Constantine IX Monomachos | |
---|---|
Emperor and Autocrat of the Romans | |
Byzantine emperor | |
Reign | 11 June 1042 – 11 January 1055 |
Coronation | 12 June 1042 |
Predecessor | Zoë and Theodora |
Successor | Theodora |
Co-rulers | Zoë (1042–1050) Theodora (1042–1055) |
Born | c. 1000/1004 Antioch |
Died | 11 January 1055 (aged 50–55) Constantinople |
Burial | |
Spouse | daughter of Basil Skleros Maria Skleraina Zoë Porphyrogenita |
Issue | Anastasia[2] |
Dynasty | Macedonian |
Father | Theodosios Monomachos |
Constantine IX Monomachos (Medieval Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Μονομάχος, romanized: Kōnstantinos Monomachos; c. 980[3]/c. 1000[4] – 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 (r. 976–1025), even expanding eastwards when Constantine annexed the wealthy Armenian kingdom of Ani. Constantine accordingly may be considered the last effective emperor during the Macedonian Renaissance.
In 1054, a year before Constantine's death, the Great Schism between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches took place, culminating in Pope Leo IX excommunicating the Patriarch Michael Keroularios. Constantine, aware of the political and religious consequences of such a disunion, made unsuccessful efforts to prevent the breach.
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.