saint by the ecclesiastical writers of both the Western and the Eastern
Church, and is honored with a place in the Greek Calendar. Had her
devotion to her children equalled her self-sacrificing loyalty to church
affairs, she might have changed the course of Byzantine history. But,
failing in her maternal duties, her name shared the ignominy as well as
the glory of Irene, and, while not possessing the wickedness of the
latter, she must rank as a queen who in neglecting her son brought
disgrace on the Empire.
Basil I. was one of those remarkable men who after a career of infamy
are sobered by great responsibilities and perform well the part which it
was destined for them to play. But in his relations with women he had to
endure the natural outcome of his earlier licentiousness. His first
wife, whom he married at the beginning of his career, had lived but a
few years, leaving him a son, Constantine, whom he associated with him
on the throne, but who died after a lapse of ten years. Eudocia
Ingerina, whom Michael had compelled him to marry, had a son, Leo, who
succeeded Basil on the throne, but the emperor was ever haunted with the
suspicion that this lad was the son not of himself but of Michael. The
adventures of this empress and of Michael's sister, Thekla, who also
shared imperial honor, are sad proofs of the corruption of morals of the
age. With her brother's consent, Thekla had become the concubine of
Basil, and after he had assassinated Michael and ascended the throne,
Thekla consoled herself with other lovers. On one occasion it happened
that an attendant employed in the household of Thekla was waiting on the
emperor, when the latter asked the shameless question: "Who is living
with your mistress at present?" The attendant imprudently told the name
of the successful lover; Basil's jealousy was aroused, and he ordered
the paramour of the woman he had put aside to be seized, scourged, and
immured for life in a monastery. It is even said that he ill treated
Thekla and confiscated part of her property. But the Empress Eudocia
Ingerina avenged the unfortunate princess in a manner more pardonable in
the mistress of a besotted debauchee than in the wife of an emperor.
When her amours were discovered, the empress was prudent enough to avoid
scandal by merely compelling her lover to retire privately to a
monastery.
In pleasing contrast to the story of these licentious princesses,
revealing the absence of any shame in the high life of Constantinople,
is that of the widow Danielis who played the lady bountiful to Basil in
his earlier years, and to whom he delighted to show his gratitude after
he had mounted the throne.
Once when he was an attaché of the courtier Theophilitzes, whom Theodora
had sent on public business into the Peloponnesus, he fell sick at
Patras. A wealthy widow, Danielis by name, who had been struck with the
handsome looks of the gallant attaché, had him removed to her house and
carefully nursed him through his illness. When he recovered, she made
Basil a member of her family, by uniting him with her own son John in
those spiritual ties of brotherhood sanctioned by the Greek Church with
peculiar rites; also she bestowed on him considerable wealth so that
from that time on he could play well the part of a courtier, and had the
means to make himself the boon companion, friend, and colleague of the
erratic Michael.
The lasting friendship between the widow and the emperor constitutes the
most interesting episode in the checkered career of Basil. When he
became emperor, he displayed his gratitude by sending for the son of his
former benefactress and making him protospatharios, or chief of the
guards. He also urged the widow to visit him, and see her adopted son
seated on the throne. The account of her journey to Constantinople, is a
most valuable commentary on the life of Greek women in the ninth
century, and shows how vast was the wealth of the few on Greek soil, and
what an important part a wealthy widow could play in the affairs of
state; the story is as follows:
"The lady Danielis set off from Patras in a litter or covered couch,
carried on the shoulders of ten slaves; and the train which followed
her, destined to relieve these litter bearers, amounted to three hundred
persons. When she reached Constantinople, she was lodged in the palace
of Magnaura, appropriated for the reception of princely guests. The rich
presents she had prepared for the emperor astonished the inhabitants of
the capital, for no foreign monarch had ever offered gifts of equal
value to a Byzantine sovereign.
"The slaves that bore the gifts were themselves a part of the present,
and were all distinguished for their youth, beauty, and accomplishments.
