Constantine IX - Encyclopedia

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES

'CONSTANTINE' Monomachus, emperor 1042-1054, owed his elevation to an old admirer, Zoe, the widow of Romanus III. Argyrus (1028-1034) and of Michael IV. the Paphlagonian (1034-1041), who, after the brief reign of Michael V. Calaphates (December 1041-April 1042), was proclaimed empress with her sister, Theodora. Quarrels broke out between the sisters, and, in order to secure her position, Zoe married Constantine, with whom she shared the throne till her death in 1050. In his old age Constantine, who had once been a famous warrior, utterly neglected the defences of the empire and reduced his army by disbanding 50,000 of his best troops; on the other hand, he spent extravagant sums on luxuries and the erection of magnificent buildings. Rebellions broke out at home and abroad; the Normans conquered Lombardy, which subsequently (1055) became the duchy of Apulia, and thus Italy was lost to the empire; the Petchenegs (Patzinaks) crossed the Danube and attacked Thrace and Macedonia; and the Seljuk Turks made their appearance on the Armenian frontier.