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Constantinos Monomachos Byzantine Emperor IX



Family 1: Zoë Porphyrogenita Byzantine empress,    b. 978 in Constantinople, Byzantine Empire    d. 1050 in Constantinople, Byzantine Empire
Sources:
  1. Title: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy
    Publication: Name: https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/BYZANTIUM.htm#KonstantinosIXdied1055;
    Note: KONSTANTINOS Monomachos ([1005/1010]-11 Jan 1055, bur Monastery of Mangana). Psellos names "Constantine the son of Theodosius…the last scion of the ancient family of the Monomachi in the male line" when recording that Empress Zoe chose to marry him[1655]. His birth date is estimated from Psellos describing him as a "young man" at the time of the accession of Emperor Romanos III[1656]. Although well-born and held in respect, neither Emperor Basileios II nor Emperor Konstantinos VIII promoted him to office, for they were suspicious about his relations with the Skleros family after his second marriage[1657]. Nevertheless, Konstantinos appears to have enjoyed a close relationship with Empress Zoe, especially during the reign of Emperor Mikhael IV, although the latter fabricated charges against him and exiled him to the island of Lesbos. After her joint accession with her sister, Empress Zoe recalled Konstantinos from exile and married him, despite the Byzantine church's prohibition of third marriages[1658]. He was crowned 12 Jun 1042 as Emperor KONSTANTINOS IX. He started his reign with another flush of largesse, which exhausted his treasury[1659]. His general Giorgios Maniakis recaptured the eastern part of Sicily from the Arabs, but was ordered to withdraw by the emperor before he could push his advantage further. Resentful of this treatment, Maniakis rebelled and was acclaimed emperor by his troops, but was killed in battle in 1043 en route to Constantinople. Leon Tornikios (who had courted Emperor Konstantinos's sister Euprepia) rebelled, was proclaimed emperor Sep 1047, and besieged Constantinople but he was captured and blinded[1660]. After several years of lengthy dispute over the standardisation of the liturgy, the Patriarch Mikhael Cerularios in 1055 excommunicated the papal legates in Constantinople (who had just pronounced his own excommunication) and triggered the final separation of the Orthodox church from the Roman Catholic. Emperor Konstantinos suffered from a debilitating illness which attacked his joints and produced partial paralysis[1661]. Cedrenus records the burial of Emperor Konstantinos the day he died "in Manganis"[1662]. m firstly ---. Psellos records that "Constantine the son of Theodosius…the last scion of the ancient family of the Monomachi in the male line" had "in the first place [become] the son-in-law to the outstanding member of court society but his wife fell ill and died"[1663]. There is no indication in the text who this might indicate. m secondly (before 1025) --- Skleraina, daughter of BASILEIOS Skleros & his wife Pulcheria Argyre (-before 1034). Psellos records the second marriage of Konstantinos, arranged by Romanos Argyros before he became emperor, to "the daughter of his sister Pulcheria, who in the past had been married to Basil Sclerus", stating that she was her parents' only child[1664]. Zonaras records that, after the death of his first wife, Konstantinos married "imperatoris Romani nepte ex fratre"[1665]. According to Psellos, she died before her husband's exile to Lesbos[1666]. m thirdly (11 Jun 1042) as her third husband, Empress ZOE, widow firstly of Emperor ROMANOS III and secondly of Emperor MIKHAEL IV, daughter of Emperor KONSTANTINOS VIII & his wife Helena --- (980-1050). Mistress (1): MARIA [Skleraina], daughter of --- (-[1044], bur Monastery of Mangana[1667]). Zonaras records that, after the death of his second wife, Konstantinos was unable to marry a third time but took as his mistress "consobrina uxoris suæ…adulescentula…et nobili Sclerorum familia orta"[1668]. Psellos records that "the niece of his late wife" became mistress of Konstantinos Monomakhos, the future Emperor Konstantinos IX, after the death of his second wife, being unable to marry her because of the Orthodox church's prohibition of third marriages[1669]. As Psellos, in an earlier passage, records that the second wife of Konstantinos was her parents' only child[1670], the word "niece" cannot be interpreted in its strict sense in this text. The editor of the edition of Psellos which has been consulted states that she was the sister of Romanos Skleros and granddaughter of Bardas (children of an otherwise unrecorded brother of Basileios Skleros), but the primary source on which this is based has not so far been identified[1671]. If this is correct, she and her brother must have been born from an otherwise second marriage of Basileios Skleros. Psellos hints that this might be correct when he refers to her in later passages as "Sclerena"[1672]. Another possibility is that one of Maria's parents was the daughter or son of either Pulcheria Argyre or Basileios Skleros (the parents of Konstantinos's first wife) by a second marriage: Psellos does suggest that Pulcheria and Basileios's marriage terminated early when he states that "…Pulcheria…in the past had been married to Basil Sclerus"[1673]. The primary source which confirms her name has not so far been identified. She followed him into exile on Lesbos in 1034. She was recalled to Constantinople after her husband's accession but was unpopular, her presence causing a riot 9 Mar 1044. Eventually, she was introduced openly to the Palace as her husband's mistress, acting as a junior consort, and was granted the title Augusta[1674]. Psellos records the death of "Sclerena" and the emperor's grief[1675]. Mistress (2): (after 1044) GORANDUXT of Georgia, daughter of GIORGI I King of Georgia & [his wife Mariam of Vaspurakan]. Psellos records that the emperor "fell in love with…one of our hostages from Alania…the daughter of the king there"[1676]. She became the emperor's mistress and was granted the title Augusta[1677]. Zonaras records that, after the death of Empress Zoe, Emperor Konstantinos fell in love with "adulescentulam quondam Alani principis filiam, obsidem Romanis datam" and installed her as "Augustam"[1678]. The Georgian Chronicle records that Emperor Konstantinos IX requested "of Bagrat his sister Goranduxt"[1679]. The Georgian Chronicle records that "Georgi" died leaving "two sons Bagrat and Demetre and two daughters"[1680]. The source contains no indication of the name of the mother of the two daughters.