Four hundred young men, one hundred eunuchs and one hundred maidens,
formed the living portion of this magnificent offering; while there were
in addition, a hundred pieces of the richest colored drapery, one
hundred pieces of soft woollen cloth, two hundred pieces of linen, and
one hundred of cambric, so fine that each piece could be enclosed in the
joint of a reed. To all this, a service of cups, dishes, and plates of
gold and silver was added. When Danielis reached Constantinople, she
found that the emperor had constructed a magnificent church as an
expiation for the murder of his benefactor, Michael III. She sent orders
to the Peloponnesus to manufacture carpets of unusual size, in order to
cover the whole floor, that they might protect the rich mosaic pavement,
in which a peacock with outspread tail astonished, by the extreme
brilliancy of its coloring, every one who beheld it. Before the widow
quitted Constantinople, she settled a considerable portion of her estate
in Greece on her son, the protospatharios, and on her adopted child, the
emperor, in joint property.
"After Basil's death, she again visited Constantinople; her own son was
dead, so she constituted the Emperor Leo VI. her sole heir. On quitting
the capital for the last time, she desired that the protospatharios,
Zenobius, might be dispatched to the Peloponnesus, for the purpose of
preparing a register of her extensive estate and immense property. She
died shortly after her return; and even the imperial officers were
amazed at the amount of her wealth; the quantity of gold coin, gold and
silver plate, works of art in bronze, furniture, rich stuffs in linen,
cotton, wool and silk, cattle and slaves, palaces and farms, formed an
inheritance that enriched even an Emperor of Constantinople. The slaves
of which Emperor Leo became the proprietor were so numerous that he
ordered three thousand to be enfranchised and sent to the _theme_ of
Longobardia (as Apulia was then called), where they were put in
possession of land which they cultivated as serfs. After the payment of
many legacies, and a division of part of the landed property, according
to the disposition of the testament, the emperor remained possessor of
eighty farms or villages."
This narrative furnishes a curious glimpse into the condition of society
in Greece during the latter part of the ninth century, which is the
period when the Greek race began to recover a numerical superiority and
prepare for the consolidation of its political ascendency over the
Slavonian colonists in the Peloponnesus.
It seems almost incredible that such wealth and power could be
concentrated in the hands of one woman; and only when we consider the
grinding poverty of the masses of the population through the extortions
of the rich and the oppressions of the governing classes can we account
for the resources which permitted the lavish luxuries of the
aristocrats.
The fourscore years succeeding the death of Basil the Macedonian were
taken up by the two long reigns of Leo VI.--reputed to be the son of
Basil, but in all probability the son of Michael,--and Leo's son,
Constantine Porphyrogenitus. These years were important for literature,
as both son and grandson of the founder of the dynasty were authors of
renown; but in historical interest and especially as regards the story
of Byzantine womanhood they were the most uneventful and monotonous in
the many centuries of the Empire's existence.
Constantine Porphyrogenitus was the child (by his fourth wife) of Leo's
old age, and was only seven years old when he fell heir to the Empire.
He was brought up under the tutelage of guardians; and so devoted was he
to the composing of books and the painting of pictures, that he was
forty years of age before he assumed entire control of the reins of
government; yet, twenty years of supreme power fell to his lot.
In his works, we have a beautiful picture of his domestic life. We do
not know much of his wife, Helena, but he was devoted to his son Roman
us, a gay, pleasure-loving prince, and to his daughters, of whom the
youngest, Agatha, was his favorite secretary and the constant companion
of his studies. "Seated by his side, she read to him all the official
reports of the ministers; and when his health began to fail it was
through her intermediation that he consented to transact public
business. That such a proceeding created no alarming abuses and produced
neither serious complaints nor family quarrels is more honorable to the
heart of the princess than is her successful performance of her task to
her good sense and ability."
The most interesting figure about him, however, was his daughter-in-law
Theophano, who was destined to play a fatal part in the story of the
Basilian house. Theophano was lowly born, and her beauty and grace could
never win the court circle and the public to pardon a low alliance which
disgraced the majesty of the purple. Hence, the vilest scandals were
circulated about her, which must be taken with some degree of allowance.
