Socrates and Sozomenus by Socrates of Constantinople

Though this vow is often related to the cult of Mary, most modern scholarship suggests that this cult was only significant after Pulcheria’s lifetime. At the same time as empowering her personally, the vow of virginity was a political act that promoted succession through the male line. Pulcheria took her vow of virginity, together with her sisters, before she was 15, a common practice among late antiquity wealthy Christians. This account was incorporated into later Roman sources, including the Tripartite History of Theodore Lector, the Chronicle of Theophanes, and the Suda. Sozomen’s description of Pulcheria has three significant elements: her vow of virginity, her managing Theodosius’ education, and her management of the government of Theodosius. There is no reason to prefer Sozomen to Socrates (or vice versa), so any description of Pulcheria must accommodate the perspectives of both historians.

Although Sozomen used Socrates’ History, which included much detail about Theodosius’ reign, he chose to omit material regarding Eudocia. It has a long passage ( HE 9.1) that is complimentary to Pulcheria but omits any mention of Eudocia and says very little about the reign of Theodosius II or events in Constantinople. About a decade later, Sozomen’s Ecclesiastical History was published, also covering events up to 439. Socrates’ Ecclesiastical History, published soon after 439, is complimentary to Eudocia but does not mention Pulcheria at all. The histories of Socrates Scholasticus and Sozomen, both written in Constantinople in the mid- 5th century, took very different approaches towards Pulcheria. These two different perspectives probably relate to conflict between Pulcheria and Eudocia, Theodosius’ wife from 421. Socrates Scholasticus, however, omits her from his history. In Sozomen’s account, she is represented as managing the Roman Empire in the early part of Theodosius’ reign. She is portrayed very differently by two contemporary historians, Sozomen and Socrates Scholasticus.

Many ancient and modern interpretations of Pulcheria’s life rely heavily on later source material, with the result that she was more influential in historiography from the 6th century onward than in her own lifetime.

Aged 55, Pulcheria died in Constantinople in July 453. Following the death of the childless Theodosius in 450, Marcian (450–457) became emperor and then married Pulcheria. She has been described as being influential in the First Council of Ephesus in 431 and the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and as a significant founder of churches in Constantinople. Pulcheria spent her entire life in Constantinople (modern Istanbul) and its suburbs where she was a prominent public figure. Pulcheria was a Roman empress in the early to mid-5th century ce, one of the sisters of the eastern Roman emperor Theodosius II (408–450).

Socrates and Sozomenus by Socrates of Constantinople