  2. Title: Find a Grave
    Publication: Name: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/49045820/constantine_ix;
    Note: Obituary at Find a Grave- Byzantine Emperor. Born into a high ranking family, he attracted the attention of Byzantine Empress Zoë, whose husband, Michael IV, then banished him to the island of Lesbos. However, in 1042 he was ordered back to Constantinople to marry the now widowed Zoë and was named as Emperor alongside Zoë and her sister Theodora. In this position of power he was pleasure-loving and capable of violent displays of temper if he suspected conspiracies against him. Maria Skleraina, his mistress, influenced many of his decisions, and he soon provoked a rebellion by removing General George Maniakes from office. Maniakes set himself up as a rival emperor before dying in battle when close to deposing Constantine in 1043. In 1045 he seized the Armenian kingdom of Ani, leading to war with the Seljuk Turks. Following a truce in 1049, he disbanded his Armenian army, making the empire's eastern border vulnerable to future attacks. A rebellion in 1047 by his nephew, Leo Tornikios, weakened the empire to such an extent that the Balkans was frequently raided by the Pechenegs over the next five years. At home, his attempts to strengthen his position by giving important landowners and the church immunity from taxation and by granting land in return for contributions to the military only served to weaken the power of the state. The Greek and Roman churches separated in 1054 when the Patriach of Constantinople, Michael Keroularios, was excommunicated by the Pope for refusing to adopt western church practices. This prevented Constantine from forming an alliance with the Pope in his attempt to drive the Normans from Southern Italy. He died while negotiating with the Pope, and was buried in The Monastery of Saint George.
  3. Title: Wikipedia - Emperor Constantinos IX Monomachos of Byzantium
    Author: 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. Bréhier, Louis (1946). Le monde byzantin: Vie et mort de Byzance (PDF) (in French). Paris, France: Éditions Albin Michel. 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. Kazhdan, Alexander, ed. (1991), "Constantine IX Monomachos", Oxford Dictionary of Byzantium, ISBN 978-0-19-504652-6 Laiou, Angeliki E (2002). Economic History of Byzantium. Washington, D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks. ISBN 0-88402-288-9. et.al.
    Publication: Name: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_IX_Monomachos;
    Note: Constantine IX Monomachos (Medieval Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Θ΄ Μονομάχος, romanized: Kōnstantinos IX Monomachos; c. 1004[1] – 11 January 1055), reigned as Byzantine emperor from June 1042 to January 1055. Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita chose him as a husband and co-emperor in 1042, although he had been exiled for conspiring against her previous husband, Emperor Michael IV the Paphlagonian. The couple shared the throne with Zoë's sister Theodora Porphyrogenita. Zoë died in 1050, and Constantine continued his collaboration with Theodora until his own death five years later. Constantine waged wars against groups which included the Kievan Rus', the Pechenegs and, in the East, the rising Seljuq Turks. Despite the varying success of these campaigns, the Byzantine Empire largely retained the borders established after the conquests of Basil II, even expanding eastwards when Constantine annexed the wealthy Armenian kingdom of Ani. Constantine accordingly may be considered the last effective emperor of Byzantium’s apogee. In the year before his death, in 1054, the Great Schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches took place, culminating in Pope Leo IX excommunicating the Patriarch Michael Keroularios. Constantine was aware of the political and religious consequences of such a disunion, but his attempts to prevent it had been futile. Early life Constantine Monomachos was the son of Theodosios Monomachos, an important bureaucrat under Basil II and Constantine VIII, of the famous and noble Monomachos family.[2] His mother is unknown but may have been a certain Irene of the Armenian Taronites/ Tornikios family. Constantine was born around 1000-1004 in Antioch, and he likely spoke Syriac or Arabic as well as Greek and was described by contemporaries as “a marvel of a beauty”.[3] At some point Constantine’s father, Theodosios had been suspected of conspiracy and his son's career suffered accordingly.[4] His position improved after he married his second wife, a niece of Emperor Romanos III Argyros.[5] Catching the eye of Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita, he was exiled to Mytilene on the island of Lesbos by her second husband, Emperor Michael IV.[6] The death of Michael IV and the overthrow of Michael V in 1042 led to Constantine being recalled from his place of exile and appointed as a judge in Greece.[7] However, prior to commencing his appointment, Constantine was summoned to Constantinople, where the fragile working relationship between Michael V's successors, Empresses Zoë and Theodora, was breaking down. After two months of increasing acrimony between the two, Zoë decided to search for a new husband, thereby hoping to prevent her sister from increasing her popularity and authority.