id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
en-wikipedia-org-5170		Irene of Athens - Wikipedia			.html	text/html	4040	476	68	Irene's alleged unprecedented status as a female ruler of the Roman Empire led Pope Leo III to proclaim Charlemagne emperor of the Holy Roman Empire on Christmas Day of 800 under the pretext that a woman could not rule and so the throne of the Roman Empire was actually vacant. According to the 11th century historian George Kedrenos, who wrote many centuries after Irene's death, this crackdown on iconophiles began after Leo IV discovered two icons hidden underneath Irene's pillow.[5] Leo IV launched an investigation and discovered the courtiers who had brought the icons.[6] He had them tortured and scolded Irene for violating the law and breaking with her faith.[6] Irene insisted that she had not known the icons were there.[6] After the incident, Leo refused to have marital relations with Irene ever again.[6] Lynda Garland, a historian of the Byzantine Empire, states that this story too closely resembles a different story told about the later empress Theodora, wife of Theophilos, to be historically true.[6] Nonetheless, she maintains that it is possible that Irene may have been trying to fill the palace with supporters of iconophilism, which may have triggered Leo IV's crackdown.[6]	./cache/en-wikipedia-org-5170.html	./txt/en-wikipedia-org-5170.txt