A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Pulcheria Ælia
PULCHERIA ÆLIA,
Born in 899, was the daughter of Arcadius, Emperor of the East. She reigned conjointly with her brother, Theodosius, a mild and feeble prince. The vigorous wisdom of Pulcheria, though only two years the elder, compensated for his defects, and she maintained, by meekness and discretion, that ascendency over him which a superior capacity always gives. Adorned with all the graces of beauty, at fifteen she took a vow of virginity, and persuaded her two younger sisters to do the same. She consecrated herself to the service of God and the state, and divided her time between prayer, charity, and the affairs of the empire. At sixteen, she took the name of Augusta, and as she had always the prudence to preserve her brother's honour, she governed in his name with great success. She gave him the credit of completing the destruction of idolatrous temples and worship, which was due to the spirit, firmness, and wise lenity of her measures. Pulcheria's great natural sagacity enabled her to discover at once how she ought to act, and she executed her purposes with promptitude and vigour.
The empire was agitated by factions, when first she stood at its helm; but it soon enjoyed a perfect peace. under her wise administration; she taught her brother to respect the rights of property, saying, that "The more princes abstained from touching the wealth of their people, the greater would be their resources in the wants of the state."
When Theodosius, weak and irresolute, neglected her advice, and suffered himself to be guided by his eunuchs, the empire soon felt and mourned the change. On his death, in 460, as he left but one child, a daughter, married to Valentinian the Third, Pulcheria became sole mistress of the empire. For political reasons she married Marcian, an old officer In the army, whom she made emperor. She lived four years after, till 454, maintaining the same exemplary character. Her loss was deeply regretted. She alone had sustained the imperial dignity, under the reign of her imbecile brother; and after his death, had placed the crown on a head worthy to wear it. During her life she was a mother to the poor, and she left them her possessions at her death.