Dara

Dara was the wife of Anthimos III, and thus was the empress of Videssos. She was usually ignored by her husband, who spent most of his nights partying at his galas and fooling around with courtesans. As a result, she started having night-time liaisons with the atvokrator's chamberlain, Krispos. Dara did help her husband at times, such as assisting him in removing his uncle Petronas from power. When Anthimos let it be known that he was going to kill Krispos, Dara warned the chamberlain, thus indirectly helping in the death of the avtokrator. A week later, after Krispos was crowned avtokrator, she told the new emperor that she was pregnant; whether the unborn child was Krispos or Anthimos', she could not say. She married Krispos a few days later in a ceremony conducted by Gnatios, Patriarch of Videssos and a man she despised, as she made clear when Krispos removed him from his post a few days later.