Constantine VIII 15 December 2018 | Family, Life, Childhood, More
Constantine VIII (Greek: Κωνσταντῖνος Η΄, Kōnstantinos VIII) (960 – 11 November 1028) was the Byzantine Emperor from 15 December 1025 until his death in 1028. He was the son of Emperor Romanos II and Empress Theophano. He was nominal co-emperor for 63 years from 962, successively with his father, his stepfather Nikephoros II Phokas, his uncle John I Tzimiskes, and his elder brother Basil II. Basil II died childless in 1025 and thus left the rule of the Byzantine Empire in Constantine's hands. Constantine had no interest in politics, statecraft or the military. His brief reign is said to have been "an unmitigated disaster", sparking "a collapse of the military power of the Empire".
| Basil II and Constantine VIII, holding a patriarchal cross | |||||
| Emperor of the Byzantine Empire | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reign | 962–1025 (as co-emperor)[notes 1] | ||||
| Predecessor | Romanos II | ||||
| Successor | Himself (as sole emperor) | ||||
| Reign | 15 December 1025 – 11 November 1028 (as sole emperor) | ||||
| Predecessor | Basil II (as senior emperor) Himself (as junior co-emperor) | ||||
| Successor | Romanos III Argyros | ||||
| Born | 960 | ||||
| Died | 11 November 1028 (aged 67–68) | ||||
| Spouse | Helena | ||||
| Issue | Eudokia Zoë Theodora | ||||
| |||||
| Dynasty | Macedonian dynasty | ||||
| Father | Romanos II | ||||
| Mother | Theophano | ||||
Family
Constantine's father, Romanos II, was the sixth Byzantine emperor of the Macedonian dynasty. After the death of his first wife, Bertha (who took the name Eudocia), daughter of Hugh of Arles, he fell in love with and married an innkeeper's daughter from the Peloponnese, Theophano. Contemporaries called Theophano the most beautiful woman in Christendom as well as ambitious, an inveterate schemer and utterly amoral. She bore Romanos four children, including Constantine, born in 960, and his elder brother Basil, born in 958.[1] His sister Anna's hand was considered such a prize that Vladimir I of Kiev converted to Christianity in order to marry her.[2] Aged eight, Constantine was engaged to a daughter of Emperor Boris II of Bulgaria but in the end, he married a Byzantine aristocrat named Helena, daughter of Alypius. By Helena, he had three daughters: Eudokia, who became a nun; Zoë, who was empress for 22 years; and Theodora, who reigned for 18 months and was the last of the Macedonian line.[3]
Life
Childhood
Romanos died in 963, amidst rumors that Theophano had poisoned him; Constantine was three years old. Constantine and his brother had been crowned co-emperors by their father in March 962.[4] The widowed Theophano installed herself as regent for her sons and promptly purged the imperial government, appointing her own men. Passing over a bevy of suitors among Constantinople's courtiers, she made an alliance with Nikephoros Phokas. Nikephoros, a physically repulsive ascetic twice her age, was the greatest military hero of the Empire. In return for her hand, the childless Nikephoros gave his sacred pledge to protect her children and their interests. Nikephoros entered Constantinople three months after Romanos' death, breaking the resistance of Joseph Bringas, a eunuch palace official who had been Romanos' chief counselor, in street fighting.[5] Nikephoros was crowned emperor in the presence of his nominal co-emperors, Constantine and Basil. A month later he married their mother.[6]
Six years later, Nikephoros was murdered at Theophano's instigation and her lover and co-conspirator John Tzimiskes was acclaimed emperor. Tzimiskes proposed to marry Theophano but the Empress had by then been too damaged by gossip and rumors, many of them accurate. Patriarch Polyeuktos refused to perform the coronation unless Tzimiskes removed the "scarlet empress" from the court. Tzimiskes calculated that his legitimacy would be better enhanced by church approval than betrothal to the unpopular empress and acceded to the Patriarch's demands. Theophano was sent into exile and Tzimiskes was crowned, again with Constantine and Basil as co-emperors.[7][8] He married Theodora, Constantine's aunt.[9]
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