Empress: Did you mean...?

The RMS Empress of Ireland was a transatlantic passenger ship that sank early in the morning of 29 May 1914 on the St. Lawrence River killing 1,012 of the 1,477 people on board. It is considered Canada’s worst maritime disaster and one of...

Theodora reigned as empress of the Byzantine Empire alongside her husband, Emperor Justinian I, from 527 CE until her death in 548 CE. Rising from a humble background and overcoming the prejudices of her somewhat disreputable early career...

Empress Irene was the wife of Leo IV and, on her husband's death, she reigned as regent for her son Constantine VI from 780 to 790 CE. From 797 to 802 CE she ruled as emperor in her own right, the first woman to do so in Byzantine history...

Zoe Porphyrogenita was empress of the Byzantine Empire from 1028 CE until her death in 1050 CE. In an eventful career, she reigned alongside three husbands, had a hand in the succession of her adopted son, and, in 1042 CE, she was co-ruler...

A 1780s oil-on-canvas portrait by Alexander Roslin of Empress Catherine II of Russia (1729-96). Catherine was formally crowned empress regent on 22 September 1762 and this portrait endorses her royal status, perhaps a welcome endorsement...

Statue of Empress Julia Domna (wife of Septimius Severus) as Ceres, from the Portico of the Fountain with oil-lamp, 3rd century CE, Ostia Antica.

A 6th century CE mosaic depicting Empress Theodora and her court in the Basilica of San Vitale in Ravenna.

Julia Domna, Empress and wife of Roman Emperor Lucius Septimius Severus, c. 193 CE. (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen)

A view of the RMS Empress of Ireland at sea which sank after a collision in May 1914. (Library and Archives Canada, PA-116389)

Head of empress Livia Drusilla (wife of emperor Augustus) in green basalt, c. 31 BCE. (Louvre Museum)