According to the chroniclers, she was wildly ambitious and utterly
lacking in natural affection, charming in manner, but cruel in heart.
She and Romanus made a most striking couple as they appeared together in
the court or took part in the public processions. Romanus was
conspicuous for his beauty and strength, tall and erect, fair and florid
in complexion, with aquiline nose and sparkling eyes. Theophano was of
the pure Greek type in features, yet small of stature and of infinite
ease of manner and movement. According to the Byzantine writers, she
craved eagerly for supreme power, and poisoned her father-in-law to
hasten her husband's elevation to the throne. Constantine did not take
enough of the beverage administered by her hand to end his life, but his
constitution was weakened, and after a short period of time he passed
away. Romanus's name was also embraced in the story, he having been
induced, through the wiles of his wife, to enter into a conspiracy
against their father and benefactor. But Constantine's picture of his
own family life is so amiable, that it is as difficult to give credence
to the accusation brought against Romanus and Theophano as it is to
Procopius's tales regarding Theodora Justinian.
Romanus II. had held the throne but five years when he too sickened and
died, and it was rumored that Theophano had mingled for him the same
deadly draught which she had prepared for her father-in-law. The young
empress was left as regent of her two little sons, Basil, aged seven,
and Constantine, who was only two. She aspired first to reign alone; but
soon realizing the Byzantine dislike for feminine rule, she found a
protector and a guardian for her sons in Nicephorus, the most valiant
soldier of the Empire. He was given the hand of the beautiful
empress-dowager, and was crowned as the colleague of the two young
Cæsars. His personal ugliness and deformity rendered it impossible for
Theophano to love him, and the match was one of interest rather than of
affection. But Nicephorus proved himself a most affectionate co-regent,
and paid scrupulous regard to the rights of the young princes. Much of
his time was spent in the field, and many were the victories which he
won for the Byzantine arms. But even his great achievements could not
enchain the heart of the capricious empress.
Theophano, during the absence of her grim and ugly husband, had become
enamored of his favorite nephew, John Zimisces, who was also a warrior
of note. John listened to the voice of the tempter, not so much for lust
as for ambition, and conspired with the empress against his uncle and
benefactor. The treacherous murder was accomplished one December night
in the year 969, in the imperial apartments of the palace.
Some of the conspirators had been concealed in the chamber of Theophano.
John Zimisces and his principal companions crossed the Bosporus in a
small boat, landed under the palace walls, and in the darkness of night
silently ascended a ladder of ropes which was cast down by the
handmaidens of the empress. Nicephorus, as was his custom, was sleeping
on a bearskin on the floor of his chamber, when he was awakened by the
noisy entrance of the conspirators. Their daggers were drawn, and, at
the word from John, were plunged into the body of the valiant general,
who exclaimed in his death agony: "Oh, God! grant me thy mercy." Though
by this base deed John came to the throne, he showed deep contrition for
the slaughter of his uncle; and through the connivance of the patriarch
and treachery toward his friends, he avoided marriage with the partner
of his guilt.
"On the day of his coronation, he was stopped on the threshold of Saint
Sophia by the intrepid patriarch, who charged his conscience with the
deed of treason and blood, and required as a sign of repentance that he
should separate himself from his more criminal associate. This sally of
apostolic zeal was not offensive to the prince, since he could neither
love nor trust a woman who had violated the most sacred obligation; and
Theophano, instead of sharing his imperial throne, was dismissed with
ignominy from his bed and palace." Deprived of her place as regent, and
repudiated by her sons on whom she had brought shame, Theophano passed
the remaining years of her life in a monastery.
Of the two sons of Theophano, Basil II., after a long reign of over half
a century,--963-1025,--distinguished by his many victories over the
Bulgarians, died childless, and was succeeded by his brother,
Constantine IX., who was destined to be the last male of the Macedonian
house. After his short reign of three years, the story of the remaining
twenty-nine years of the Basilian dynasty gathers itself about the names
of his two elderly daughters, Zoe and Theodora, and the series of
princes who owed their position on the throne solely to them. It is a
period of decadence, and the reader cannot help but pity the two sisters
who were endeavoring to uphold a decaying dynasty in the midst of
corruption and folly. Zoe constitutes the central figure of the period;
but Theodora was vastly her superior, and casts a sort of glamour about
the closing years of the house of Basil the Macedonian.
