Zoe Porphyrogenita
Zoe Porphyrogenita | |
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Helena |
Zoe Porphyrogenita (also spelled Zoë;
Zoe was born when her father
The marriage of Zoe and Romanos III was troubled, and Romanos was found dead in his bath in 1034. His death has been variously attributed to Zoe, her young lover, or both. Zoe and her lover were married on the same day as the supposed murder, and he was crowned
Early life: c. 978–1028
Zoe was
As an eligible imperial princess Zoe was considered a possible bride for the
When Basil II died, Constantine VIII took the throne. His reign as sole emperor lasted less than three years, from 15 December 1025 to 11 November 1028.
From Romanos III to Michael V: 1028–1042
Spending years in the same restrictive quarters with her sister, Zoe had come to loathe Theodora.[7] Zoe convinced Romanos to appoint one of his own men as the chief of Theodora's household, with orders to spy on her.[15] Shortly afterwards, Theodora was accused of plotting to usurp the throne, first with Presian in 1030, followed by Constantine Diogenes, the governor of Sirmium, in 1031.[16] Zoe accused her of being part of the conspiracy, and Theodora was forcibly confined in the monastery of Petrion. Zoe later visited her sister and forced her to take religious vows.[17]
Zoe was obsessed with continuing the Macedonian dynasty.[6] Almost immediately upon marrying Romanos the fifty-year-old Zoe tried desperately to become pregnant. She used magic charms, amulets, and potions, all without effect.[18] This failure to conceive helped alienate the couple, and soon Romanos refused to share the marriage bed with her.[19] Romanos limited his wife's spending and paid her little attention.[20]
Zoe, furious and frustrated, engaged in a number of affairs. Romanos tolerated these and took a mistress himself.[21] In 1033 Zoe became enamoured of a low-born servant called Michael. She flaunted her lover openly and spoke about making him emperor. Rumours of her conduct led Romanos to confront Michael, who denied aspiring to the throne.[20]
In early 1034 Romanos became ill and it was widely believed that Zoe and Michael were conspiring to have him poisoned.
Zoe and Michael were married on the same day that Romanos III died.
Although Zoe believed Michael would prove to be a more devoted husband than Romanos, she was mistaken. Fearing that Zoe would turn on him as she had turned on his predecessor, Michael excluded her from politics and sent her back to the gynaeceum, where she was kept under strict surveillance.[27] The disgruntled empress tried to alter the balance of power by conspiring against John, without success.[6]
Michael's health was bad throughout his reign, and by 1041 it was obvious that he was dying.[28] Eager to ensure that power remained in his hands, John the Eunuch forced Zoe to adopt his nephew Michael Kalaphates.[21] On 10 December 1041, Michael IV died, refusing to the last to see his wife who begged that she be allowed to visit him one more time.[29] Kalaphates was crowned emperor as Michael V.[30][31]
Although he had pledged to respect Zoe, Michael V promptly banished her to a monastery on Principus, an island in the Sea of Marmara, on charges of attempted regicide.[33] She was forcibly tonsured and sworn into a religious order.[34] This treatment of the legitimate heir to the Macedonian Dynasty caused a popular uprising in Constantinople. Michael V, desperate to keep his throne, brought Zoe back from Principus and displayed her to the people,[35] but his insistence that he continue to rule alongside her was in vain. On 19 April 1042, the mob revolted against Michael V in support of not only Zoe but also Theodora.[36]
A delegation headed by Patrician Constantine Cabasilas[37] went to the monastery at Petrion to convince Theodora to become co-empress alongside her sister. Theodora had become accustomed to a life of religious contemplation and tried to refuse the proposal, but the delegates brought her forcibly back to the capital.[36] At an assembly in Hagia Sophia the people escorted a furious Theodora and proclaimed her empress along with Zoe.[38] They were both crowned on 21 April and Michael V was forced to take refuge in a monastery.[39]
Ruling with Theodora and Constantine IX: 1042–1050
Zoe immediately assumed power and tried to force Theodora back to her monastery, but the
Officially Zoe was the senior empress,[32] and her throne was situated slightly in front of Theodora's on all public occasions. In practice Theodora was the driving force behind the joint administration. The sisters proceeded to administer the empire, focusing on curbing the sale of public offices and on the administration of justice.[42] Although contemporary historian Michael Psellus claimed the joint reign was a complete failure, John Scylitzes stated that they were very conscientious in rectifying the abuses of the previous reigns.[43]
Theodora and Zoe appeared together at meetings of the Senate and gave public audiences, but it was soon apparent that their joint reign was under strain.[44] Zoe was still jealous of Theodora and had no desire to administer the empire; but she would not allow Theodora to conduct public business alone. The court began to split, with factions forming behind each empress.[44] After two months of increasing acrimony, Zoe decided to search for a new husband – thereby denying Theodora the opportunity to increase her influence.[45] By the rules of the Orthodox Church her next marriage, her third, was the last she was permitted.[6]
Her preference was for Constantine Dalassenos, who had been her father's first choice as her husband back in 1028. He was brought for an audience before the Empress, but during their conversation his independent and forceful manner displeased Zoe,[32] and he was dismissed from her presence.[44] Her next choice was the married Constantine Atroklines, a court official with whom it was rumoured that she had had an affair during the reign of Romanos III.[21] He died under mysterious circumstances a few days before the wedding was to take place, possibly poisoned by his own soon to be ex-wife.[44]
