By, Kimberly Winters and Emily Turner Maria, born to an aristocratic family, was married at 12 Though she saw her husband at mealtimes and some nights Maria lived a life quite separate from her husbands On her walks, accompanied by a servant She spotted silk weavers She glimpsed koines and the emperors courtesan And, on a few notable occasions, she saw the empress and her ladies. On the life of Empress Theodora "Justinian's wife, also appears with a crown, imperial purple and gold robes, and a halo. Thee hem of her robe has an image of Three Kings bearing gifts to the Christ child....On her left are her seven court ladies." prostitution-in-the-byzantine-holy-land/prostitution-in-the-byzantine-holy-land/Traditions and Encounters A Global Perspective on the Past by Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler The Human Record: Sources of Global History Volume I To 1700 Sixth Edition (Pg. 302) by Andrea Overfield