Maria I Claudia
| Maria I Claudia | |||||||||
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| File:Maria I Claudia.jpg Portrait of Maria I Claudia, c. 16th century | |||||||||
| Latin Empress regnant | |||||||||
| Reign | 11 September 1032 – 25 December 1047 | ||||||||
| Acclamatio | 11 September 1032 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Constantine XIV | ||||||||
| Successor | Ascanius III | ||||||||
| Co-monarch | Ascanius II Claudius (1032–1040) | ||||||||
| Born | 25 December 999 Palatium Supranio, Adrianople, Latium | ||||||||
| Died | 25 December 1047 (aged 48) Castellum ab Alba, Latium | ||||||||
| Burial | |||||||||
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| House | Claudia | ||||||||
| Father | Constantine XIV | ||||||||
| Mother | Maria of Garza | ||||||||
| Religion | Imperial Church | ||||||||
Maria I Claudia (Imperatrix Maria Claudia Sophia Euphemia Constantia Caesaris Augusta; b. 25 December 996 – 25 December 1059) was the 82nd Latin monarch, and the first woman to be monarch in her own right. she was the only surviving, legitimate child of her father Constantine XIV and Maria of Garza. Maria spent a great deal of her childhood in Adrianople away from court in Castellum. In the time leading up to her father's death death, Constantine XIV issued the Orders of Succession to allow for his Maria to eventually succeed to the throne in lieu of legitimizing his natural son Theodosius Ostia.
Maria became empress, alongside her husband and cousin Ascanius II Claudius, in 1032 after her father's death. The two jointly ruled from their ascension until Ascanius' untimely death in 1040 in battle against the Audonians. The death of Ascanius was said to have scared Maria, with many writings of the era speaking of the great love they had for one another. Historians note that Maria became more erratic and aggressive following Ascanius' death, which saw her son and heir Constantine, Prince of Youth step into a larger role.
Her reign took place over the course of a major turning point for the Latin Empire, and initiated invasions of modern-day Audonia and Sydalon. These invasions eventually proved to be catastrophic for Latium, as they resulted in the death of her eldest son and heir Prince Constantine, but also overextended the empire's already thinly stretched resources. Empress Maria would die days after hearing of her son's death, leaving Latium in the hands of Emperor Ascanius III, her 9 year old grandson, who was later overthrown and led to the downfall of the Claudian dynasty during Crisis of the 11th Century, sometimes referred to as the Anarchy. All modern Claudii descend from Maria by way of her second son Peter I Claudius, who reign as the first Emperor in Adrianople.