Irene of Athens
On 19 April 797 Constantine VI was imprisoned captured and blinded by supporters of his mother. Irene of Athens organized a conspiracy. She was to be crowned as the first Empress regnant of Constantinople. She was exiled to Lesbos around 802. She was in favor of icons and was forced into poverty, spinning was her means of survival. One year later she died. The peace of the beautiful monastery was disrupted by The second iconoclast period: 814–842 instituted by Emperor Leo V the Armenian. The Emperor decreed persecution against Christians due to military failure the Byzantines suffered at the hands of Bulgarian Khan Krum. He wanted the same blessing that Constantine V had from the first iconoclast period: 730–787