Macedonian dynasty

The Macedonian dynasty (Greek: Μακεδονική Δυναστεία) ruled the Byzantine Empire from 867 to 1056, following the Amorian dynasty. During this period, the Byzantine state reached its greatest extent since the Muslim conquests, and the Macedonian Renaissance in letters and arts began. The dynasty was named after its founder, Basil I the Macedonian who came from the Theme of Macedonia, which, at the time, was part of Thrace.

This article is about the Byzantine dynasty. For the dynasties of ancient Macedon, see List of ancient Macedonians.
Basil I on horseback

Origins
See also: Basil I § From peasant to emperor

Claims have been made for the dynasty's founder being of Armenian,[1][2] Slavic,[3][4] or indeed "Armeno-Slavonic"[5] descent. Hence, the dynasty is also referred to as the Armenian Dynasty by some scholars, such as George Bournoutian[6] and Mack Chahin.[7] Zachary Chitwood suggests the term Macedonian dynasty is "something of a misnomer" because of Basil I's Armenian origin.[8]

The author of the only dedicated biography of Basil I in English has concluded that it is impossible to be certain what the ethnic origins of the emperor were, though Basil was definitely reliant on the support of Armenians in prominent positions within the Byzantine Empire.[9]

List of rulers
  • Basil I the Macedonian (Βασίλειος Α') (811–886, ruled 867–886) – married the Varangian Eudokia Ingerina, mistress of Michael III; died in hunting accident
  • Leo VI the Wise (Λέων ΣΤ') (866–912, ruled 886–912) – son of Eudokia Ingerina, legal son and heir of Basil I; possibly the natural son of Michael III; created church crisis with his fourth marriage -- Zoe Karbonopsina, who took over as regent for their son, Constantine VII, in 914 and ruled the empire until 919
  • Alexander III (Αλέξανδρος) (870–913, ruled 912–913) – son of Basil I, regent for nephew
  • Constantine VII the Purple-born (Κωνσταντῖνος Ζ') (905–959, ruled 913–920 and 945-959) – son of Leo VI and Zoe Karbonopsina; married Helena, daughter of Romanos Lekapenos
  • Romanos I Lekapenos (ruled 920-945); Lekapenos staged a successful coup in 919 and became senior emperor in 920.[10]
  • Romanos II the Purple-born (Ρωμανός Β') (938–963, ruled 959–963) – son of Constantine VII
  • Nikephoros II Phokas (Νικηφόρος Β' Φωκᾶς) (912–969, ruled 963–969) – successful general, married Romanos II's widow, regent for Basil; assassinated (Origin: Cappadocian)
  • John I Tzimiskes (Ιωάννης Α')(925-976, ruled 969–976) – successful general, brother-in-law of Romanos II, lover of Nikephoros's wife but banned from marriage, regent for Basil II and Constantine VIII
  • Basil II (Βασίλειος Β') the Bulgar-slayer (958–1025, ruled 976–1025) – son of Romanos II
  • Constantine VIII (Κωνσταντῖνος Η') (960-1028, ruled 1025–1028) – son of Romanos II; silent co-emperor with Basil II, sole emperor after his brother's death
  • Zoe (Ζωή) (c. 978–1050, ruled 1028–1050) – daughter of Constantine VIII
  • Romanos III Argyros (Ρωμανός Γ')(968–1034, ruled 1028–1034) – eparch of Constantinople; Zoe's first husband, arranged by Constantine VIII; murdered
  • Michael IV the Paphlagonian (Μιχαήλ Δ') (1010–1041, ruled 1034–1041) – Zoe's second husband
  • Michael V the Caulker (Μιχαήλ Ε') (1015–1042, ruled 1041–1042) – Michael IV's nephew, Zoe's adopted son
  • Theodora (Θεοδώρα) (980–1056, ruled 1042) – daughter of Constantine VIII, co-empress with Zoe
  • Constantine IX Monomachos (Κωνσταντῖνος Θ') (1000–1055, ruled 1042–1055) – Zoe's third husband
  • Theodora (Θεοδώρα) (ruled 1055–1056) – restored

Non-dynastic
  • Michael VI (Μιχαήλ ΣΤ') (ruled 1056–1057) – chosen by Theodora; deposed and entered monastery

Family tree

Genealogy
Michael III
emperor of the Romans
842-867
AMORIAN/PHRYGIAN
DYNASTY		Eudokia Ingerina
Basil I
emperor of the Romans
867-886		Maria

