Herrin is known as one of the leading historian of “the Byzantine millennium.” She wrote this book to “explore the exceptional roles that women played in the vibrant cultural and political life of medieval Byzantium.” The author “collects fourteen papers and comments on issues of feminism and roles of women in Byzantium.” The book gives us information about “the complex and exotic world of Byzantium's women, from empresses and saints to uneducated rural widows.” “She also provides a concise introduction to each essay that describes how it came to be written and how it fits into her broader views about women and Byzantium.” She provided information to her audience in well written essay by comparing and contrasting women in different societies, such as comparing and contrasting the Byzantine women with Persian, Islamic, Medieval West…show more content… The author emphasizes many subjects, such as, “Women in Byzantium”, “Women and the Faith”, “Mothers and Daughters”, “Femina Byzantina”, “the Imperial Feminine”, “Gender Problems” and “Marriage in Imperial Statecraft”,” in Unrivalled Influence. First, Herrin explains the women influence in the Byzantine Empire, and she mentions that “this was different from the ancient tradition of powerful wives and mothers like Agrippina and Cornelia, though it was encouraged by Byzantine legal practice, which gave daughters an equal claim with sons on their parents’ wealth.” She also gives us information about “the importance of marriage in imperial statecraft, the tense coexistence of empresses in the imperial court, and the critical relationships of mothers and daughters.” Secondly, Herring finds out some gender discrimination and problems through her book. For example, men used to perform “spiritual leadership”, and men “could be clerics or monks, bishops, and holy men.” “Only desert mothers and abbesses could exercise spiritual leadership.” This was a simple