Zoe, however, was notable not so much for her ability to govern as for
her extraordinary vanity and love of adulation. Yet, for some reason,
she had reached the age of forty-eight before she found a husband. Upon
his deathbed, Constantine summoned Romanus Argyrus, an aged nobleman, to
the palace and informed him that he had been selected to mount the
throne, but that he must divorce his wife and marry one of the imperial
princesses. Romanus hesitated, not that he cared not for the throne, but
because the conditions were too severe; he loved his wife, and he did
not fancy joining his lot with one of the elderly maidens. But he was
told that he must either obey or lose his eyesight. To relieve the
situation, his wife, with self-sacrificing devotion, took the veil and
entered a monastery. Constantine destined Theodora, the younger and more
capable of his daughters, for the throne as spouse to Romanus, but
through religious compunctions she refused to marry the husband of
another woman, and consequently Zoe was chosen as bride and empress at
the tender age of forty-eight. Romanus was sixty when he ascended the
throne.
Zoe never forgave her sister Theodora the fact that because of her more
stable character their father had offered his younger daughter the
throne; Romanus had no love for her because she had refused him.
Consequently, spies were set over her movements, and every effort was
made to connect her with the various plots of courtiers who had designs
upon the throne. Finally, accused of being privy to the plans of one of
the most hostile of the courtiers, Theodora was driven from her palace
and imprisoned in the monastery of Petrion; sometime after, Zoe, upon a
visit to the monastery, compelled her sister to assume the monastic
habit.
Romanus and Zoe were never an affectionate couple. He devoted himself
strictly to affairs of state and looked with indifference upon the many
intrigues of his amorous spouse, who, like Queen Elizabeth, believed
herself to be the mistress of all hearts. But one of these amours,
perhaps, cost him his life.
The royal consorts had turned the management of the palace largely over
to eunuchs. One of these, John the Paphlagonian, became very powerful,
and, as he was precluded from the imperial title himself, sought to
raise a brother to that high honor. This brother, Michael, had begun
life as a goldsmith and money changer, but his brother appointed him to
a place in the imperial household. Owing to his personal beauty and
graceful and dignified manners, he soon became the favorite chamberlain
to his royal mistress. Unfortunately, however, he was subject to sudden
and violent attacks of epilepsy. This, instead of repelling Zoe, merely
aroused her pity, and she fell in love with her handsome servant and
carried on an amorous intrigue with him. Romanus was duly informed of
his wife's conduct, but remained indifferent to it and probably deemed
the accusation untenable because of the epilepsy of Michael. Zonaras, an
ancient chronicler, tells the story that in the night the emperor
frequently called Michael to rub his feet when he was in bed with Zoe.
And he naively adds: "Who can refrain from supposing that the hands of
the young valet-de-chambre did not find an opportunity of touching also
the feet of the empress?" During the last two years of his life, Romanus
was afflicted with a wasting disease and rumor had it that it was due to
a slow poison administered either by Zoe, or by the eunuch John, who
wished to bring about his brother's elevation. At any rate, in his dying
moments, before the breath had left his body, the empress quitted his
bedside to take measures with John the Paphlagonian for placing her
epileptic paramour on the throne.
The moment Romanus III. ceased to live, Zoe called an assembly of the
officers of state in the palace and invested Michael IV. with the diadem
and the purple robe. He was straightway proclaimed Emperor of the
Romans, and was formally seated beside Zoe on the vacant throne. The
patriarch Alexius was filled with disgust at this flagrant display of
contempt for decency, but for reasons of state and to avoid greater
scandal, he celebrated the marriage between the empress and her
paramour. "Thus a single night saw the aged Zoe the wife of two
emperors, a widow and a bride, and Michael a menial and a sovereign."
