Zoe

Zoe (Persian: Zoya) or the Maiden-General (10 September 1462 — 23 December 1522) was Roman Empress from 15 December 1480 to her death on 23 December 1522. Considered by historians to be one of the greatest military commanders in history, Zoe transformed the Byzantine Republic into a European superpower not seen since the reconquests of Justinian I in the 6th century. Sometimes referred to as the Phoenix, she is often regarded as one of Rome's greatest leaders, and a critical figure in the restoration of the Empire.

Born a slave in the Mamluk Sultanate, Zoya was bought and recruited by Byzantine scouts sent ahead of the Syrian Expeditions, after which she was sent across the Mediterranean to work as a servant in a military camp in Illyria. In the Battle of Adrianople, Zoya managed to survive a devastating ambush by Slavic forces and rallied the remaining soldiers, subsequently defeating the attackers. The general Octavius, meeting up with the survivors, awarded Zoya the title of "Maiden-General" and romanized her as Zoe. Zoe would continue to impress her peers, conquering Bulgaria with strength and strategy never before seen. When Octavius claimed the throne in 1472, Zoe was ordered by the Roman Synkletos to confront him in the Levant, beginning the Usurper Crisis. The civil war would come to an end in 1479, at the Battle of the Pyramids — where Zoe defeated and presumably executed Octavius. Controlling all of Rome's armies and annexing Egypt as a new Imperial province, Zoe was proclaimed the sole Empress of the Roman Empire in 1480.

After failing to reconquer Illyria, Zoe issued the Maiden Reforms in an attempt to innovate a more modern means of war — relying heavily on siege cannons and the Tormentorum regiments, while also streamlining the Empire's provincial system, opening up recruitment to include women (hence the name), instituting religious and cultural freedoms, and restoring Latin as the official language of the Empire. With these new reforms, Zoe was not only able to subjugate the Balkans with ease, but also stage an invasion of Tunis (modern-day Carthage) and eventually Italy. The Battle of Ravenna, fought at the tail-end of the 2nd Byzantine Invasion of Italy, was Zoe's last major military operation, ending in a decisive victory. In 1520, the peninsula was annexed into the Empire, and the city of Rome "washed with rose-water" upon her command.

Two years later, Zoe's health deteriorated and, after giving a speech to the people of the Eternal City, she succumbed to a stomach ulcer and died in her bed. Shortly after, the Senate and People of Rome and Constantinople chose to forever venerate her as "Zoe the Great".

Zoe's legacy is synonymous with the resurgence of the Roman Empire. Her campaigns saw the return of vital provinces and territories — most notably, Rome itself — and her domestic policies and reforms spurred an era of tolerance and cultural open-ness within the Empire. Under her rule, Islam and Christianity flourished side-by-side, and members of both religions from all corners of the Mediterranean served in her armies. Likewise, the injection of Orthodox and Islamic ideas, resulting from the Conquest of Italy, is commonly seen as the catalyst for the Protestant Reformation in Europe, shattering Catholicism and paving the way for Maximus' future conquests. As Lucius Claudius concludes, Zoe's accomplishments as a commander and as a monarch "have often been compared to that of Justinian in the 6th century, or Aurelian in the 3rd — but we may never know how much she really achieved, as her victories and ideals continue to shape the world."