the period embraced by this work extends to the fall of the western empire, or to the middle of the fifth century. it was felt that a more extensive range would involve either an inconveniently large work or an inadequate treatment. while, therefore, the empresses of the east have been included down to the fall of rome, it seemed that the collapse of the empire in rome and the west indicated a quite natural term for the present study. the restriction has enabled the author to tell all that is known of the empresses of rome within that period, to enlarge the interest of the study by framing the imperial characters in occasional sketches of their surroundings, and to weave the threads of biography into a continuous story.