Constantine Ix Monomachos

Place: Antioche

Biography:

Constantine IX Monomachos was the Byzantine emperor from 1042 to 1055. He was born in Antioche, Syria around 980/1000 and died on 11 January 1055. He was chosen as a husband and co-emperor by Empress Zoë Porphyrogenita 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. Constantine waged wars against various groups, including the Kievan Rus', the Pechenegs, and the 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. 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.