of it.
Still, Teodora de' Tusculana was not satisfied. She had the Pope's ear, the friendship of Constantinople and the bed of the Holy Roman Emperor, but she wanted a crown for herself. A crown with which to crown her own glorious dynasty for Tusculum to join the purple company of Rome, Hanau and Constantinople. It was said that poison is a woman's weapon. When the Holy Roman Empress Hiltegunt fell sick and passed away, nobody suspected foul play. The proposal was made. Two years after the Concordat was signed, Emperor Reginar II and Teodora de' Tusculana were married in a grand ceremony celebrated by Cardinal Karling, Teodora's former husband, and attended by Pope John VIII at Rome. Teodora knelt before Christ as Duchess and rose as Empress of the Romans, the first Tusculani to don the imperial crown. Her days as the Temptress of Rome were gone. From that day on, she would be faithful to her imperial husband.
The state of the world in 937
The marriage of Teodora of Tusculum and Emperor Reginar II sent shockwaves throughout Italy. In effect, Teodora had become ruler over Italy, while her husband resided beyond the Alps. The Tusculani overreached, some whispered. Others agreed, and feared what the union of Tusculum and Hanau would spell for the future of imperial power in the Italian peninsula. Either, standing alone, were fearsome enough for the proud and irredentist Italian nobles. Together, they could spell disaster for their independence. Five years after the marriage, the Italian League declared independence under the leadership of Aghali al-Mawri, Duke of Apulia, aiming to break imperial power in Italy and rid themselves of Tusculani influence. They had seized the opportunity presented by Empress Teodora's diplomatic and trade voyage to Constantinople and beyond to the Dnieper. When she returned to Rome, she was faced with full blown revolt. Her father, the late Duke Ercole, might have joined with the Italian League to break imperial power in Italy, but she was not her father, or, more accurately, her father was not her. He had been a duke. She was the Holy Roman Empress, and this rebellion was aimed against her as much as against the Reginarids. The men of Tusculum were marshaled. They marched to war for the first time since the Conquest of Salerno, twenty years before.
The war lasted for two years. Both sides were evenly matched. The opening moves were made by the Tusculani, who were closer to the front than the imperial court in Germany. An army was raised from Rome and the Tusculan countryside, bolstered by mercenary reinforcements. Empress Teodora was not a military woman; she had the Pope name their estranged cousin the condottiero Basilio de' Tusculana the Captain-General of the Papal army. Basilio had once been a condottiero in the service of Tusculum, but had broken away early in Teodora's rule to pursue his own path, stealing the men and supplies he had been given by Ercole and Teodora. Now, he made peace with his family and, although he did not return to their service, he fought on their behalf as a mercenary.
He led Tusculani troops in a forced march to the city of Bari, taking the seat of the Duke of Apulia, although his conquest was short-lived as he had to retreat at the coming of the vastly superior enemy host. Still, his distraction proved fruitful, as Emperor Reginar was able to cross the Alps unopposed and march into Italy with his full might. Basilio took the mercenary host to Tuscany, where he laid siege to Florence at the Empress' behest. Florence was at the time ruled by the Bonifazi, who were cousins to the Tusculani due to the marriage of Teodora Bonifazi to Saint Theophylact the Apostle, founder of their dynasty. The Bonifazi had long ceased being friends, however, and had tried to claim the County of Aquino, held by the Dukes of Tusculum, multiple times in the past. Teodora would have her revenge, as Basilio sacked Florence and delivered the spoils back to Tusculum. The war was decided at the nearby Emilian town of Dovadola, on the road to Florence, where the imperial army was beset and outnumbered by the rebel force. The day could have been won by either side, until the precise arrival of Basilio de' Tusculana and his nine thousand men, fresh from their victory at Florence. The Tusculani force made the difference and carried the day, smashing into the Italian League's rear and forcing the desperate rebels to fight to the death. With Basilio's reinforcements, 21,000 imperials fought nearly 14,000 rebels at the Battle of Dovadola. The imperials took only 937 casualties, while the rebel host was almost entirely destroyed with 10,500 casualties. The war was won on that day. The Empress of the Romans ruled supreme.
