Constantine IX Monomachos
Constantine IX Monomachos | |
---|---|
Zoë Porphyrogenita | |
Issue | Anastasia[2] |
Dynasty | Macedonian |
Father | Theodosios Monomachos |
Constantine IX Monomachos (
– 11 January 1055) reigned asConstantine waged wars against groups which included the
In 1054, a year before Constantine's death, the
Early life
Constantine Monomachos was the son of Theodosios Monomachos, an important bureaucrat under
The death of Michael IV and the overthrow of
After her first preference displayed contempt for the empress and her second died under mysterious circumstances,[8] Zoë remembered the handsome and urbane Constantine. The pair were married on 11 June, without the participation of Patriarch Alexius of Constantinople, who refused to officiate over a third marriage (for both spouses). Constantine was crowned on the following day.[12]
Reign
Constantine continued the purge instituted by Zoë and Theodora, removing the relatives of Michael V from the court.[13] The new emperor was pleasure-loving[14] and prone to violent outbursts on suspicion of conspiracy.[15] He was heavily influenced by his controversial wife or mistress, Maria Skleraina, a relative of his second wife, and Maria's family. Constantine had another mistress, an "Alan princess", Gurandukht, likely the daughter of George I.
In August 1042 Constantine relieved the general George Maniakes from his command in Italy, and Maniakes rebelled, declaring himself emperor in September.[16] He transferred his troops into the Balkans and was about to defeat Constantine's army in battle, when he was wounded and died on the field, ending the crisis in 1043.[17]
Immediately after the victory, Constantine
Constantine IX's preferential treatment of Maria Skleraina in the early part of his reign led to rumors that she was planning to murder Zoë and Theodora.[23] This led to a popular uprising by the citizens of Constantinople in 1044, which came dangerously close to harming Constantine as he participated in a religious procession. The mob was only quieted by the appearance at a balcony of Zoë and Theodora, who reassured the people that they were not in any danger of assassination.[24]
In 1045 Constantine annexed the
In 1047 Constantine was faced by the rebellion of his nephew
Constantine seems to have taken recourse to the pronoia system, a sort of Byzantine feudal contract in which tracts of land (or the tax revenue from it) were granted to particular individuals in exchange for contributing to and maintaining military forces.[9][35] Constantine could be wasteful with the imperial treasury. On one occasion he is said to have sent an Arab leader 500,000 gold coins, over two tons of gold.[36]
In 1054 the centuries-old differences between the
Constantine tried to intervene, but he fell ill and died on 11 January of the following year.[39][40] He was persuaded by his councillors, chiefly the logothetes tou dromou John, to ignore the rights of the elderly Theodora, daughter of Constantine VIII, and to pass the throne to the doux of Bulgaria, Nikephoros Proteuon.[41] However, Theodora was recalled from her retirement and named empress.[42]
Architecture and art
The literary circle at the court of Constantine IX included the philosopher and historian
Immediately upon ascending to the throne in 1042, Constantine IX set about restoring the
Appearance and personality
Constantine was said to rival Achilles and Nireus in terms of beauty.[47] He was described by Michael Psellos as "a marvel of beauty that Nature brought into being in the person of this man, so justly proportioned, so harmoniously fashioned, that there was no one in our time to compare to him".[4] Psellos described "the symmetry of the emperor's body, his perfect analogies, his ruddy hair which shone like rays of sunlight, [and] his white body which appeared like clear and translucent crystal".[47]
In addition to his beauty, Constantine was praised for his justice and wisdom, the latter being displayed through his patronage of philosophy and rhetoric, as well as his legislation.[48] Indeed, during his reign there was a "rennaisance" of interest in ancient Greek philosophy.[49] His personality has been described as good-natured; he was easily amused and loved to laugh.[4] He charmed practically everyone who knew him, especially Zoe whom he enthralled immediately.[4] Constantine spent money without restraints and liked to make several luxurious gifts to his associates.[4] For example, he gave to the Church many objects of great value, including precious sacred vessels, "that surpassed by far all the others as to dimensions, beauty and price".[50] Constantine also showed clemency and mercy, even in cases of treason.[48]
See also
References
- ISBN 9780521515177.
The mosaic dates between 1042, when Zoe married Constantine (her third husband), and 1050, when Zoe died, but the heads have been changed and the mosaic probably originally portrayed Zoe with her first husband, Romanos III (1028–34), who also donated funds to the church.
- ^ A.V. Soloviev, 'Marie, fille de Constantin IX Monomaque', Byzantion, vol. 33, 1963, p. 241-248.
- ^ Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89241-084-2.