[8] After her first preference displayed contempt for the empress and her second died under mysterious circumstances,[5] 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.[9] Reign Gold tetarteron of Constantine IX Monomachos. Reverse. Bust of Constantine IX with a beard; on his head is a crown with a cross; labarum in his right hand, globe with a cross in his left. Constantinople. Coronation of Constantine IX Constantine continued the purge instituted by Zoë and Theodora, removing the relatives of Michael V from the court.[10] The new emperor was pleasure-loving[11] and prone to violent outbursts on suspicion of conspiracy.[12] 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, the emperor relieved General George Maniakes from his command in Italy, and Maniakes rebelled, declaring himself emperor in September.[13] 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.[14] Immediately after the victory, Constantine was attacked by a fleet from Kievan Rus';[14] it is "incontrovertible that a Rus' detachment took part in the Maniakes rebellion".[15] They too were defeated, with the help of Greek fire.[16] Constantine married his daughter, Anastasia to the future Prince Vsevolod I of Kiev, the son of his opponent Yaroslav I the Wise. Constantine's family name Monomachos ("one who fights alone") was inherited by Vsevolod and Anastasia's son, Vladimir II Monomakh.[2] 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.[17] 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. 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.[18] In 1045 Constantine annexed the Armenian kingdom of Ani,[19] but this expansion merely exposed the empire to new enemies. In 1046 the Byzantines came into contact for the first time with the Seljuk Turks.[20] They met in battle in Armenia in 1048 and settled a truce the following year.[21] Even if the Seljuk rulers were willing to abide by the treaty, their unruly Turcoman allies showed much less restraint. The Byzantine forces would suffer a cataclysmic defeat at the battle of Manzikert in 1071.[22] Constantine began persecuting the Armenian Church, trying to force it into union with the Orthodox Church.[20] In 1046,[23] he refounded the University of Constantinople by creating the Departments of Law and Philosophy.[24] Leo Tornikios attacks Constantinople, Skylitzes chronicle. In 1047 Constantine was faced by the rebellion of his nephew Leo Tornikios, who gathered supporters in Adrianople and was proclaimed emperor by the army.[25][26] Tornikios was forced to retreat, failed in another siege, and was captured during his flight.[22] The revolt had weakened Byzantine defenses in the Balkans, and in 1048 the area was raided by the Pechenegs,[27] who continued to plunder it for the next five years. The emperor's efforts to contain the enemy through diplomacy merely exacerbated the situation, as rival Pecheneg leaders clashed on Byzantine ground, and Pecheneg settlers were allowed to live in compact settlement in the Balkans, making it difficult to suppress their rebellion.[28] 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.[6][29] 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.[30] In 1054 the centuries-old differences between the Eastern and Western churches led to their final separation. Legates from Pope Leo IX excommunicated the Patriarch of Constantinople Michael Keroularios when Keroularios would not agree to adopt western church practices, and in return Keroularios excommunicated the legates.[31] This sabotaged Constantine's attempts to ally with the Pope against the Normans, who had taken advantage of the disappearance of Maniakes to take over Southern Italy.[32] Constantine tried to intervene, but he fell ill and died on 11 January of the following year.[33][34] 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.[35] However, Theodora was recalled from her retirement and named empress.[36] Architecture and art The literary circle at the court of Constantine IX included the philosopher and historian Michael Psellos,[37] whose Chronographia records the history of Constantine's reign. Psellos left a physical description of Constantine in his Chronographia: he was "ruddy as the sun, but all his breast, and down to his feet... [were] colored the purest white all over, with exquisite accuracy. When he was in his prime, before his limbs lost their virility, anyone who cared to look at him closely would surely have likened his head to the sun in its glory, so radiant was it, and his hair to the rays of the sun, while in the rest of his body he would have seen the purest and most translucent crystal."[38] Immediately upon ascending to the throne in 1042, Constantine IX set about restoring the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, which had been substantially destroyed in 1009 by Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah.[39] Byzantine Emperor Romanos III had secured the right to undertake such a restoration in a treaty with al-Hakim's son al-Zahir, but it was Constantine who finally set the project in motion, funding the reconstruction of the Church and other Christian establishments in the Holy Land.[40]
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