Zoe then remembered the handsome and urbane[44] Constantine Monomachos, another former lover.[21] The pair were married on 11 June 1042, without the participation of Patriarch Alexios, who refused to officiate over a third marriage (for both spouses).[46] Constantine was crowned by the patriarch the next day.[39]
Zoe got more than she bargained for when Constantine decided to bring with him to his new station his long-standing mistress Maria Skleraina.[47] Not content with bringing her to court, he insisted that he be allowed to publicly share his life with her, and that she obtain some official recognition.[48] The 64-year-old Zoe did not object to sharing her bed and her throne with Skleraina. Skleraina was given the title of sebaste, ranking behind Zoe and Theodora, and was addressed as mistress or empress, like them. At official events Skleraina took position immediately behind the sisters.[6]
In the eyes of the public however, Constantine IX's preferential treatment of Skleraina was a scandal, and eventually rumours began to spread that Skleraina was planning to murder Zoe, and possibly Theodora.[49] This led to a popular uprising by the citizens of Constantinople in 1044, which came dangerously close to actually harming Constantine who was participating in a religious procession along the streets of Constantinople.[50] The mob was only quieted by the appearance on a balcony of Zoe and Theodora, who reassured the people that they were not in any danger of assassination.[50]
It is said that Zoe was stunningly beautiful, and Michael Psellos in his Chronographia commented that "every part of her was firm and in good condition".[51] Recognising her own beauty and its use as a tool of statecraft, Zoe attempted to maximise and prolong its effect with a variety of treatments. She operated a cosmetics laboratory in the gynaeceum, and was said to have carried out experiments to improve the efficacy of the perfumes and unguents prepared there. Psellus reports that her face looked youthful into her sixties.[6][52] Zoe died in 1050, aged 72.[53] She was buried in Constantinople.[54]
See also
References
- ^ Hagia Sophia. "Empress Zoe". hagiasophia.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-5-87507-066-2.
Zᴏᴇ, daughter of Constantine VIII, 21 April 1042–11 June 1042 (with her sister Theodora.
- ^ a b c Norwich 1993, p. 259.
- ^ a b Kazhdan 1991, p. 503.
- ^ Kazhdan 1991, pp. 503–504.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Garland 2006.
- ^ a b c Norwich 1993, p. 269.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 253.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 258.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 464.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 465.
- ^ a b Norwich 1993, p. 270.
- ^ Canduci 2010, p. 257.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 271.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 469.
- ^ Kazhdan 1991, p. 627.
- ^ Ostrogorsky 1957, p. 289.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 272.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 275.
- ^ a b Norwich 1993, p. 276.
- ^ a b c d e Kazhdan 1991, p. 2228.
- ^ a b c d Norwich 1993, p. 278.
- ^ Norwich 1993, pp. 276, 279.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 586.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 478.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 480.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 280.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 286.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 289.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 495.
- ^ Kazhdan 1991, p. 2038.
- ^ a b c Treadgold 1997, p. 590.
- ^ Treadgold 1997, p. 589.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 295.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 297.
- ^ a b Finlay 1853, p. 496.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 298.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 299.
- ^ : "Michaelus in monasterium Elegmorum, 21 die Aprilis... Augusta Zoe nupsit... die Iunii undecima anni eius quem supra indicavimus. postridie coronatus est a patriarcha."
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 497.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 301.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 498.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 305.
- ^ a b c d e Norwich 1993, p. 306.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 499.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 307.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 501.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 308.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 309.
- ^ a b Finlay 1853, p. 503.
- ^ Sherrard 1966, p. 79.
- ^ Panas et al. 2012.
- ^ Finlay 1853, p. 526.
- ^ Norwich 1993, p. 325.
Sources
Primary sources
- Michael Psellus(c. 1080). Chronographia.
- Michael Psellus (1953). Chronographia [English translation]. Translated by E. R. A. Sewter. London.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link
- Thurn, Hans, ed. (1973). Ioannis Scylitzae Synopsis historiarum. Berlin-New York: De Gruyter. ISBN 978-3-11-002285-8.
Secondary sources
- Canduci, Alexander (2010). Triumph & Tragedy: The Rise and Fall of Rome's Immortal Emperors. Millers Point, N.S.W.: Pier 9. ISBN 978-1-74196-598-8.
- Finlay, George (1853). History of the Byzantine Empire from 716–1057. William Blackwood & Sons.
- Garland, Lynda (2006). "Zoe Porphyrogenita (wife of Romanus III, Constantine IX, and Michael IV)". De Imperatoribus Romanis.
- ISBN 0-19-504652-8.
- Norwich, John Julius (1993). Byzantium: The Apogee. London: Penguin. ISBN 978-0-14-011448-5.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1957). History of The Byzantine State. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press. OCLC 422217218.
- Panas, Marios; Poulakou-Rebelakou, Effie; Kalfakis, Nicoalos; Vassilopoulos, Dimitrios (September 2012). "The Byzantine Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita and the quest for eternal youth". Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. 11 (3): 245–248. S2CID 25156633.
- Sherrard, Philip (1966). Byzantium. Time-Life Books.
- Treadgold, Warren (1997). A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-2630-6.