Basilio de' Tusculana, the Hero of Dovadola, grandson of Saint Theophylactus of Tusculum by his daughter Addolorata. His son, Alarico de' Tusculana, inherited the Couny of Naupaktos from his father's father. He married Alexandra of Kiev and became the father of Basilio de' Tusculana, who inherited the Kingdom of Kiev from his mother's line (I had nothing to to with this).
With her position once and for all secure, Empress Teodora spent the rest of her reign overseeing the prosperity of Rome and Tusculum and engaged in foreign adventures, either in the support of her husband or her ally at Constantinople, or pursuing interests of her own. One such time was when she persuaded Leo Skleros, the Greek Emperor, to wage war on the Tsardom of Bulgaria to the north in order to install Prince Grugr on the throne. At the time, the Bulgarian prince was an exile at the Tusculan court. Converted to Catholicism and married to Simonetta de' Tusculana, a cousin of Teodora, the Empress wished to see him seated on the Bulgarian throne, for the glory of the Church and the House of Tusculum. Emperor Leo was successful in his war and Grugr was crowned the King of Bulgaria, with Queen Simonetta ruling by his side.
Empress Teodora still embarked on Italian adventures, vying for the control of the Duchy of Beneveto shortly after the War of the Italian League. She had been granted a Papal claim to Beneveto following the election of John VIII, which she now decided to press. Instead of dismissing Basilio de' Tusculana's mercenaries, she had them march against the Radelchis Duke of Beneveto instead, a long time Tusculani rival in Southern Italy. With Basilio's
condottieri and hired African mercenaries bolstering her troops, the Conquest of Beneveto was short. With the fall of the Radelchis, the last of Italy not under the influence of Tusculum (whether as direct lands of the Tusculani, or imperial lands overseen by the Holy Roman Empress) faded away. Teodora de' Tusculana had become the supreme ruler of Italy in twenty years.
Italy in 950 (Tusculani holdings highlighted).
Throughout her lifetime, Teodora de' Tusculana was married twice (in addition to her numerous lovers, including two Popes). Her first marriage was arranged by Duke Ercole to Louis Karling, Prince of France and a grandson of Charles the Bald, as a counter-weight to the Holy Roman Empire. Prince Louis was Teodora's husband throughout the Pornocracy and endured all humiliation for the sake of power, even acknowledging an illegitimate daughter of Pope Sergius III as his own child. With the election of Pope John VIII, Prince Louis was invested as Bishop of Nola and was soon created Cardinal Karling, wielding power in his own right as an influential member of the Roman Curia and father to the future generation of the Dukes of Tusculum. Teodora married secondly Holy Roman Emperor Reginar II in 937, becoming Empress of the Romans by marriage. She had one son by Reginar and eight children in total:
Teofilatto II de' Tusculana (b. 912), named after his great-grandfather the founder of the dynasty, who succeeded his mother as Duke of Tusculum. He married the Greek noblewoman Euphemia Maniakissa, daughter of Thomas Maniakes, Strategos of Thessalonica and Great Vlachia. They had five children: Romano (who is the father of newborn Teodora), Cecilia, Teodoro, Pericle and Itala.
Aurelio de' Tusculana (b. 916), Count of Salerno. He married Princess Sibilla of the Holy Roman Empire, a daughter of Emperor Reginar II, and had three children: Teodora, Adalgisia and Alberto.
Ofelia de' Tusculana (b. 921). She married Niketas Skleros, son and expected heir of Emperor Leo VII Skleros of Constantinople, and bore him five children: Zacharias, Rhodokalle, Leo, Theudatos and Prokopia. She is currently estranged from her husband and resides at Tusculum with her birth family.
