Theophano's InfluenceLike the Carolingians, the Ottonians also sought validation of their power through association with the Byzantines. The tenth century marked a time of increased contact between the two powers and also an increase in the West’s envy of Byzantium’s ancient heritage.Otto I believed that his kingdom was politically elevated enough to ask for Anna, the daughter of Byzantine Emperor Romanos II, as a bride for his son, Otto II. The marriage was supposed to ground his dynasty in the ancient imperial line of Byzantium, but things did not turn out as Otto I hoped. Instead of sending Anna, the Byzantines believed such a request for a royal princess was extremely presumptuous. They sent Theophano who was merely a niece to John Tzimiskes, a usurper to the crown, as a replacement. Theophano and Otto II were married on Easter Sunday 972 CE. Theophano was so unimportant to the Byzantines that none of their sources that have survived mention her or her wedding, but she revolutionized the Ottonian West. With Theophano came an army of Byzantine attendants and artisans, along with treasures and silks.
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These artisans probably contributed in the making of the ivory in Paris mentioned earlier (above right) which is nearly an exact copy of an earlier Byzantine ivory depicting Romanos II and his wife (above left). In the western ivory, Otto II is wearing the chlamys and receiving a blessing from Christ, but Theophano is shown wearing the loros which she never would have been allowed to wear in Byzantine society. The focus in this image is Theophano’s Byzantine “royal” heritage, rather than reality. She represented the part of Ottonian power that hungered for the established prestige that Byzantium possessed and that only time could bring to the Holy Roman Emperors.