The Power of Influence
The symbols on this coin explain the ways in which Pulcheria achieved such a strong position of power. Sure, she might have had a ‘domineering personality’, as is often assumed when it concerns women in power, but that was definitely not the only way she held onto it.
She appears with a diadem, placed on her head by God. She made her absolute devotion to the Christian faith known. She swore a vow to remain a virgin, and furthermore showed her Christian virtue by donating generously to charity. It was believed that the welfare of the Empire was secured through her virtue. And one last important thing: she knew how to rule through influence. She always made sure she stayed in the background while her brother, the emperor, appeared as commander-in-chief.
Despite all she had done to secure her brother’s seat of power, her influence on him had clearly diminished in the later years of his reign. She was eventually sent away from his side to live as a nun. But this coin would remain in circulation, subtly reminding everyone who cared to look down at the coin in their hand of the power and virtue held by Aelia Pulcheria.