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Empress Zoe Porphyrogenita

Type Figure Region Byzantine Empire Time 978–1050 Also known as Zoe Porphyrogenita、Zoë Porphyrogenita、Zoe、佐伊·波菲罗吉尼塔

Zoe Porphyrogenita (978–1050), a purple-born princess of the Byzantine Macedonian dynasty, co-ruled the empire through three marriages to Romanos III…

Timeline

  1. 978–1028Constantinople · ConstantinopleSister of Basil II and Constantine VIII, born in the purple, entitled to the imperial succession. She long resided at court and had a secret romance with Constantine of the Monomachos family; though one of the legal heirs before 1028, her political influence was limited.
  2. 1028–1042Constantinople · ConstantinopleMarried Romanos III and co-ruled with him on 15 November 1028; after Romanos died in 1034, she remarried her favorite Michael IV. Both marriages were unhappy, and Zoe gradually turned to support the Paphlagonian faction at court, later launching the April coup of 1042 when Michael V attempted to depose her.
  3. 1042–1050Constantinople · ConstantinopleIn June 1042 she married her former lover Constantine IX Monomachos and co-ruled with her sister Theodora. In her later years, though she retained the title of empress, actual governance was largely directed by Constantine; she died in Constantinople in June 1050 and was buried in the Church of the Holy Apostles.

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