Machara 1 was a spatharia; she received a letter from Theodore the Stoudite (Theodoros 15), in which her husband (Anonymus 570, presumably a spatharios) and her sisters were mentioned; she was of distinguished origin (τῆς εὐγενείας σου: p. 846, line 2), but was probably not a native Greek speaker (to judge by her name, and cf. also Ep. 553, p. 846, lines 2-3 her letter was τῇ ἐγχωρίῳ μὲν φωνῇ ὑπηγορευμένη); she sent to Theodoros 15 a request for advice on a number of religious questions, to which Theodoros 15 replied, advising her particularly to beware of the Moechian heresy: Theod. Stud., Ep. 553, pp. 846-847 (a. 809/811) (addressed πρὸς τὴν σπαθαρέαν, ἧς τὸ ὄνομα Μαχαρᾶ).

(Publishable link for this person: )