Michael was twenty-eight when he wedded Zoe at the age of fifty-four and
ascended the throne. In spite of his humble origin, he showed himself a
capable ruler, and succeeded in repelling some of the enemies of the
Empire. But his usefulness was hindered by his epileptic fits and by the
unfriendly attitude of his subjects who regarded his disease as evidence
of the divine wrath because of his ingratitude toward his benefactor,
Romanus. He became a hopeless invalid before the age of thirty-six, and,
when he felt his end approaching, he renounced the world and all the
vanities of imperial station, and retired to the monastery of Saint
Anarghyras where he became a monk. He died on December 10, 1041, after a
reign of seven years and eight months.
After the death of her second husband, the irrepressible Zoe at first
attempted to carry on the Empire alone, with the assistance of the
eunuchs of her household, but the prevailing aversion to female
sovereignty and her own disinclination to be without companionship of
the male sex led her to a realization of the necessity of giving the
Empire a male sovereign. The alternative which presented itself was
whether she should adopt a son or marry a husband. Having twice
experienced matrimonial bliss, but never having tasted the joys of
filial devotion, for the sake of a new sensation Zoe adopted the former
expedient.
She selected for the honor another Michael, the nephew of her late
husband, but, as she was aware of his volatile character, she made him
take a solemn oath, before conferring on him the crown, that he would
ever regard her as his benefactress and treat her as his mother. Michael
was ready enough to promise everything, and the diadem was placed on his
head.
But as soon as he was established in power, Michael V. revealed his
meanness of soul, and showed both insolence and ingratitude toward the
woman through whom he had attained his elevation. He finally carried his
insolence so far that he banished the empress Zoe to Prince's Island and
compelled her to adopt the monastic habit. But this base act was more
than the people could stand. Their fury burst through every restraint.
The mob paraded the streets and proclaimed the reign of Michael at an
end. They threatened to seize him and scatter his bones abroad like
dust. An assembly was held in the church of Saint Sophia, to which the
aged Theodora was brought from the monastery of Petrion, and she was
proclaimed joint empress with her sister Zoe. In the meantime, Michael,
alarmed at the rapid and overwhelming spread of the sedition, had Zoe
brought back to the palace, and endeavored to pacify the people by
persuading her to appear on a balcony overlooking the Hippodrome. But it
was impossible for him to stem the current of the popular fury. The
palace was stormed, and three thousand people were killed in the
conflict which followed. Michael saved his life by escaping to the
monastery of Studion; his eyes were finally put out, and he passed the
rest of his days in the garb of a monk.
Zoe immediately entered upon the duties and responsibilities of power,
of which for a time she had been deprived, and she endeavored to force
her sister back into religious retirement; but the Senate and people
insisted upon the joint reign of the two sisters. But this singular
union lasted less than two months. In temperament and in interests the
two sisters were antipodal. Different factions were their support, the
clerical party favoring the devout Theodora, and the worldlings the
volatile Zoe. For a time, the twain appeared always side by side at the
meetings of the Senate and at the courts of justice. Unlike Zoe,
Theodora showed great aptitude for public business, and took pleasure in
performing her administrative duties.
Zoe's plots against her sister being frustrated, and recognizing that
Theodora was rapidly gaining the ascendency, she bethought herself of
taking a third husband, to whom she might resign the throne and thus
deprive her sister of the influence she was rapidly acquiring.
Hence, at the advanced age of sixty-two, Zoe began to cast about for a
third husband, in spite of the canons of the Church, which forbade a
third marriage. Her thoughts first turned to a powerful nobleman,
Constantine Dalasennus, whom her father had once chosen for her in her
earlier years, and about whom her recollections cast a halo of romance.
But in place of the gallant hero of her imagination she found she had
summoned to the palace for an interview a stern old gentleman, who
strongly expressed his disapprobation of the existing imperial system;
who censured in unmeasured terms the vices of the court, and who took no
pains to conceal his contempt for her own questionable conduct. Such a
spouse would have been a most excellent antidote for the prevailing
corruption of the Empire, but Zoe had no desire to submit to the control
of so severe a master, and she quickly made up her mind to look
elsewhere.