Giulia de' Tusculana (b. 924), Duchess of Somogy, secretly the illegitimate daughter of Teodora and Pope Sergius III. She married Prince Reginar the Good, eldest son of the Holy Roman Emperor, and bore him three children: Richart, Richiza and Mia.
Cardinal Giuliano de' Tusculana (b. 928), Prince-Bishop of Lucania, the illegitimate son of Duchess Teodora and Pope Sixtus II. Known as the Vatican Prince for his parentage. He was invested with the Bishopric of Lucano, a magnificent church commissioned and built on the order of his mother for this express purpose in the County of Marsicoverte, when he came of age. He was created Cardinal by his grand-uncle in his twentieth year, funded by Tusculani gold.
Alvise de' Tusculana (b. 932), Count of Monte Sant'Angelo. A martial man who put down the rebellion of the Count of Monte Sant'Angelo and was awarded his lands in return by his mother. He married Pilitrud Radelchis, daughter of Adelchis II, Duke of Beneveto, and sister to Cardinal Adelchis of Civitate and Radelchis III, former Duke who was usurped by Teodora de' Tusculana in the conquest of Beneveto.
Rodolfo de' Tusculana (933-941), illegitimate son of Teodora and Cardinal-Archbishop Radulf of Cologne. Died in infancy.
Reginardo de' Tusculana (b. 938), Teodora's only child by Emperor Reginar II. He married Linda of Romsdal and has one son, Reginardo.
The bloodline of the Dukes of Tusculum after Empress Teodora
Teodora de' Tusculana, Empress of the Romans, towards the end of her life.
Teodora de' Tusculana, the Temptress of Rome, by the Grace of God, Empress of the Romans, Senatrix and Imperatrix, Serenissima Vestaratrix Romanae, Most Glorious Duchess of the Romans, Duchess of Tusculum, of Naples and of Beneveto, Countess of Tusculum, Aquino, Segni, Fondi, Alife, Molise, Aversa and Acerra, passed away peacefully on June 14th, 957, at the ripe age of 64. The legacy of her thirty-four year long reign was greater than any man could have predicted when she had come to power. Teodora consolidated Tusculani supremacy over the Vatican lacking any of the moral scruples of her predecessors. She raised the House of Tusculum to imperial status through her marriages to the Karlings, the Reginarids and the Eastern emperors, rising to become Holy Roman Empress herself and the supreme authority over all of Italy. She built fortresses and expanded cities throughout Southern Italy, strengthening her domains, and nearly doubled the territory of the House of Tusculum with the conquest of Beneveto. She staffed the College of Cardinals with her cousin, illegitimate son and first husband, and placed the first Tusculani on the throne of St. Peter. Her uncle, Pope John VIII, would outlive her. Even had he died, Cardinal Teofilatto de' Tusculana stands ready as
Preferatus to don the Papal tiara and continue the splendid rule of the Pornocracy.
Her foreign adventures and achievements were more short-lived. Teodora witnessed in her lifetime the downfall of most of her foreign allies. The King of Bulgaria and his Tusculani Queen were overthrown, and the new Bulgarian Tsar professed the Orthodox rather than Catholic faith. At Constantinople, the reign of Leo VII Skleros came to a sudden and swift end as he was deposed by the Greek aristocracy, who installed Leo VIII Doukas in his place. The disgraced Skleroi became unlanded courtiers to the Phokas family in Cappadocia, crushing any hope of their continued relevance in the empire. Even her own husband, Emperor Reginar, grew out of love with Teodora as she aged. Outraged with the legitimization of her bastard Cardinal Giuliano de' Tusculana, Reginar grew cold and distant and showed preference to his second son in matters of inheritance, instead of his first son who was married to Giulia de' Tusculana. Even then, however, Empress Teodora's legacy cannot be understated, having reshaped Italy and the Catholic Church after her very own image. All counts and dukes of the House of Tusculum would reap the benefits in the centuries to come in their eternal climb towards supremacy.
A statue of Empress Teodora preserved at the Apostolic Palace, Rome, sister to another statue in the Duomo of Tusculum