Arcadia (daughter of Arcadius)

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Arcadia (Greek: Άρκαδία; 3 April 400 – 444) was the third daughter of the Roman emperor Arcadius (r. 383–408) and Aelia Eudoxia and a member of the Theodosian dynasty.

Life[edit]

Her next sibling was the male heir and future emperor Theodosius II (r. 402–450). Following the example of her older sister Aelia Pulcheria she took a vow of virginity, but unlike her, she never married, devoting herself to religion. Arcadia died in 444.[1]

Constructions[edit]

In Constantinople, she ordered the construction, near the Gate of Saturninus,[2] of a monastery dedicated to Saint Andrew. The building, named also Rodophylion (Greek: Ροδοφύλιον) lay about 600 m. west of the gate.[3] Heavily transformed, the church of the monastery is now the Koca Mustafa Pasha Mosque of Istanbul.[3] Arcadia had two mansions, and possibly built a bath in Constantinople.[1]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Angelova, Diliana (2015). Sacred Founders: Women, Men, and Gods in the Discourse of Imperial Founding, Rome Through Early Byzantium. University of California Press. pp. 148–155. ISBN 978-052-028-401-2.
  2. ^ Janin (1953), 34. "A gate of the now vanished Constantinian wall of the city."
  3. ^ a b Müller-Wiener (1977), p. 172.

Sources[edit]

  • «Arcadia 1», PLRE I, p. 129.
  • Janin, Raymond (1953). La Géographie Ecclésiastique de l'Empire Byzantin. 1. Part: Le Siège de Constantinople et le Patriarcat Oecuménique. 3rd Vol. : Les Églises et les Monastères (in French). Paris: Institut Français d'Etudes Byzantines.
  • Müller-Wiener, Wolfgang (1977). Bildlexikon Zur Topographie Istanbuls: Byzantion, Konstantinupolis, Istanbul Bis Zum Beginn D. 17 Jh (in German). Tübingen: Wasmuth. ISBN 978-3-8030-1022-3.