Eudokia Makrembolitissa
Encyclopedia
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
emperor Constantine X Doukas. After his death (1067) she acted as regent and became the wife of Romanos IV Diogenes. She was also the niece of Michael Keroularios, Patriarch of Constantinople
Patriarch of Constantinople
The Ecumenical Patriarch is the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome – ranking as primus inter pares in the Eastern Orthodox communion, which is seen by followers as the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church....
, whose sister had married John Makrembolites.
Life
She married Constantine sometime before 1050. By Constantine she had seven children; one died as a child and two, KonstantiosKonstantios Doukas
Konstantios Doukas , Latinized as Constantius Ducas, was the son of Byzantine Emperor Constantine X Doukas and younger brother of Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Doukas...
and Zoe, were born after Constantine became Byzantine emperor in 1059. When Constantine died in 1067 she, as a crowned Augusta
Augusta (honorific)
Augusta was the imperial honorific title of empresses. It was given to the women of the Roman and Byzantine imperial families. In the third century, Augustae could also receive the titles of Mater castrorum and Mater Patriae .The title implied the greatest prestige, with the Augustae able to...
, was confirmed as regent for their sons Michael VII
Michael VII
Michael VII Doukas or Ducas , nicknamed Parapinakēs , was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078.- Life :...
and Konstantios, along with Constantine's brother, the Caesar John Doukas. Michael VII was just old enough to rule on his own, but nevertheless was considered co-emperor with his younger brother, while Eudokia ran the administration of the empire.
She had also sworn on Constantine's deathbed not to marry again, and had even imprisoned and exiled Romanos Diogenes, who was suspected of aspiring to the throne. However, perceiving that she was not able to avert the invasions which threatened the eastern frontier of the empire unaided, she revoked her oath and married Romanos, without the approval of John Doukas, the patriarch John Xiphilinos, or Michael VII. The marriage took place on January 1, 1068, and Romanus was immediately proclaimed co-emperor as Romanos IV. With his assistance Eudokia was able to dispel the impending danger. She had two sons with Romanos IV, Nikephoros and Leo. Another of Eudokia and Constantine's sons, Andronikos Doukas
Andronikos Doukas (co-emperor)
Andronikos Doukas , Latinized as Andronicus Ducas, was the third son of Byzantine Emperor Constantine X Doukas and younger brother of Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Doukas . Unlike his other brothers, he was not named junior co-emperor by his father, and was raised to the dignity only by Romanos IV...
, was now made co-emperor by Romanos IV, although he had been excluded from power by his own father, mother, and brothers. However, Eudokia did not live very happily with her new husband, who was warlike and self-willed and increasingly excluded her from power. When he was taken prisoner by the Seljuk Turks at the Battle of Manzikert
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert , was fought between the Byzantine Empire and Seljuq Turks led by Alp Arslan on August 26, 1071 near Manzikert...
(1071), Eudokia and Michael again assumed the government, until it was discovered that Romanos had survived and was returning to Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. John Doukas and the Varangian Guard then compelled Eudokia to leave power to Michael and retire to a convent
Convent
A convent is either a community of priests, religious brothers, religious sisters, or nuns, or the building used by the community, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church and in the Anglican Communion...
.
After Michael VII was deposed in 1078 by Nikephoros III
Nikephoros III
Nikephoros III Botaneiates, Latinized as Nicephorus III Botaniates was Byzantine emperor from 1078 to 1081. He belonged to a family which claimed descent from the Byzantine Phokas family.- Early career :...
, Eudokia was recalled by the new emperor who offered to marry her. This plan did not come to pass, due to the opposition of the Caesar John Doukas, and Eudokia died as a nun sometime after the accession of Alexius I Comnenus in 1081.
Writings
Eudokia compiled a dictionary of history and mythology, which she called Ἰωνιά, i.e. Collection or bed of Violets. It is prefaced by an address to her husband Romanos Diogenes, in which she describes the work as "a collection of genealogies of gods, heroes, and heroines, of their metamorphoses, and of the fables and stories respecting them found in the ancients; containing also notices of various philosophers." The sources from which the work was compiled are in a great degree the same as those used in the SudaSuda
The Suda or Souda is a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Suidas. It is an encyclopedic lexicon, written in Greek, with 30,000 entries, many drawing from ancient sources that have since been lost, and often...
.
The historian Nicephorus Gregoras
Nicephorus Gregoras
Nikephoros Gregoras, latinized as Nicephorus Gregoras , Byzantine astronomer, historian, man of learning and religious controversialist, was born at Heraclea Pontica....
, a century later, described Eudokia as a "second Hypatia".
Family
By her first marriage, to Constantine X Doukas, Eudokia had:- Michael VII DoukasMichael VIIMichael VII Doukas or Ducas , nicknamed Parapinakēs , was Byzantine emperor from 1071 to 1078.- Life :...
- Andronikos DoukasAndronikos Doukas (co-emperor)Andronikos Doukas , Latinized as Andronicus Ducas, was the third son of Byzantine Emperor Constantine X Doukas and younger brother of Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Doukas . Unlike his other brothers, he was not named junior co-emperor by his father, and was raised to the dignity only by Romanos IV...
, co-emperor from 1068 to 1078 - Konstantios DoukasKonstantios DoukasKonstantios Doukas , Latinized as Constantius Ducas, was the son of Byzantine Emperor Constantine X Doukas and younger brother of Byzantine Emperor Michael VII Doukas...
, co-emperor from c. 1060 to 1078, died 1081 - Anna Doukaina, a nun
- Theodora Doukaina, who married Domenico SelvoDomenico SelvoDomenico Selvo was the 31st Doge of Venice, serving from 1071 to 1084. During his reign as Doge, his domestic policies, the alliances that he forged, and the battles that the Venetian military won and lost laid the foundations for much of the subsequent foreign and domestic policy of the Republic...
, Doge of VeniceDoge of VeniceThe Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city... - Zoe Doukaina, who married Adrianos KomnenosAdrianos KomnenosAdrianos Komnenos , sometimes anglicized as Adrian or latinized as Adrianus Comnenus, was a Byzantine aristocrat and general, and a younger brother of the Emperor Alexios I Komnenos .- Life :...
, a brother of Emperor Alexios I KomnenosAlexios I KomnenosAlexios I Komnenos, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus , was Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118, and although he was not the founder of the Komnenian dynasty, it was during his reign that the Komnenos family came to full power. The title 'Nobilissimus' was given to senior army commanders,...
.
By her second marriage, to Romanos IV Diogenes, Eudokia had:
- Nikephoros DiogenesNikephoros DiogenesNikephoros Diogenes , latinized as Nicephorus Diogenes, was the son of Byzantine Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes and Eudokia Makrembolitissa. Crowned co-emperor during his father's reign, he later served as a general during the reign of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, scoring successes in the Byzantine...
- Leo Diogenes
Michael Psellos
Michael Psellos
Michael Psellos or Psellus was a Byzantine monk, writer, philosopher, politician and historian...
was very close to the family, and Eudokia considered him an "uncle". According to Psellos she was very noble, beautiful, and intelligent.
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