Romanos I Lekapenos
emperor of the Romans
920-944		1.Theophano Martinakia
2.Zoe Zaoutzaina
3.Eudokia Baïana
4.Zoe Karbonopsina
Leo VI the Wise
emperor of the Romans
886-912		Stephen I
Patriarch of Constantinople
886-893
Alexander
emperor of the Romans
912-913
Christopher Lekapenos
co-emperor
921-931
∞ Sophia		Agatha
∞ Romanos Argyros		Theophylact
Patriarch of Constantinople
933-956		Helena Lekapene
(Lekapenos)
(4) Constantine VII
emperor of the Romans
913-959		(2) Anna
∞ Louis III the Blind
king of Provence,
king of Lombardy
Bosonids
(Maria) Irene Lekapene
∞ Peter I
king of Bulgaria
927-969		Argyros
Nikephoros II Phokas
emperor of the Romans
963-969
Phokas		(Anastasia) Theophano
from Laconia
Romanos II
emperor of the Romans
959-963		Theodora Porphyrogenita
empress
John I Tzimiskes
emperor of the Romans
969-976
Kourkouas		Charles Constantine
count of Vienne
Pothos (or Eustathios) Argyros
general
Basil II
emperor of the Romans
976-1025
Constantine VIII
emperor of the Romans
1025-1028
∞ Helena of Alypius		Anna Porphyrogenita
∞ Vladimir I the Great
grand prince of Kiev
Rurik dynasty		Constance of Vienne
∞ Boson II
count of Arles
Maria Argyre
∞ Giovanni Orseolo
duke of Dalmatia		Basil Argyros
general of Samos
1.Romanos III Argyros
emperor of the Romans
1028-1034		Zoë Porphyrogenita
empress of the Romans
1028-1050

∞ 2.Michael IV the Paphlagonian
emperor of the Romans 1034-1041
3.Constantine IX Monomachos
emperor of the Romans
1042-1055		Helena SklerainaTheodora
empress of the Romans
1055-1056
(daughter)
∞ Constantine Diogenes		(adopted)

Michael V Kalaphates
emperor of the Romans
1041-1042		Anastasia Monomachaina
∞ Vsevolod I of Kiev
Romanos IV Diogenes
emperor of Romans
1068-1071		Eudokia Makrembolitissa
empress		Constantine X Doukas
emperor of the Romans
1059-1067
DOUKAS DYNASTY		Vladimir II Monomakh
grand prince of Kiev
gollark: You probably could have the basic "service manager" stuff done by a simple program which just reads TOML files from a directory, builds dependency graphs, and starts things, and that would be okay too.
gollark: I mean, I'd prefer a more loosely coupled system, but systemd... mostly works ish?
gollark: Because existing service managers mostly tend to lack useful capabilities like that.
gollark: It's unnecessary code duplication and more room for fragility.
gollark: It does all the network checking itself.

See also

References
  1. Treadgold 1997, p. 455
  2. Peter Charanis.Studies on the demography of the Byzantine empire: collected studies Variorum Reprints, 1972 p223(360):"Thus, every emperor who sat on the Byzantine throne the accession of Basil I to the death of Basil II (867—1025) was of Armenian or partially Armenian origin. But besides the emperors there were many others among the military and political leaders of Byzantine during this period who were Armenians or of Armenian descent"
  3. Tobias 2007, p. 20. Tobias is referring to the writings of Hamza al-Isfahani, a 10th-century Persian scholar.
  4. Finlay 1853, p. 213.
  5. Vasiliev 1928–1935, p. 301
  6. Bournoutian, George (2002). A Concise History of the Armenian People. Mazda Publishers. p. 89. ISBN 9781568591414. ....the later Macedonian dynasty, according to most Byzantinists, was of Armenian origin as well. The tenure of that dynasty (9th to the 1 ll centuries) is considered the apex of Armenian dominance in the political and military structure of the empire. Armenian emperors, generals, and military contingents had their greatest military successes against the Arabs, the Slavs, and Bulgars. Ironically, it was this same Armenian dynasty which was chiefly responsible for the breakup of the Bagratuni kingdom.
  7. Chahin, Mack. The Kingdom of Armenia: A History. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2001, p. 232 ISBN 0-7007-1452-9
  8. Chitwood, Zachary (2017). Byzantine Legal Culture and the Roman Legal Tradition, 867-1056. Cambridge University Press. p. 18. ISBN 9781107182561.
  9. Tobias 2007, p. 264
  10. Chris Wickham, The Inheritance of Rome

Sources
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