- ^ a b Kazhdan, pg. 1398
- ^ Norwich, pg. 307
- ^ Eric Limousin. Constantin IX Monomaque : empereur ou homme de réseau ?. 140 e Congrès national des sociétés historiques et scientifiques , May 2015, Reims, France. p. 26-37.
- ^ a b Norwich, pg. 306
- ^ a b Kazhdan, pg. 504
- ^ Finlay, pg. 500
- ^ Finlay, pg. 499
- : "Michaelus in monasterium Elegmorum, 21 die Aprilis... Augusta Zoe nupsit... die Iunii undecima anni eius quem supra indicavimus. postridie coronatus est a patriarcha."
- ^ Finlay, pg. 505
- ^ Norwich, pg. 308
- ^ Finlay, pg, 510
- ^ Norwich, pg. 310
- ^ a b Norwich, pg. 311
- ^ Quoted from: Litavrin, Grigory. Rus'-Byzantine Relations in the 11th and 12th Centuries. // History of Byzantium, vol. 2, chapter 15, p. 347-352. Moscow: Nauka, 1967 (online)
- ^ Finlay, pg. 514
- ^ Christian Settipani, Continuité des élites à Byzance durant les siècles obscurs. Les princes caucasiens et l'Empire du vie au ixe siècle, Paris, de Boccard, 2006, p. 245. (ISBN 978-2-7018-0226-8)
- ^ A.V. Soloviev, 'Marie, fille de Constantin IX Monomaque', Byzantion, vol. 33, 1963, p. 241-248.
- ^ P.P Tolocko, Byzance vue par les Russes, dans Le sacré et son inscription dans l'espace à Byzance et en Occident, Publications de la Sorbonne, 2001, pp. 277-284.
- ^ Norwich, pg. 309
- ^ Finlay, pg. 503
- ^ Norwich, pg. 340
- ^ a b Norwich, pg. 341
- ^ Finlay, pg. 520
- ^ a b Norwich, pg. 314
- ^ John H. Rosser, Historical Dictionary of Byzantium, Scarecrow Press, 2001, p. xxx.
- ^ Aleksandr Petrovich Kazhdan, Annabel Jane Wharton, Change in Byzantine Culture in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, University of California Press, 1985, p. 122.
- ^ Bréhier, pg. 325
- ^ Norwich, pg. 312
- ^ Finlay, pg. 515
- ^ Norwich, pg. 315
- ^ Finlay, pg. 504
- ^ Laiou, pg. 3
- ^ Norwich, pg. 321
- ^ Norwich, pg. 316
- του Ιανουαρίου."
- ^ For the date 7 / 8 January, see: Peter Schreiner (1977). Kleinchroniken 2., 148 (cf. Kleinchroniken 1)
- ^ Finlay, pg. 527
- ^ Treadgold, pg. 596
- ^ Garland, pg. 246
- ^ Psellos, 126:2–5
- ^ Finlay, pg. 468
- JSTOR 990407.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-230-24530-3.
- ^ ISBN 978-90-04-34489-1.
- ISBN 978-1-136-78800-0.
- .
Sources
Primary sources
- Michael Psellus, Fourteen Byzantine Rulers, trans. E.R.A. Sewter (Penguin, 1966). ISBN 0-14-044169-7
- Thurn, Hans, ed. (1973). Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum. Berlin-New York: De Gruyter. ISBN 9783110022858.
Secondary sources
- Blaum, Paul A. (2004). "Diplomacy Gone to Seed: A History of Byzantine Foreign Relations, A.D. 1047-57". International Journal of Kurdish Studies. 18 (1): 1–56.
- OCLC 490176081.
- Kaldellis, Anthony (2017). Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-1902-5322-6.
- Jeffreys, Michael, ed. (2016). "Konstantinos IX Monomachos". ISBN 978-1-908951-20-5.
- ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6
- ISBN 0-88402-288-9.
- Norwich, John Julius (1993), Byzantium: The Apogee, Penguin, ISBN 0-14-011448-3
- Treadgold, Warren T. (1997), A History of the Byzantine State and Society, ISBN 0-8047-2630-2
- Angold, Michael. The Byzantine empire 1025–1204 (Longman, 2nd edition, 1997). ISBN 0-582-29468-1
- Harris, Jonathan. Constantinople: Capital of Byzantium (Hambledon/Continuum, 2007). ISBN 978-1-84725-179-4
- Finlay, George. History of the Byzantine Empire from 716 – 1057, William Blackwood & Sons, 1853.
- Garland, Lynda. Conformity and Non-conformity in Byzantium, Verlag Adolf M. Hakkert, 1997. ISBN 978-9-02560-619-0