John the Orphanotrophos
John the Orphanotrophos (
, the two became lovers and may have plotted to assassinate Zoë's husband. Romanos was probably killed in his bath on 11 April 1034. Some contemporary sources implicate John in the assassination.Background
John first comes to historical attention as a senator.
With the accession of Michael IV, John was able to vigorously pursue his goal of furthering his family's interests. The chronicler
Alexius Studites
dismissed from the Patriarchate.
John put Stephen in charge of the fleet that carried
Catepan of Italy
.
Eyes on power
As Michael IV's
Constantine IX, John was sent to Lesbos
, where he died on 13 May 1043.
John's position at the head of the state, his ability to remain in power despite the installation of new emperors, and his shrewd pursuit of his family's interests make him one of the most fascinating eunuchs in Byzantine history.[2] As Psellos' description of him in Book 4 of his Chronographia shows, he was a very complex figure, capable of inspiring both admiration and loathing in the same chronicler.
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ioannes Orphanotrophos.
- ISBN 978-1-139-48915-7.
- ^ a b Finlay, George (1856). History of the Byzantine Empire from DCCXVI to MLVII. W. Blackwood. p. 480.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-7567-8.
Sources
- Brand, Charles M.; Kazhdan, Alexander; Cutler, Anthony Cutler (1991). "John the Orphanotrophos". In ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- Michael Psellus (trans. E.R.A. Sewter), Fourteen Byzantine Rulers (London: Penguin Books, 1953)
- Kathyrn M. Ringrose, The Perfect Servant: Eunuchs and the Social Construction of Gender in Byzantium (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), pp. 191–193.